boy&hisdogs
GMT400 Nerd
Show and tell time! Let's see those old school pocket knives! Let's take a break from the big metal :jeep: and spend some time enjoying pocket metal.
First up is the oldest thing in my collection. A Hen & Rooster well over a century old. There isn't an exact date, but the details of the tang stamp place it between 1864-1900. I got it for a dollar at a flea market because of the cracked scale. I had no idea how old it was at the time, I just thought it was cool.
Next up is a couple of the many Old Timers that I've bought on Ebay and cleaned up/repaired. I used to buy them in lots for just a few bucks per knife on Ebay. Then I'd re-sell the ones I didn't want and keep the rest for projects. I still have about 20 of them in various states of repair, waiting for me to have more spare time. I really like the USA made Old Timers, you get a lot of quality for hardly any money. The trick to making them look old is giving them a soak in warm vinegar after you've done all your work. The acid forces a patina that looks fairly natural, and protects from rust since any exposed metal has already been "used" by the patina, making it harder for rust to get a foothold on your knife.
Here's a Case that went through the same deep clean and repair process, but unlike Old Timers you'd go broke trying to buy more than one old Case at a time! I think I've probably carried this one more than all the others combined because there's just something about the size and shape of these blades that just seems right. I couldn't tell you why, but they just feel accurate and the lockup feels a little more solid than my Old Timers.
This Bear Hunter was my first repair project. I can't find my "before" pictures, but you can guess how rough it was being used as a scratch tester in my geology class!
The scales were all broken off, the tip was broken, it would barely open and close and it was about as sharp as a marble and scratched to all heck having been kicking around in a metal drawer with other scratchers. This thing had to come COMPLETELY apart. This was the first time I had ever took apart and reassembled a pinned/riveted knife before, and it was definitely a learning experience. I definitely should have used nickel for the pins but all I could get my hands on at the time was brass so that's what I used.
First up is the oldest thing in my collection. A Hen & Rooster well over a century old. There isn't an exact date, but the details of the tang stamp place it between 1864-1900. I got it for a dollar at a flea market because of the cracked scale. I had no idea how old it was at the time, I just thought it was cool.
Next up is a couple of the many Old Timers that I've bought on Ebay and cleaned up/repaired. I used to buy them in lots for just a few bucks per knife on Ebay. Then I'd re-sell the ones I didn't want and keep the rest for projects. I still have about 20 of them in various states of repair, waiting for me to have more spare time. I really like the USA made Old Timers, you get a lot of quality for hardly any money. The trick to making them look old is giving them a soak in warm vinegar after you've done all your work. The acid forces a patina that looks fairly natural, and protects from rust since any exposed metal has already been "used" by the patina, making it harder for rust to get a foothold on your knife.
Here's a Case that went through the same deep clean and repair process, but unlike Old Timers you'd go broke trying to buy more than one old Case at a time! I think I've probably carried this one more than all the others combined because there's just something about the size and shape of these blades that just seems right. I couldn't tell you why, but they just feel accurate and the lockup feels a little more solid than my Old Timers.
This Bear Hunter was my first repair project. I can't find my "before" pictures, but you can guess how rough it was being used as a scratch tester in my geology class!
The scales were all broken off, the tip was broken, it would barely open and close and it was about as sharp as a marble and scratched to all heck having been kicking around in a metal drawer with other scratchers. This thing had to come COMPLETELY apart. This was the first time I had ever took apart and reassembled a pinned/riveted knife before, and it was definitely a learning experience. I definitely should have used nickel for the pins but all I could get my hands on at the time was brass so that's what I used.
