I got from someone almost ruined knife. The blade was rusty with deep rust holes and the handle was with cracks and partially unglued. The blade however was from quite good carbon steel (probably handmade by some craftsman – there is even the author marking on the blade), so I decided to renovate it. By renovate I mean restore the balde and make new one carved handle.
More info: youtube.com
The whole restoration process
Video shows whole restoration process toghether with few shots of before & after.
Old, rusty knife.
As You can see the knife was unusable. It has rust on blade and a very dirty handle.
Carving the details
The handle I’ve made from the beech tree. It’s because this is beautifull, dense wood – durable and good for carving. First I’ve prepared a template in GIMP and then started my woodwork.
Working on the shape with sandpaper
I worked only with the knife, chisels and then with hand sandpaper. Without electrical devices. It was quite relaxing job, I must say.
The blade
After making the handle it was turn for the blade. I’ve remove old handle watching to not to damage the blade.
Shiny steel
Then restoration started. Using sandpaper from 200 to 1500 grit I managed to get glossy, shiny blade almost like mirror. It is quite good feeling to have such polished blade in hands.
Final touch – staining
At the end I decided to stain my work and put few layers of laquer on it. Maybe too glossy on the pictures but in real eye it looks really cool.
Finall effect – the blade
Knife in hand – perfect fit
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