Vintage American Cutlery Co. Chicago slicer Refurb

Here's a vintage knife that came in for the full refurb. It's a c. 1879-1928 American Cutlery Co. Chicago slicer.



The owner asked that I fix the edge chips, correct the profile, & thin the blade while retaining the maker's mark (which was very lightly done). He also wanted a handle mounted too since apparently knives feel better in the hand with these things. He asked to maintain the full tang if at all possible, and supplied the wood.

The job went well except for the tang as it was just way too thin at the ass end (it was super tapered - the major problem here) and way too thick at the choil with many ups and downs in between. Even though I tried my best to save it I finally had to give up and grind it down. I then tried my best to replicate the feel and shape the tang but I sure do wish that I could have saved it none the less.

On the blade finish, I made a conscious decision to leave behind some of the original battle scars on both sides of the blade, sort of like leaving some history to it. It felt wrong to erase it's past completely.

BEFORE


AFTER





BEFORE


AFTER





BEFORE


AFTER















In the end this knife feels great in the hand and surprisingly the blade gets STUPID sharp so I'm sure that the owner will enjoy using it.

 

That is super sweet. Nice work Dave.

k.