Restoration of a 1967 Pilot’s Survival Knife

Video Description

Hi! Today, restoration of a rusty jet pilot knife - 1967 Camillus. This particular piece was gifted to me by my subscriber Mark Hall for a new restoration project. This knife was produced starting in the middle of the 20th century in the USA by the Camillus company. Its condition is average: there’s rust (some of it deep), damage to the cutting edge, the leather washers on the handle are missing, and the handle itself is dried out, since it's made entirely of leather. But no worries — all of this can be fixed. First, I cleaned off the surface rust. The pommel bears the stamp Camillus 1967, but it was heavily corroded. To disassemble the handle, I had to grind off the peened end of the tang. Taking the knife apart wasn't easy — over the decades, the rust had done its job. But after removing the corrosion, grinding off the peened part, and applying heat several times, I managed to disassemble the knife successfully. Next, I cleaned the blade using a soft brush, then began light hand sanding. I used a rotary tool for rough cleaning and sandpaper ranging from 120 to 500 grit. Then I adjusted the saw teeth on the spine of the blade using a metal file and a guide plate. After that, I gave the blade a light sharpening, as I might take it fishing. Then I moved on to cleaning the guard, washers, and pommel using sandpaper and files. Once that was done, I started crafting a new handle. Of course, I used natural leather. I cut the leather washers with a larger punch, marked the centers, and made holes for the tang. Using epoxy and a hammer, I assembled the washers onto the tang and peened the handle back into place. However, I made a small mistake — I installed the guard incorrectly. I had to remove the handle and do it all over again. That cost me quite a bit of time and effort. This time, I shaped the handle more comfortably on a wood lathe, gave it the desired profile, soaked it with beeswax, and stained it a dark color. I then reassembled the knife and peened the tang again. The next day, I started working on the sheath. That wasn’t easy, either. I tried to make it as close to the original as possible, including a leather pouch for a sharpening stone. It took me two days to complete the sheath. In the end, the restoration was a success, and I’m very pleased with the result. Thanks for watching! Please share this video. Sincerely, Alex. Thanks for attention! Good luck and health to everyone! With best wishes, Alex! Please subscribe to my channel: @ScrewsAndTools 🍖 My New Cooking channel! @screwsandtoolscooking Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Screwsandtools Paypal: paypal.me/screwsandtools Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scresandtools/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/screwsandtools/ #screwsandtools #knife #restoration