Looking for information and restoration advice on vintage Swedish Eskilstuna knife

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FRQ

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I picked up this knife at a flea market and was hoping to find out its approximate age and how to best proceed to give it a light restoration. All I did was give it a good clean with a dish washing liquid/baking soda paste to get rid of a few small rust spots. Luckily it was put away oiled a long time ago (the oil had turned sticky and brown).

Since my questions are kind of broad, this seemed to be the most appropriate subforum. Hopefully some more knowledgeable people can chime in and give me some pointers on the following things:

- any guesses regarding its age and use? Its overall length is 45cm/17.5", the blade is 31cm/12". Fish filleting perhaps?
- how do I go about freshening up the look of the steel without completely removing the existing patina? I want to avoid a new, shiny finish, but do feel it looks a bit too worn and dark right now.
- the handle is rock solid but has a crack running through it. The obvious go to would be black epoxy, but I fear I'll have to resort to sanding to blend in the repair, which would ruin the existing handle finish. Since the issue isn't structural, would wood filler be an acceptable substitute? I mainly want to seal the crack for hygiene reasons.
- the carbon steel is very flexible and the blade has a minor warp, is it advisable to try to gently bend it back?

Some pictures:

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What a beauty! Doing a restoration can be a balance of fixing issues, but also trying to preserve all the history and character a knife holds. Everyone likes different finishes, so just go with your gut and take you your time. Looks similar to an old french carving knife/slicer I have seen, but this has a few more stylish details. I would use darkened epoxy rather than wood filler, I just trust its strength and durability. Brightening up the steel will also make it more prone to oxidising, as you will take that patina away and expose to oxygen and moisture again. I would use a softer scotch bright to do this if you want to get into that pitted steel a bit more and clean it up. I think it looks rad, have fun with it!
 
Nice knife and nice project. I second dark epoxy for the handle. Very fine (like 1k+) sandpaper or polishing paper on the blade to lighten it, but that's the least of your worries as that patina is natural. Id guess the age to be around mid-20th Century or before. Googling the maker may show more specifics.
 
Thanks for the insights. I've haven't touched the knife yet but have since picked up a very basic 1€ 1940's carbon steel petty knife to get a feel for the material (zero experience with refinishing knives). No great loss if I would've done something too heavy handed, but it came out alright. I'll probably start with some #0000 steel wool dry to get into the pitting followed by a light 1500 or so wetsand. Ideally I'd leave it at that.

Regarding the handle, I'll follow your advice and use black epoxy after very carefully taping off the edges of the crack. Maybe a light coat of boiled linseed oil to even out the shine of the epoxy and wood. Given its size, this knife won't see much use in my home kitchen, but it'll sure look good sitting on a magnetic knife strip. 🙃
 
FRQ said:
Thanks for the insights. I've haven't touched the knife yet but have since picked up a very basic 1€ 1940's carbon steel petty knife to get a feel for the material (zero experience with refinishing knives). No great loss if I would've done something too heavy handed, but it came out alright. I'll probably start with some #0000 steel wool dry to get into the pitting followed by a light 1500 or so wetsand. Ideally I'd leave it at that.

Regarding the handle, I'll follow your advice and use black epoxy after very carefully taping off the edges of the crack. Maybe a light coat of boiled linseed oil to even out the shine of the epoxy and wood. Given its size, this knife won't see much use in my home kitchen, but it'll sure look good sitting on a magnetic knife strip. 🙃
Click to expand...
This might be a minority opinion. If the repair shows a little, it indicates the love that went into rescuing a sound but injured tool. It adds story.

I too would go with epoxy for stability and water exclusion.
 
Last edited:
aporigine said:
This might be a minority opinion. If the repair shows a little, it indicates the love that went into rescuing a sound but injured tool. It adds story.

I too would go with epoxy for stability and water exclusion.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Luckily, because otherwise I'd have to be skilled enough to perfectly blend in the repair, which is nowhere near the case. I think a light coat of oil on the very old and dry ebonized wood couldn't hurt either way.
 
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Throwing an option out there for the handle but what about kintsugi? a bit flashy but definately a story feature.
 
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