We're visiting family over Christmas time here and I found a knife sitting on the kitchen counter that's my mother-in-law's "favorite"-says it's actually sharp and stays that way, as opposed to the new ones you can buy. It's in bad shape and I told her I'd like to get it in good working order for her. I'm going to be taking it with me when we head back home and was hoping some of the great, experienced folks here could help me out?
First, anyone who knows any of the history of this knife, I'd really appreciate it. It has stamped on one side of the blade, "CASE XX" and under that, "400-8". One interesting thing about the blade is it has uniform "ridges" for a lack of a better term running at an angle from the spine towards the edge that are maybe 3/16" or so apart? She said she was given the knife from her father or grandpa and has no idea how old it is. It has wood scales on it with 3 rivets that are coming apart, so the wood is REALLY loose-the front opens up close to 3/16" or 1/4".
Secondly, I was hoping you could give me advice on doing the restoration on this? Because of the raised/lowered areas on the blade from the ridges, regular hand sanding is a no-go. I'm not planning on getting it super polished at all (it has a nice patina to it) and was thinking of running it on my scotch-brite wheel on the buffer? Maybe get off the little bits of rust and loose stuff? As for the handle material, I'm really hoping you kitchen knife guys have some good advice. I have some pretty nice Cocobolo chunks that I was thinking of for the resin? My line of thinking was the more naturally resinous the wood, the better it'll repel the water/fluids in the kitchen? I've got Acraglas and black fiber material-was thinking of putting in the black pigment, putting the liners on between the wood and steel, and adding a couple pins.
Any advice at all would be much appreciated. I've never done a kitchen knife before and for this one especially, I'd really like to stay with a natural handle material. Thanks and have a wonderful Christmas.
Jeremy
Jeremy Lindley, Apprentice Smith
I re-did an old kitchen knife once, polish brought it back to silver color but it just re-patinas. I wouldn't run it on a belt unless it really needs it. For the handle I had to grind the scales off, then just applied new ones like I would with a new knife.
I'm a little confused by the ridges, are they all along the blade, maybe to keep food from sticking like gratons?
I don't know what the ridges are for and yes, they're along the whole blade on both sides. I'll see if I can get a pic with my phone and figure a way to get it on here. It's a really neat old knife-will be fun to get a good handle back on it. This will actually be my first full tang handle-only done hidden tang knives so far. It appears the ridges stop where the scales start, so those wont cause problems.
Jeremy
Jeremy Lindley, Apprentice Smith
Here are some pictures of the knife-just after she was done cutting up some salad fixings <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />.
Hope that makes more sense from what I tried to explain earlier.
Jeremy
Jeremy Lindley, Apprentice Smith
Hello Jeremy. I would suggest just clean the blade with some polish like flitz or something similar. I believe this knife was made by Case around 40-50 years ago of carbon steel, so it will just patina again with use. You could always use a stabilized wood on it. Water will not affect it. And yes the grooves, while being for decoration, were also supposed to aid in cutting.
We use an old Henckels in our kitchen. Beautiful gray patina and the original wood handles, still cuts like a champ. I can see why your mother in law uses it.
Brion
Brion Tomberlin
Anvil Top Custom Knives
ABS Mastersmith
I make a lot of Chef Knives and find Cocobolo to work great do to all the natural oils. Make sure to use a respirator when sanding. Also any densely stabilized wood such as maple will work well. Once you remove the rivets I would replace them with corby bolts (Pop's knife supply) They will never loosen up, especially with the wet then dry atmosphere.
After seeing your knife, I think I would use a buffer with a grit that cuts (slightly ) to get between the grooves then work my way down to a scratch-less grit to finish. The color will come back to the knife the second you start cutting acidic food, actually the cleaner the blade (shinny) the faster it will patina.
Good luck
Steve
Steve Watkins
www.ironmanknives.com
Thanks everyone for all the good advice-I really appreciate it. Now to see if I can make it look decent again.... <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />.
Jeremy
Jeremy Lindley, Apprentice Smith
Are there any other markings on the blade? Have you started work on the knife yet? If nkt, please wait. Some of those old Case XX kitchen knives can be kind of rare. I own a knife shop and will check my books to see if I can find any more info on it.
Cheyenne Walker
Apprentice Smith
Thanks, Cheyenne. I haven't started on it yet and no, there are no other markings on it other than Case XX and the numbers under it. Any info you might be able to dig up on the knife would be great. Merry Christmas.
Jeremy
Jeremy Lindley, Apprentice Smith
Cheyenne-
Any news on the knife? Getting ready to start working on it in the next few days unless it turns out to be a really bad idea. Thanks for any info and the advice.
Jeremy
Jeremy Lindley, Apprentice Smith
Finally got the knife done. A friend (who's WAY better at sharpening than I am) helped me out and got the knife back to REALLY sharp. The block of wood I used was a relatively cheap one labled "Figured Asian Satinwood". Whatever it is, it sure has some nice figure to it. Definitely some things that could have been done better and I certainly have a new respect for what it takes to make a full tang handle come out well.
Thoughts or critique certainly appreciated.
Jeremy
Jeremy Lindley, Apprentice Smith
Jeremy,
I apologize for not getting back with you sooner. What I found out wasn't much. There is more on Case pocket knives than their kitchen knives. That style was manufactured between 1940-65. In near mint condition, the knife might run as high as $50-$60 for some collectors. The work you did looks great. The handle has a nice look to it. How hard was the restoration?
Cheyenne Walker
Apprentice Smith
No problem, Cheyenne. The info I was able to find pretty well mirrors what you wrote. The restoration wasn't too difficult, but it definitely gave me some insights into the skills others have in making full tang knives. I didn't make bolsters for this knife and seeing some great knives with bolsters makes me scratch my head a little now. If nothing else, I'm glad I did my first full tang this way so I know a little more of what to expect on one I make myself.
Jeremy
Jeremy Lindley, Apprentice Smith
Jeremy,
you forgot to mention if restoring the knife made you the favorite son-in-law. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />
Cheyenne Walker
Apprentice Smith
Since I'm the only son-in-law, I managed to nab the "favorite" slot a while ago <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//tongue.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':P' />.
Jeremy
Jeremy Lindley, Apprentice Smith
