The Gun Counter

Stopped off at the pawn shop the other day and saw this old USMC Ka-Bar sitting on the shelf.
The guy said he had bought it from an old lady. Before I even made an offer for the knife the guy said I could have it for $15.
Boy did I have to think long and hard on that one.

Good deal!! The blade doesn't appear to be very worn. What are you going to use it for? They can take a lot of abuse and are decent for playing mumbletypeg or "stretch".

The blade looks like an acid etched blade at this point. I really like how they wear. Good score.

I'm cleaning it up, just removing the rust, and wax treating the leather stack handle.
Then it will have a place next to the my other Ka-Bars.

That is too cool, Candyman. I wonder what kind of stories it could tell.

The blade looks stained as much as rusted. How would you get that off? Or would you leave it as character?

Darrell wrote:That is too cool, Candyman. I wonder what kind of stories it could tell.

The blade looks stained as much as rusted. How would you get that off? Or would you leave it as character?

Looks like ordinary carbon steel patina to me. No need to get rid of it, and IMO you don't want to. The knife earned it and deserves it. It's character, speaks of experience.

I've had good luck forcing a patina with 1 part apple cider vinegar to 2 parts 9% white vinegar, brought to a simmer.

(Carbon steel will flavor food w.o. a patina - still can, even w. a patina, but it helps.)

Well the cleanup is done.
One thing that didn't show up in the pics was how dry the leather handel was. I Used an old methed of melting wax into the handel to waterproof it. I only lightly cleaned the metal because, I wanted to leave the patina on it.