Das Messer ist nahezu fertig.
Die Klinge ist jetzt nachgeschliffen mit grit 800 SiC Schleifpapier und etwas WD40.
Die neue Convexschneide (apex +/- 30 Grad inklusiv) muss spater noch entgratet werden, und danach bekommt die Scheide noch etwas Granger's Lederwax.
Originally the blade used to be full convex ground, but sometime during it's existence a previous owner had sharpened a bit of a rough secundairy bevel into it.
So i reground the blade by hand to full convex again on 400 grit wet & dry using WD40 oil as a lubricant on a medium hard rubber backing (old piece of fiber reinforced conveyor belt)
The old blunt "edge" measured between 35 and 40 degrees inclusive, while the new edge apex fits almost exactly in the (specifically aimed for) 30 degrees inclusive slot of my Tormek WM200 Angle Master.
I do consider this a bit on the conservative side, as i think the steel can most likely handle a thinner edge geometry just fine, but for now i want to play it safe with this rare & valuable knife (to me anyway)
If need be further thinning can always be done later.
There is still a tiny burr on the apex, next step will be to refine the scratch pattern with probably 800 grit wet & dry.
After that the plan is to recut the swedge with a small diamond file followed by wet & dry paper & some WD40.
The handle has already been smooth sanded with 400 grit wet & dry and treated with several coats of warm Granger's wax.
Das Messer ist noch nicht ganz fertig; ich muss die Klinge noch ein Schritt feiner nachschleifen mit Kornung 800 Schleifpapier und etwas WD40.
Aber es ist mir gerade etwas zu Kalt draussen (fur meine Hande)
The owner of this Wade & Butcher Boone knife also seems quite happy with the edge holding of his knife:
Der Griff wieder zusammen gebaut, mit etwas polierter Fingerschutz und die Leder- und Fiberscheiben verleimt:
Die Oberflache mit verschiedenes Schleifleinen egalisiert, mehrfach mit Granger's wax & Haartrockner behandelt, danach der Knopf etwas poliert mit Filzscheibe auf der Maschine:
Und so sieht das Messer jetzt aus:
This Pathe footage from 1949 shows the actual making of the crucibles and how they were used to produce cast steel:
https://www.britishpathe.com/v…ade-steel/query/foundries
The first reaction below almost the same footage on YouTube (but without sound) reads this:
"George Goodwin, puddling clay for the making of pots for melting crucible steel, looks like the old Benjamin Huntsman works on Coleridge Rd.
I started work there in 1968 as a lad in the forge, George by then was much older and working in the warehouse, he told us lads of these days making pots, and was still a very fit and muscular guy, bulging biceps for a pensioner a fantastic bloke.
A piece of Sheffield history here..... Bob."
Hi Thomas,
I think so too 
It might even be an idea to have a separate subforum for vintage knives here.
Take care in China,
Robert
Currently i'm doing a bit of online research on what kind of steel was used in these knives, and according to this old ad the Boone blades were made from (the famous) Wardlow steel.
Then i found these posts from 2017 on a forum:
Question: "What type of knife was used by Camillus in the early years, was it 1095 ?
I have a stockman made between 1920 and 1930, use it every day for carving, sharpest pocket knife I every had.
I am 64 years old this steel beats them all."
Answer: "Camillus forged their blades from Wardlow's best crucible steel from Sheffield England."
Reply: "All I know this blade steel is great, I carve 4 to 6 hours a day, sometime just strop and keep cutting.
My new pocket knives will not do this no matter the brand."
And from Bladeforums: "The S. & C. Wardlow steel that Camillus imported from Sheffield, England, was derived from about 80 percent pure Swedish iron ore; wide variation in heating did not injure it."
My most recent find is this Wade & Butcher "Boone" carbon steel hunting knife.
It was discovered together with several other vintage hunting knives in an old leather hunting bag from the 1930's somewhere in Amsterdam.
The steel has gotten a dark grey patina from being stored inside the sheath for decennia.
