Replacing handles and other tips.

[Worth1]

Looks like an old Ka Bar I used to have can you tell who made it.
Worth.

[taboule]

As Worth showed, original handle was made of leather washers, stacked then sanded to shape. You can replicate the original look fairly easily once you unscrew the butt cap, then glue and screw new washers. One of the knifemaking suppliers sells a punch to make these out of cowhide.

Alternatively, you can fashion a single piece handle out of some hardwood, a tight grain exotic (or local mesquite, ironwood...) for best effect and looks. Drilling the long tang hole can be fun.

Is it worth doing? Up to you;-)

[AlittleSalt]

Ka Bar most likely. I had one with black leather on the handle.

[JRinPA]

Leather washers...I was wondering how that fell apart like that so soon. When I climbed up and found it I was shocked. The leather sheath is in fairly decent shape yet.

I can't see a make. Maybe after I clean it up.

[JRinPA]

It is a ka bar. I penciled over it and could see it after while.

Okay, what is the best way to restore the steel?

[Worth1]

There are several ways.
One thing you need to do is soak it in light oil or solvent to get all of the hardware off.
You cant have any thing but steel left.
Then I would drop it in Muriatic acid to eat the rust off.
This wont take long and be very careful this it is nasty stuff and fumes when you take the lid off.
Once this is done put it in a strong solution of baking soda and water to kill the acid.
The safer methods are.
90 grain vinegar.
And strong citric acid that is heated up in a pan.
And what I mean by citric acid is the stuff you buy to can with it is a powder.

Worth

[Worth1]

Before I did any of the acid stuff I would wire brush it first.

Worth

[JRinPA]

I do have an unopened gallon of muriatic acid I bought for etching but never used. I may try this. I do know to dilute it is acid to water, so no worries there. :boom:

After the wire brush and acid bath, then belt sander, right? lol

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by JRinPA

I do have an unopened gallon of muriatic acid I bought for etching but never used. I may try this. I do know to dilute it is acid to water, so no worries there. :boom:

After the wire brush and acid bath, then belt sander, right? lol

If it were me I wouldn't use a belt sander to try to remove all of the pits.
It is what it is now and it is all it will ever be.

I would just use wet dry paper by hand and polish it out.

Remember only steel no brass or any non ferrous metal in the acid or it will go bye bye.

You really wont know what you are dealing with till you get all of the rust out.
Once you have that done boil the blade in water to kill the rust in the pits.
depending on the humidity it might haze over with rust but no big deal.
boil it again and then steel wool off.

Sounds crazy but I have rust blued a lot of old firearms with nitric acid.


This is what rust bluing looks like, the best bluing in the world bar none.

Notic the maker of the gun here.
It is Holland and Holland they are NOT cheap guns.

[Worth1]

If you are interested in rust bluing I can help with that too.

Worth

[JRinPA]

Yeah I was kidding about the belt sander; there wouldn't be much blade left.

I couldn't go downstairs to work on this tonight. The dogs chased a rabbit INTO our basement today...I opened the cellar door and saw a rabbit at the stick pile eating bark. I walk back upstairs and let the dogs out to give it a little scare. The rabbits hole up under our shed so it is usually a short chase. Well, both my springers ran right past it and it just froze for a few seconds until one came back, so it ran toward the house instead. Then the bunny was running along back of the house when it got cutoff by the other dog. It swerved left putting a snowdrift between itself and the dog...and landed in our cellar door well. With the snow drifts I guess the bunny was a little turned around when it got cut off.

Well, there are tons of places to hide down there and I could not find it. I could not leave the door open for it to let itself out since I don't want to let mice in. I set a box trap near the door and I'm hoping tonight it gets hungry enough. Otherwise tomorrow we may have to beat it out.

I remember some bats flying in before, but never a rabbit. I guess I should be happy it was only a rabbit. Seeing how it was Feb 2nd - it could have been a groundhog instead.

[JRinPA]

I didn't remember the boiling water part on the post, but after wire brush I did 5 dips on blade and 5 on the tang, as long as 90 sec each, and it did a pretty good job. The pic shows a little red on the blade markings which might be a little jewelers rouge haze. That bright flash always shows more than I see in the house lighting.

The handle is very comfortable; I left it large to fit my hand. I made it with thin ~7/8"strips cut from an old leather jacket. There is probably 4-5ft total. I folded them accordion style and punched a hole as I went to slide each fold onto the tang. When it was full I slid them off, soaked in thinned glue, then slide them back on and tightened it down. After it was dry I used a bench belt sander to shape it. Last I put on some boot wax, obenaufs LP, and have been rubbing that down for two days.

I'm sure it was not by the book. I wasn't going to put any money into it. As it turned out, I learned a bit and now have a really comfortable, handy little knife that took a nice edge. I don't think these pics do it justice in this poor light, but I am a function over form person anyway.

[Worth1]

Looks good to me those old carbon steel blades are the best.

Worth

[Hellmanns]

Beautiful job, JR!

[bower]

Excellent, JR! It is really restored for use.
I have a collection of rusty old tools I have found over the years, always thought they were just interesting 'relics' but never before thought they could actually be restored. And maybe not, maybe they really are too rusted and far gone. But it's possible...