All About Pocket Knives

A co-worker brought me this from a mutual friend. The friend's father had found it in his ramblings. It doesn't appear to be a legit M1832, as there are no discernable markings or hallmarks on it like you'd see on the Ames version. Therefore, I don't think any harm will come from some cleanup and resto work.

Additionally, we'll do something different for the guard & handle. I'm thinking something in brass for the guard, and then some kind of wood for the handle. I'd be receptive to ideas from you guys for what to do here. Nothing too fancy like inlays or filigrees, just want to make it into a decent wall hanger for the guy.

Also, if you have suggestions for cleanup methods, I'm open to them as well. I know how I'd do it, but always interested to learn new/better ways to do things. Not looking to polish to a high sheen, more like stop active rust and get to a dull/smoother finish.

Here's the victim...

I can't wait to see what you do with that one Glenn. As far as the rust goes, I always lay the patient on a pile of old newspaper, spray a generous amount of WD-40, let it sit for a few minutes, and then use 0000 steel wool with a generous amount of elbow grease. Wipe off the mess, and repeat if necessary. That leaves a satin finish and gets rid of the surface rust and any other foreign substances . You can always move on to more intrusive measures if you aren't satisfied with the result.

I Personally Would Submege the Entire Blade for 24 Hours in Rust Remover , Brush Off Residue Then Hit it With Medium to Fine Grade Scotch brite Belts ,, Save Your Elbow Then The Lube and Wool ..

Yep, If it were me, I would drop it into some "Evapo-Rust"... That stuff is amazing and is gentile.
After 24 hours it that stuff, rust just rinses off.

I can't wait to see what you come up with for the handle.

Battery Charger, Baking Soda, Bucket of Water: Electrolysis System

EZ-Strip/Evapro is the chemical, version of said system.

Hope that helps, Glenn.

So, finally got to spend a little time with this one. I ended up using an evaporust soak. Then I used some 3 in 1 and some 400 grit just to take the gray off the blade that the evaporust left. Here's a before and after.


Any ideas where to go from here for handle/guard? I'm thinking something in brass for the guard. Also wondering if I should weld a threaded stud on the butt for a brass pommel. Thoughts?

That Eavpo Rust is good stuff..... Too bad it won't fill the rust pits for ya.....LOL

Heck yeah.... that is a good idea to weld a stud on the end for a pommel nut.

I can't wait to see what you come up with!