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Vanity - How to restore a Ka-Bar?
21sep13 | Jagusafr

Posted on 09/21/2013 2:48:13 PM PDT by jagusafr

In cleaning out my deceased brother in law's things, I found a Ka-Bar with USMC stamped on it in what looks like the original sheath, WWII era. It's in pretty good shape but needs restoring. Anything I need to know as I set about the task?


TOPICS: History; Hobbies; Military/Veterans; Outdoors
KEYWORDS: kabar; military; weapons
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To: Jack Black

“This is what a lot of guys who collect stuff like this do.”

Then they are amateur collectors. WD-40 is a SOLVENT - it is not an oil. WD-40 will RUIN the value of just about anything with a patina.

Just wipe lightly with an oiled cloth.


21 posted on 09/21/2013 4:00:48 PM PDT by Kirkwood (Zombie Hunter)
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To: jagusafr
The stacked leather on the handle will need some TLC as the leather fibers are dry and brittle. The best thing to use on it is British Museum Leather Dressing if you can find it. Thorough research also supports the use of a water based conditioner like Lexol leather conditioner, water based. Do not use Neet's Foot Compound as the mineral oil in the mixture will destroy the leather fibers.

Let the leather conditioner soak the leather for a couple of hours prior to removal and wiping it. A beeswax compound applied to the leather after soaking will also rejuvenate the leather stacking. This is the process I used for cleaning Army saddles that were 160-180 years old.

22 posted on 09/21/2013 4:04:11 PM PDT by vetvetdoug
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To: jagusafr

Glad I kept mine..


23 posted on 09/21/2013 4:11:49 PM PDT by JamesA (You don't have to be big to stand tall)
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To: jagusafr

Yes, do not restore. Just wipe off the above metal particles, rub in some gun oil, and display (don’t hide). Once a year rub in some more gun oil if needed, and enjoy the piece!


24 posted on 09/21/2013 4:24:02 PM PDT by AKinAK (Keep your powder dry pilgrim.)
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To: ClidePenbroke

That looks a lot like the Navy knife my Dad carried in WW2.


25 posted on 09/21/2013 4:25:39 PM PDT by Cyber Liberty (It's hard to accept the truth when the lies were exactly what you wanted to hear.)
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To: jagusafr

Don’t do it, is all you need to know. Keep it oiled and in a dry safe place. Leave the sheath off and keep it in a zip-lock with a dessicant pack.


26 posted on 09/21/2013 4:27:35 PM PDT by mad_as_he$$
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To: Jack Black

My father (USMC) was in the Pacific in WW2. He gave me his K Bar and his dog tags. He had scratched Guadalcanal 44 into the leather sheath. Other than cleaning the blade up, I have done nothing to it. Actually in pretty good condition. Of course it was made in America. I don’t know if they are now.

I also have a well used machete stamped “Sheffield Steel” on the blade that we used on our camping trips with him as kids. I don’t believe it is valuable in a monetary sense, but in addition to the personal value, I like the notion of a blade made of British steel, from days when it mattered. A different world to be sure.


27 posted on 09/21/2013 4:41:13 PM PDT by ChildOfThe60s (If you can remember the 60s.....you weren't really there)
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To: MCF
BINGO!!

Just rub it down with CLP.

Rub a little saddle soap on the leather handle and the sheath.

RESIST THE URGE TO GLASS BEAD! RESIST THE URGE TO PULL THE LEATHER RINGS OFF THE HASP.

DO NOT USE SCOTCHBRIGHT! Take a piece of heavy canvas and rub the thing with CLP. Dirt and grime will fly away, and the original piece will shine.

28 posted on 09/21/2013 5:56:36 PM PDT by ConradofMontferrat ( According to mudslimz, my handle is a HATE CRIME. And I HOPE they don't like it.)
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To: ConradofMontferrat

Saddle soap will keep the leather in the hasp and sheath pliant and in good health.


29 posted on 09/21/2013 5:59:56 PM PDT by ConradofMontferrat ( According to mudslimz, my handle is a HATE CRIME. And I HOPE they don't like it.)
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To: ChildOfThe60s
He had scratched Guadalcanal 44 into the leather sheath.

That was a pretty quiet rear area in '44.

30 posted on 09/21/2013 6:30:22 PM PDT by fso301
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To: freedumb2003
NEVER restore old weapons — it DESTROYS them!!

Unless you know what you are doing in which case you can take an old bringback that someone along the way has done an amateur refinishing of and make it look like the day it was picked up off the battlefield.

31 posted on 09/21/2013 6:40:10 PM PDT by fso301
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To: jagusafr

Don’t do any “restoration” or “preservation” treatment till someone with some knowledge and experience in these knives has examined your knife. The steel won’t be hurt by gun oil and if there is active rust then some additional treatment to stop the rusting may be desirable. The leather portion is much more difficult to protect as the extent of wear and condition, plus the organic nature of leather fibers, must be considered before determining what to do. A lot of amateurs will look at a piece of leather, see that it is “dry”, and lather on soap or petroleum-based oil only to darken and weaken the leather fibers, permanently devaluing the item. A lot of amateurs will treat leather with “neatsfoot oil” (neats don’t have oily feet as far as I know-joke) because they think the leather was treated that way when it was in practical use. Your goal is to preserve condition, not put the knife to use in rain under battle conditions. I have a leather sheath dated 1918 that is dry, clean and in basically the same nice condition it was in when new. I have also seen WW2 leather items that were in new condition but have been oiled, greased, waxed, waterproofed and in general treated to death. They look awful and won’t last.

As a conservator and having read the literature, there is a lot of misinformation out there.

Good luck.


32 posted on 09/21/2013 6:56:32 PM PDT by iacovatx (Conservatism is the political center--it is not "right" of center)
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To: jagusafr

Don’t “restore” it. Don’t sharpen it unless you are a professional knife sharpener. Don’t use it. Put it in your safe with a document detailing its history and look at it from time to time.


33 posted on 09/21/2013 7:58:23 PM PDT by Calamari (Pass enough laws and everyone is guilty of something.)
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To: jagusafr
...I’ll give it a great honing and put it to work.

I wouldn't do that. A new one was ~$40 a few years ago.

Buy a new one and use it, keep the special one as is and treat it as a treasure.

34 posted on 09/21/2013 9:12:32 PM PDT by CurlyDave
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To: jagusafr

Don’t even hone it. You will grind through the patina — collectors want to know this is the original edge.

I think the guys who said to put a little WD40 and lightly towel it are right.


35 posted on 09/22/2013 8:48:23 AM PDT by freedumb2003 (In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. (Yogi Berra))
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To: jagusafr
Anything I need to know as I set about the task?

Yes, don't restore.

36 posted on 09/22/2013 9:13:33 AM PDT by MosesKnows (Love many, trust few, and always paddle your own canoe.)
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To: kingu
I'm a fan of water displacing lubricants rather than WD-40;

W(water)D(displacing)40 was designed as a water displacing lubricant. As I have rather pointedly indicated the WD stands for water displacing. I know that the original formula did leave a yellow film(discovered this on my firearms back in the day)but the new formula is supposed to be better.

37 posted on 09/22/2013 11:54:51 AM PDT by calex59
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To: shibumi
(That’s what I call my extra weight and greying hair. My Patina.)

LOL.

Muh muh muh my Patina! (my Sharona melody)

38 posted on 09/22/2013 12:02:02 PM PDT by Drawsing
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