This Old Knife

[AeroncaTAL]

Here's some pics of a knife I picked up today at the Great Oregon Steamup in Brooks, Oregon.

The blade has some minor rusting and pitting, but a pretty good edge. The handle appears that it might have had one side replaced at some point due to differences in staining. However, after closer inspection, I am not too sure about that. The lighter side of the handle looks to have been broken; it might have been sanded. I think that both sides are original. I am not sure what type of metal is in front of the handle, first thought was aluminum. Could it be pewter? The guy at the booth said that the knife was Civil War vintage, but I took that with a grain of salt. It is old though, that much is apparent. I planning at this point to clean the rust off of the blade while leaving as much of the patina as possible, then replace both sides of the handle with oak replicas. What's your opinion?

Scott

 

[shifty-eyed_one]

I'd say, you've got a great project on your hands. I need a few more hours in the day so I can take up the whole vintage knife hobby.

Honestly, there's just something about the well-used blade that fascinates me. Personally, I'd replace the handles with something local, like myrtlewood in your case.

Nice to see another Oryguner at the forum. :v

 

[AeroncaTAL]

Shifty,
Doug Fir would be more in line; Myrtlewood is common down at the Southwestern part of the state. Actually, the Oregon White Oak, Quercus garryana is just as common here in the Willamette Valley as the 'ol Douglas Pine. Now in NE Oregon, you could pick Ponderosa, or Tamarack. What part of "God's Country" do you hail from?
Scott

 

[Brasilikilt]

You can always go with pacific coast maple
I know there's some which grows in the coastal range because a bench outside of Vernonia's grocery store is made from some they cut just outside of town.

 

[AeroncaTAL]

You can always go with pacific coast maple
I know there's some which grows in the coastal range because a bench outside of Vernonia's grocery store is made from some they cut just outside of town.

The original handle appears to be oak, which is why I thought of using oak for replacement, plus I have some oak out in the garage. :grin:
Maple would be pretty good choice, something to consider...

 

[bwhoffman]

Juniper works well also as does vine maple, which grows in the willamette valley.

Nice to see a thread of "oregonians"!

Brett

former central oregonian,transplanted to newberg.

 

[laffingman67]

Why replace the handle slabs? Take some beeswax and melt it into the slabs to seal up the cracks then take and wrap it with rawhide and stich it along the bottom. That way you are not taking apart an original piece. just adding to it. :hmm:

 

[Beerd2]

I'm with HalfMoon on this one.
Seal 'er with bees wax & use as is.
..

 

[AeroncaTAL]

Why replace the handle slabs? Take some beeswax and melt it into the slabs to seal up the cracks then take and wrap it with rawhide and stich it along the bottom. That way you are not taking apart an original piece. just adding to it. :hmm:

HalfMoon, I like the idea of a "repair". However, the handle is not cracked but pieces split off. Here is another photo of both sides of the handle:

What appears to be cracks in the top photo are actually discolorations in the wood. The red arrows are pointing to the split areas at the top and bottom of the handle. You can see the steel of the tang. The major splits are on the right side piece. The left side has a smaller split towards the front. It will take a large amount of wax to fill these gaps. I don't have any experience with bees wax, so will this be too soft? Will the rawhide hold everything together?
Scott

 

[Joe Yanta]

I wonder how Pacific Yew would do for a handle? But I would'nt change a thing. Things are only orginal once.

Joe

 

[laffingman67]

That's why I suggested the rawhide wrap to cover up the "ugliness" of the missing pieces :hmm:
and yes, the rawhide will hold everything together. Just fill in the small cracks with the beeswax.
If you can find a history on this knife that would also make the decision of what to do with it easier. Such as, if the knife was made in say the last 50 or so years, it would not be as difficult for myself to make it "new" again. The knife is still an awesome find no matter how old it is. :winking:

 

[AeroncaTAL]

That's why I suggested the rawhide wrap to cover up the "ugliness" of the missing pieces :hmm:
and yes, the rawhide will hold everything together. Just fill in the small cracks with the beeswax.
If you can find a history on this knife that would also make the decision of what to do with it easier. Such as, if the knife was made in say the last 50 or so years, it would not be as difficult for myself to make it "new" again. The knife is still an awesome find no matter how old it is. :winking:

Unless one of you out there has some idea of the history, I'm at a loss. Don't even know where to begin research. I would venture a guess that the knife predates the 1950's. There is also a hole through the handle toward the rear, so it could be hung on a hook. Probably was a kitchen knife. I'll post some pics, when I finish it up with the rawhide wrap.
Thanks all,
Scott