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Articles or links on this web site were Revised or edited on     April 17, 2013
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Refurbishing Repair Restoration


Last serious call for the knife repairs is First day of November

The reason is of course the holiday mail overload - the chance of your knife not making it back to you before Christmas
Shop is closed during winter - I can't work when the metal is freezing to fingers, but work when weather permits.
Expect some serious extra turn-around time through winter months - November through March

Booking your knife for repair through the winter will put you on the list for faster repairs after weather improves.

Serious note: You must read and follow simple "Shipping up repairs instructions". Failure to do so will cost you extra money. How much? The customs bill I have to pay at the Post Office, plus 2 hours of my extra time I have to spent scanning and mailing you the paperwork, and extra trip to town.




The only purpose of the knife repairs I do is to honestly repair and restore the knife to it's full functionality

There was always a need to repair and refurbish good quality old knives, family heirlooms and keepsakes - folding, or fixed blade ones.
I have learned to make all replacement parts individually by hand out of necessity, and I do very professional work. I also strive to make it look as good, or better than new.
Any modifications also fall into this category.
However, if your knife is in mint unused condition but has some defect, like scales not fitting properly, do contact the manufacturer first.
Have to say that the remodeling a brand new knife is not my favorite work. After breaking the knife apart it is seldom possible to put it together by hand as precisely as in the factory jigs.
This goes doubly for fitting new scales - some models were designed by evil extraterrestrials. The bolster-scale gaps are a part of the eyeball fitting, and are often part of factory assembly as well.
Pivot pins do not always disappear flush with the bolsters as not all brass pins are of same alloy.
I do spend tremendous amount of time trying to accomplish what factory did not or could not do. This does not mean that if not completely successful, I will refund your money, working for nothing.
If at all my work adds value to your knife - it is not designed or intended to fool any collector.
If it is indeed a real collectors item, any repair or alteration to it will actually diminish it's collector's value.


Picture is worth 1000 words, so it is said. Digital cameras are cheap enough these days, and the flat bead scanner works good too.
It is good for me to see the details of the repair needed, detail of unusual assembly, or the condition of the knife in the need of repairs or refurbishing for estimate.
Unfortunately Camera or scanner pictures are not suitable for email because they are just TOO BIG. Crop and resize them for email.
A good JPG image size from 640 dpi to 800 dpi wide at %90 quality or compression is ready for attachment to your reply:


I start all the service work as soon as possible, on the first come - first serve basis.
When your turn comes I try to finish the repair within a day or two.


    The bulk of my repair work mostly consists of extensive handle repairs, including pins/spacers/scale replacement, and occasionally a total change of a handle design, folder springs and repairs, and some stainless welding where possible:

The blades broken in half or through any portion of cutting edge can not be welded back together.

Total refurbishing consists of stripping the knife to it's individual components, total blade regrind, sand and polish all parts, replace what is needed.
After the knife is reassembled, it gets final buffing and sharpening to a razor edge.
Kitchen and Chef's knives - Common, or special editions refurbishing:
The blades get complete overhaul - sand away and polish most sharpening scratches, stains and rust.
Blade-tips which are broken will be reshaped, old delaminated, damaged wood handles will be replaced with top quality hardwoods, cheap Aluminum rivets will be replaced with Nickel Silver ones.
I glue down all new scales so no water can get to the tang to destroy the handle with rust from inside and be food-safe.
WW-II, Mark, USM, Ka-Bar and all old stacked leather handle knives:
Handles get new leather washers, all glued together this time and on cleaned metal, soaked in preservative.
If the pommel was used as a hammer - I will sand away all dents.
The whole blade and blood groves will be re ground and polished - Flat or Hollow ground for getting the used up fat edge to a new, working thickness.
And for the finish I get the metal parts bead blasted for frosty finish

If the blade is supper rusty, or have very deep rust pits, it will require considerably more time and resources to make it look presentable again.
90% of all repairs required the total regrind. There is no guarantee that I will be able to remove all the rust pits, since some can go right through the blade.
Stainless steel containing iron is prone to microscopic rust, forming worm holes sometimes right through the blade.
These are invisible to naked eye, and show as wash out lines after polishing, as the polishing wheel catches the edge of these holes. Grinding the blade down eliminates only large pit rust from the surface.
If these micro pits are present, no mirror polish is possible, also this blade will rust despite being made out of "stainless" steel.
These pits are the result of a poor alloy, as not all the iron particles do form carbides and are free.

Serious note:

Manufacturer's logos, trademarks or any other Etched markings, or shallow stamping not deep enough, will be totally obliterated by any blade sanding.
The deep etch in black will loose the distinct black color, as the carbon soot wipes readily off.

I can't repair molded plastic, or molded rubber handles

A large portion of old cutlery was manufactured out of plain hard carbon steel, then chrome plated.
Any re shaping, like broken off tips, requires that the blade be correctly tapered /thinned and polished.
The chrome plating will be polished off, there is no way around it. The blade will stain.
The only option is to have it re-chromed after, at the Chrome plating shop near you, or just put up with cleaning it with Comet/Ajax after use.

Folder repairs

To refurbish the folder, it has to be taken down, pried and broken apart, hopefully without damaging liners or bolsters beyond repair.

SERIOUS NOTE:

THE ORIGINAL SCALES WILL BE DESTROYED, EVEN IF ONLY FEW YEARS OLD.

Even if you knife is in brand new, or mint condition without a blemish, and you would like only a scale replaced, the folder has to be taken totally apart.
The new scales has to be glued on, and then riveted to liners - riveting means forming heads on both ends of the pins with the hammer - one head visible on the outside of the scale, the other is ground flush in a countersunk hole on the inside.
Refurbishing consist of total disassembly - cleaning, polishing the liners, back spring/lock bars, sanding, polishing and sharpening all blades, sanding flat inside of old scales for the perfect fit.
Scales get glued on this time, and are secured with new pin rivets.
All main new pins are machined to fit - no idea where the factories get their oddball pin sizes as no knifemaking supplies sell them. Then pins are riveted with 0.005" clearance to achieve smooth blade action without slop.
I can make you a new blade if you are unable to get the replacement from the manufacturer. The shape will be close to the original, but no markings on it. When the broken blade part is missing, I make a new custom blade shape to fit the handle.
I can cut a rectangular, straight nail notch/slot freehand if absolutely necessary.
I use 440-C, hardened and tempered to about 59 RC, for blades and springs, but will use other materials, if requested, available, or supplied by you.
Of course all of this work takes much time, and therefore is not cheap, or free.
The repair costs can exceed the actual purchase price, sometimes several times over.
You do have an option just to throw your knife away and go purchase another knife, or keep old one and cruise garage sales or auctions for the same model with needed parts intact, or in better shape than yours. Than use it to make one good knife out of two.
The basic cost of scales includes only any of the exotic woods I have on hand.
For many knives even my cheapest scales will be a Cadillac replacement for the factory ones. Speciality scales like MOP, Abalone, Turtle, Fossil or mammoth Ivory etc will cost you extra, and these are really expensive.
No real Elephant Ivory, legal or pre-ban can be transported to foreign country, choose from many alternatives.
You can save quite a few dollars by getting your special scales yourself - from knifemaking supplies online stores - than mailing them with the knife.

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Note
Always thoroughly dry your knife after washing or getting it wet before tucking it away, and:
Do not store your knives in their sheath, condensation leaches out remnants of tanning acids from leather, and causes much rust..



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