Why restore it? Restoration often decreases “value,” and in any case the value of this weapon may have nothing to do with outward prettiness, and everything to do with what it will mean to your great-grandson.
I wouldn’t restore it at all.
Don’t you watch Pawn Stars, Storage Wars, hardcore Pawn or any of the other staged “reality” sjows that deal with this kid of thing?
NEVER restore old weapons — it DESTROYS them!!
Don’t mess with it.
fwiw, I’d leave it original.
If it still works, then keep it like it is.
It’s a weapon - not a lamp.
Do not “Restore it”. A light coat of good quality gun oil on metal surfaces, and possibly a light dressing of mink oil on the leather.
The sample shown here is in exceptional shape. The blade has not been sharpened. This condition is hard to find because these fighting knives were produced as utility tools.
http://www.quanonline.com/military/military_reference/fighting_knives/usmc_kabar.html
I wouldn’t mess with it at all.
You need to know don’t do a thing to it. Consult with an expert it may be of more value as is.
If you can deal with the unusual aroma, it's good stuff.
I’d leave it. I had my dad’s knife from WWII (UDT 12) and it was a bit rusty and the snap on the sheath broken. Sent it to my nephew who is a copter pilot in the Marines. He loved it as is.
Break Free CLP and a piece of a terrycloth towel. Spray on the blade and let it sit for a few hours, then spray on cloth and rub the blade to get as much of the rust off as possible. Wipe off excess and let it sit overnight then put back in sheath. I do not know what can be done to the sheath to keep it from deteriorating without destroying the value.
Any dings or wear on an old Ka-bar are honorable scars. It should wear them with pride.
Put in a shadow box.
It is there if you ever need it.
Let the leather conditioner soak the leather for a couple of hours prior to removal and wiping it. A beeswax compound applied to the leather after soaking will also rejuvenate the leather stacking. This is the process I used for cleaning Army saddles that were 160-180 years old.
Glad I kept mine..
Yes, do not restore. Just wipe off the above metal particles, rub in some gun oil, and display (don’t hide). Once a year rub in some more gun oil if needed, and enjoy the piece!
Don’t do it, is all you need to know. Keep it oiled and in a dry safe place. Leave the sheath off and keep it in a zip-lock with a dessicant pack.
Don’t do any “restoration” or “preservation” treatment till someone with some knowledge and experience in these knives has examined your knife. The steel won’t be hurt by gun oil and if there is active rust then some additional treatment to stop the rusting may be desirable. The leather portion is much more difficult to protect as the extent of wear and condition, plus the organic nature of leather fibers, must be considered before determining what to do. A lot of amateurs will look at a piece of leather, see that it is “dry”, and lather on soap or petroleum-based oil only to darken and weaken the leather fibers, permanently devaluing the item. A lot of amateurs will treat leather with “neatsfoot oil” (neats don’t have oily feet as far as I know-joke) because they think the leather was treated that way when it was in practical use. Your goal is to preserve condition, not put the knife to use in rain under battle conditions. I have a leather sheath dated 1918 that is dry, clean and in basically the same nice condition it was in when new. I have also seen WW2 leather items that were in new condition but have been oiled, greased, waxed, waterproofed and in general treated to death. They look awful and won’t last.
As a conservator and having read the literature, there is a lot of misinformation out there.
Good luck.
Don’t “restore” it. Don’t sharpen it unless you are a professional knife sharpener. Don’t use it. Put it in your safe with a document detailing its history and look at it from time to time.