Restoring Vintage CS Osborne Round Knife

[bruce johnson]

Personally I would run from the knife. If I got it in a set of tools, I would drop it in the garbage again without a second thought. The deep pitting in that knife is at least halfway through and the rugged edge tells me everything I need to know that it will never restore to be usable and a wasted effort. Sorry to bust your bubble but that's how I see it. There are too many knives in way better condition that would be more worthwhile than this one.

[MarshalWill]

Thanks for the photo. Yeah, the pitting is rough. There are some pits that really look deep. I'd take Bruce's advice on this. He's seen a lot of them in his time.

[Mablung]

7 hours ago, bruce johnson said:

Personally I would run from the knife. If I got it in a set of tools, I would drop it in the garbage again without a second thought. The deep pitting in that knife is at least halfway through and the rugged edge tells me everything I need to know that it will never restore to be usable and a wasted effort. Sorry to bust your bubble but that's how I see it. There are too many knives in way better condition that would be more worthwhile than this one.

That bubble sounds like it needed to be burst. Thanks for the advice, and I’ll run from that one. I was having a tough time judging how deep the pitting is. That’s much too deep for that knife to be much good. 

[Mablung]

I made on offer on another one that is in much better condition, with only very minor rust damage and a very clean edge. Figure I can fix any issues with an edge like that more easily. 

[billybopp]

Keep the handle, maybe!  

- Bill

[Mablung]

2 minutes ago, billybopp said:

Keep the handle, maybe!  

- Bill

Ha, the handle at least is in good shape, that is true.

Got the offer accepted on the other one, so we'll see how that one does, once it arrives.  Looking forward to dialing in the edge.

[MarshalWill]

Congrats on the purchase of the other one. Is it an older Osborne?

[Mablung]

22 minutes ago, MarshalWill said:

Congrats on the purchase of the other one. Is it an older Osborne?

It is. Pic attached. Stamped “Newark,”

so while I’m not sure of its age exactly, I’m fairly confident it’s an older one, based on my research on here. It’s on the larger end, but I don’t think I’ll necessarily mind that. 

[MarshalWill]

That's a much better looking one. It should do you well.

[Mablung]

Got the new-to-me Osborne. It’s large, but I think I’ll be able to maneuver it well (I have large-ish, “extra-medium” hands). Blade rings like a bell and has a decent bevel at places. Unsurprisingly, I need to reset the secondary bevel near the points, but otherwise it just needs some honing and plenty of polishing. It’ll take me a while to get it up to snuff, but I’m quite optimistic. I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s capable of. 

Edited February 15, 2024 by Mablung