"Restoration" of a WW-II Eras Pocket Knife.

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VorpelSword

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I have purchased several US military utility pocket knives. When they come, I will decide which is in the best shape to gift to a former Marine as a birthday present.

I need guidance as to tools, techniques and process in their restoration.

Each of the three have the patina and wear of 80 years. There may be some rust and pitting.

I need guidance on what to do to "restore" the best of these knives. Really, just looking to improve their appearance.
 
Careful. As I found out, some people on these forums freak out about restoring old knives. They hate it. I got dog piled by those guys. They think you should always preserve knives rather than restoring them.

But that incident did highlight something important. There is a huge difference between restoration and preservation of an old knife, and people can be really passionate about it. Whatever your opinion or preference is about which is better to do, I don't care so long as you get value and enjoyment out of it.

Since you are doing this for someone else, my advice would be to first figure out which one they would prefer. Would they like to have the knife restored closer to its original condition, or would they prefer to have it preserved? Whatever you chose, both are processes which you can actually pay to have done professionally. So that is an option, in case you weren't already aware.
 
It'll be worth posting clear, detailed pictures when you have the knives. That'll make a big difference in the specificity and quality of the advice you get.

As mentioned, with old knives, sometimes it's better to preserve that 80 years of character rather than remove it - it's a big part of the history of the knife. But some pictures posted here can clear up a lot, in terms of what to 'fix' and what to leave as is.
 
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Thanks for the pre-activity advice. My interest is in preservation. If here is crust and rust, I'd like to mitigate it, and oil up the joints. This will never be a user. The USMC folder will be presented in conjunction with a CRK Sebenza , . . .which will be a user.
 
True restoration of knives is not something that can not be accomplished without:
Knowledge of the particular style knife.
Knowledge of proper restoration techniques.
Knowledge of proper materials.
Mechanical skill.
Proper tools for restoration.

You can gently scrub off rust with 0000 steel wool. Then, soak the knife down with WD 40 & dry it thoroughly with compressed air and paper towels until no more crud comes out. Then oil the knife.
This is as far as most should go with restoration/preservation.
 
^^^

Thanks for that. I have the knowledge and tools to do that. I was thinking of elbow grease and tooth paste.

One U-Tube video has this guy using a wire wheel on a Dremel mooter to refurbish the inside of the handle. Seems a bit aggressive.

Another video has someone trying to remove the pins for complete disassembly.

I just want the knife to look not-so-bad and be in at least nearly usable condition.

E-Bay has a selection currently. I am expecting several in the nexct week or so. Each does have patina and pitting, but each one has all its tools; blade, punch/awl, can opener and cap lifter/screwdriver.

I will pick out the best one and try to make it as presentable as possible without using heroic effort or extreme techniques.
 
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I start with a pencil as a scraper. The “lead” is harder than the rust but won’t scratch the metal. I like to use a flat carpenters pencil sharpened into a scraper.

Other option is a flattened brass spent rifle cartridge. As a scraper.

After rust and crud is scraped off , blow it off with conpressed air, then wipe with an oily rag.
 
Just want to add if you soak anything steel in Evaporust or similar you will darken the steel quite a bit. Supposed to be turning some of the rust into an iron oxide or something.
 
A potential caution here...........

A few years back, while researching these knives, I read (somewhere on the internet...not sure where) to be careful about opening two blades that use the same spring bar (not sure if that is the correct terminology) on these knives. For instance, the can opener, and the screwdriver blades both use the same spring bar, and opening both of them at the same time (to the 90 degree position) can put excessive stress on the spring, causing it to break. The person posting this information also posted a picture of his broken knife. People seem to open all of the blades when displaying them for sale, so I guess it could happen. Or maybe it was just a fluke...who knows.

Just something to consider, FWIW.
 
VorpelSword said:
^^^

Thanks for that. I have the knowledge and tools to do that. I was thinking of elbow grease and tooth paste.

One U-Tube video has this guy using a wire wheel on a Dremel mooter to refurbish the inside of the handle. Seems a bit aggressive.

Another video has someone trying to remove the pins for complete disassembly.

I just want the knife to look not-so-bad and be in at least nearly usable condition.

E-Bay has a selection currently. I am expecting several in the nexct week or so. Each does have patina and pitting, but each one has all its tools; blade, punch/awl, can opener and cap lifter/screwdriver.

I will pick out the best one and try to make it as presentable as possible without using heroic effort or extreme techniques.
Click to expand...
You can use different straps with different compounds to take off light scratches, polish metals, plastics, and even wood. I would suggest getting some type of small buffer, bench grinder, or something with stationary rotating wheel or belt. Start with old junk cheap knives and experiment to see what happens. I waiting on a polisher to arrive so I've been using stroking belts with various compounds to do 95% of the work, the last 5% will be done with the buffing wheel.
 
Triple_D said:
be careful about opening two blades that use the same spring bar (not sure if that is the correct terminology) on these knives. For instance, the can opener, and the screwdriver blades both use the same spring bar, and opening both of them at the same time (to the 90 degree position) can put excessive stress on the spring, causing it to break.
Click to expand...

I think it depends on how well the spring was made, what condition it is in, and how much tension is being put on the spring by the tools, but in general it's probably good to consider. I've never had it happen to me with any older knives, but I have seen examples of broken back springs before. A lot of older knives were designed with huge amounts of tension on the springs, and around the 45-90 degree position tends to be where the most amount of force is being applied to the spring.

It's common enough for people who are attempting to open a specific tool to partially open one on the same layer in order to get better access the tool they want. I think it should ordinarily be fine as long as the spring was well made and it is in good condition.

Now when it comes to victorinox swiss army knives, what tends to happen if you do this is that the spring can be weakened rather than broken. It's not a good idea for example to partially open the main blade, partially open the secondary blade, then open the corkscrew or philips, and then just leave them all open in those positions. It will weaken the back spring and the "snap" of the tools on that layer will be noticeably reduced. What might also be happening is that the brass pins are being slightly bent because the brass is soft.
 
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Re Spring Bars:

I will be careful in any case. These. WW-II era knives are 80 years old after all.

RE polishing:

I don't intend to be more aggressive than fine steel wool (0000) or a toothbrush with Comet Cleanser and tooth paste.

A Dremel tool or any rotating belts is/are out.
 
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