On the blade the letters "ILLWELL" are very faintly visible, and through Google i found that originally it spelled "GILLWELL", which is the 144 acre sight North of London given to the Scouts in 1919 and now the worlds historical site for scouts.
It seems that the change from "GILLWELL" to "GILWELL" took place when Baden Powell was made the first Baron Baden-Powell of Gilwell in 1929.
So in 1919, when the first Wood Badge course was held, it was Gillwell Park.
If the info from Google is correct that would date my knife to have been manufactured between 1919 and 1929, although the sheath is probably not original to the knife but most likely from Scandinavian origin.
What do you guys think ?
Hi Thomas,
I wouldn't go that far but at the very least it's a useable knife again.
Next step will be to find some good leather to make a better sheath for it, but that will have to wait until i've finished a couple of other knives.
On Pumahunter's website i also found this picture of an old Puma 6302 Fahrtenmesser, which is strikingly similar to my knife:
Und so sieht die Klinge im Moment aus, mit beide Seiten von Hand full convex nachgeschliffen auf nur 400 grit waterproof Schleifpapier mit WD40 auf mittelhartes rubber.
Es ist alles noch nicht gerade fertig, aber das kommt wenn den Griff wieder drauf ist.
Wenn did Randall change the stainless from 440B to ATS34/154CM ?
Angefangen mit der Klinge:
How the knife currently looks:
After removing all the edge damage and restoring the full convex blade shape with 400 and 800 grit wet & dry using WD40 oil as a lubricant on a semi-hard rubber backing.
Removed the tiny burr with some 1.0 micron diamond paste on hard cardboard, and the new edge angle is +/- 26 degrees inclusive.
It's apex will whittle a chesthair from root to tip, and was also tested by whittling an old piece of wooden cutting board, which it does just fine.
The swedge was recut using 2 diamond files.
(You can click 2x on each pic for a bit more detail)
A while ago i bought this what i think is a nice little knife, and although it looks quite a bit like the well known Woodcraft model it wasn't made by Marble's USA.
Now in 1916 Webster Marble received a patent on his Woodcraft knife which lasted around 20 years, but because the model became widely populair other manufacturers had similar models made outside the US to get around the patent, often in Solingen Germany.
The blade on my knife has no markings and the pommel doesn't have the mushroom shape like many Woodcraft models.
Based on this and the typical handle construction with 2 stag panels held together by brass rivets my best guess is that it's a Solingen made Woodcraft copy from the 1920's or 1930's or who knows ?
Later seems unlikely, first because of the war and after that various US manufacturers could make as many Woodcraft type knives in the US as the market could bear since the patent had already ran out.
The specimen i have is a well made knife with very hard steel (noticeably harder than my F.Dick basterd file no.1), and i'm currently in the process of making it functional again.
It definitely has had a hard life with many sharpening attempts, and somewhere in time a previous owner even used the pommel as a hammer, which dented it quite badly and also got it stuck on the threaded tang.
This is how i received the knife:
On YouTube i found this clip by German collector Jake vd Ibach where he shows a Fahrtenmesser made by Solingen manufacturer Carl Friedrich Ern, and based on the type and sequence, type and color of the spacers as well as the shape of the pommel on his knife i'm starting to think that my knife was also made by CF Ern.
What do you guys think ?
Griff demontiert.
Gebrauchte Tools: modifiziertes Swiss Made PB flachkopf Schraubendreher, ein Skalpellmesser mit uberpolierter Schneide (stumpf mit Absicht), und der Flachkopfschraubendreher in mein altes Amefa Armeemesser.
Heute angekommen bei mir in die Niederlande dieses vintage Puma 8101 Texas Bill Wurf & Fahrtenmesser, Eigentum eines Deutsches TF-Mitglied.
Mal sehen ob etwas TLC das Messer gut bekommen wird.
Ich vermute das die Text "Adjustiert" zusammen mit ein Adler (?) auf das kleine Knopchen etwas mit dem Drittes Reich zu tun hat, aber vielleicht weiss einer von euch mehr davon ?
Muss es eine Maschine sein oder darf es auch ein manuelles Gerat sein ?
Um was fur Messer geht es ?
