Anyone know of a good knife restorer?

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Jackal

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Here's the story: My grandfather passed away about 10 years ago and from his estate I received his hunting knife. It was purchased for him by a friend in Alaska, for whom he was dog sitting for (I even have letters they wrote in poem form that reference knife and dog, very cool). Its a M. W. Seguine handled with a piece of Caribou the friend had taken while hunting. I'm looking for a good fellow to possibly tighten the loose brass, clean it and remove the oxidized/green thats spread from the brass into the handle. I dont know how the handle is attached.

My grandmother passed about a month ago and all I requested from her estate was her vintage/well used Forgecraft kitchen knife she used almost every day. This one needs the handles replaced (they spent too much time in the sink:(, I think a set of rosewood colored grip panels would be nice) and a thorough cleaning. Also, the blade has a chip near the tip that could likely be re ground.

So, does anyone know of a good person for the job? This his and hers set is all I have left of them, obviously very sentimental. I am looking to have this done for a reasonable price, though I admittedly dont know much about knives or how much minor restorations generally cost. I just dont want to have to sell a kidney to have these fixed :).
 

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I could do the Forgecraft no problem.

Loose brass guard on the hunter is probably caused by the antler shrinking as it lost moisture over the years with the guard mostly likely being unsoldered and held in place by the antler.
Is there a finish of any kind on the antler?
 
I rubbed the antler down with mineral oil. It was dry before that, no finish. I think it may be epoxied on, but I dont know how Seguine did it. The handle is tight, the brass is loose up/down, forth/back and side/side. Your correct, it is unsoldered. Its also filthy underneath. I suppose it doesnt hurt anything, its just annoying to have something loose on such a great knife.

What kind of material would you suggest for the Forgecraft handle? I find I use the knife more than my others due to the darn near razor edge it takes.
 
I suppose it doesnt hurt anything, its just annoying to have something loose on such a great knife.
Well, it is a gap and a bad place for corrosion accelerating moisture to collect. The guard should probably be stabilized by injecting some epoxy around the gap after taping it off. Depending on how big the gap is it might not even be noticeable.

The discoloration is just a matter of light sanding and refinishing. Probably. ;)




What kind of material would you suggest for the Forgecraft handle? I find I use the knife more than my others due to the darn near razor edge it takes.

Since it is going to be a user, I'd go with canvas micarta (of whatever color appeals to you) with maybe a 45 grit finish and brass pins.
 
Unfortunately the guy I know that could fix both died just before 9/11.
Thats too bad, seems like all the old timers are moving on this year.

Since it is going to be a user, I'd go with canvas micarta (of whatever color appeals to you) with maybe a 45 grit finish and brass pins.

How much would a rehandle cost with red or dark red scales? I'd personally prefer black for aesthetics, but grandma's nickname was "Red", so red scales seem fitting. Maybe something that roughly looks like these?
 

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Here's a thread from 2008 with Larry (Merle's son) Seguine's participation. Merle supposedly died in 1978
http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/printpost.php?tid/836658/

Shrunk stag can sometimes be expanded by immersion in mineral oil, but then there's the risk of cracking.

Here's a link to someone that deals in them. http://www.northernknives.com/merle_seguine_archive.php

I hope you can get it back to a snug fit. If it had the gut hook, Seguine was rumored to have created what we call a gut hook, it would be worth investing quite a bit to get restored beyond the sentimental value of it.
 
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Thanks for the info HSO. I guess its a rare pattern for a Seguine, with the customer supplied handle and no pommel. The finger grooves were marked out by my grandfathers friend to specifically fit his (grandfathers) hand. Not surprisingly, it fits mine very well too. The knife has skinned, gutted hundreds of animals. Everything from black bear, cougar, coyote, deer, elk, etc. Basically, if it lives in the Northwest, this knife has cut it.:)
 
Sam,

Looks like he used some sort of early stabilization technique that was supposed to have been more penetrating than a coating.
 
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