cleaning anold bayonet

Mike k

Active Member
Hi, any ideas on how to restore a leather washer handle, specifically it is a pilot survival knife made by Camillus in the 60s. I would submit a picture but it is an ebay listing. also I have an old Spanish Mauser bayonet that I want to clean but how much rust do I dare remove. It is fairly light. and how do I keep it from getting worse
 
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What level of restoration ?
If you're leaving the knife intact :
*Tape off the butt cap and backside of the guard.
*Put on a light coat of water base polyurethane with your finger. (Don't soak it) Let dry.
*When dry, lightly sand with 220 AO around the handle. Silicon carbide will dirty up what you're sanding. Don't go lengthwise or you'll keep fuzzing up the washers.
* Repeat process every time you get past the poly with 320 AO and possibly 400 AO until you're into nice clean leather.
* Burnish handle with a smoothing tool going around the handle. I use a butter knife but any clean steel bar will do. A knife vise comes in handy here. Don't go nuts with this, just lay the fuzz down. These knives came with rough handle finish and unsealed.

If disassembling the knife you'll need to be aware of how it was assembled.
Some were peened through the butt cap with a pin, others are a blind hole with a pin going partially through the side. Very few were screw on. This could turn into a book, PM me if you need more detailed info.


The bayonet could probably use a soaking or three in kerosene. (not the handle unless it can be removed) Let it soak a day or two and wipe lengthwise with a white scotchbrite pad or 0000 steel wool. Once you get to the point where it looks like you may scratch the blade, start wiping lenghtwise with kero soaked leather scrap or brown paper bag . keep it wet with the kero. Each stroke will lift out particles of rust. Repeat as neccesary, the goal here is not to remove the original patina, munition markings or leave new scratches in the blade if possible. If you do damage the patina, wipe and blend the blade with ferric chloride or white vinegar and nuetralize with windex. It takes a bit of time.
 
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Hi, thanks for the information, I will keep it handy, I am not going to get the knife in question because it is to much for the condition it is in. But I am going to save your instructions because the fighting knives I am looking for are leather handled. I took anther look at the mauser bayonet, I think I got as much as I dare with out ruining it, not that is worth much anyway but it is history. could I post pictures here for advice even from a listing Thanks Mike
 
I'm gonna take a wild guess, but I believe lamp oil is refined kerosene. Give it a try with a long initial soak. I'm stuck on kero because in the late 60's and 70's we soaked everything in kero or gasoline for greasy parts, and it worked. I also use it in my jobsite heater. Most of the rust fell off in the soak, making for easy clean up. I'm sure there's alternatives that I'm unaware of.

Rudy
 
thanks, i ordered a pilots survival knife, the blade is a little rusty and the leather handle looks dry. I let you know how it works. Here is a picture of the bayonet I told you about, I didn't need to do much so i left it alonebayonet1.JPG Thanks Mike
 
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You'd be surprized at how much more rust the kero will lift out.
I'd go after the fullers with the edge of a soaked leather pad. Keep it wet and squeeze out the pad once in a while to get rid of the rust it's picking up.


Rudy
 
thanks I'll try that, is it alright to remove all the rust as long as you don't disturb the patina. What will kero do to wood. The pomel is steel but the scales are wood. On the pilots knife will the kero damage andonizing. I the listing pictures I can see significant areas or dark which looks the the original andonized surface Thanks Mike. I looked at your web site, you do some beautifull work. Those are the kind I like simple but functional. They are a work of art
 
Thanks Mike.

You don't want kero on the wood, it will keep leeching out over a loooong time and turn the wood darker. At least tape them off and do the pommel with whatever works without soaking it. I've never seen an anodized pilots knife, it's normally blued or parkerized if it's a true military knife. Kero won't hurt either one unless it can work it's way under the coating(?).
It' a good ubricant and rust remover because of it's viscosity, it gets into every nook and cranny. I wouldn't disturb the patina on any wood.

Rudy
 
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