SA Dagger Restoration

[cevensky]

Just bought this diamond in the (very) rough off of the E-stand.
Got very excited, so I had to start in on my third restoration, and I hope you all enjoy it.
I'll post lots of pictures to assure everyone who may be a bit skeptical of restorations that I am not damaging anything that isn't already damaged, only bettering it and prolonging the life of the piece.
I have mostly finished with the blade, I have figured out how to very precisely restore the motto on these daggers, hit me up if you need this done.. I know a guy
I will have to figure out how to cut wood and stain and varnish it to match the grip as closely as possible because I'm too cheap to buy a new grip.
For now I'll post these photos of before and two of after the blade work.
Enjoy!
-more to come

[cevensky]

Here's a little preview of the wood working.
the small pieces are done, but the large piece which holds the roundel will be quite the challenge.
I also would like to know your opinions on whether or not I should clean the scabbard fittings, they're in a pretty bad way as you can see.

[whizkid]

The scabbard fittings, being RZM, are plated and if you try to clean them it would remove the remaining plating in my opinion. This dagger is rough as a cob and I would not spend a lot of time on it. Buy an early nickel silver maker marked one and it will never get the way this one is. The blade motto looks too dark to be the same age as the blade, which is not going to look much better either due to the cheaper materials used in RZM years.

Tony

[cevensky]

Thanks for the opinion Tony.
If I had the money to buy a nice dagger, we wouldn't be here, now would we?
Beside that it's a lot of fun for me and it prolongs the life of the dagger.
About 90% of the plating had been lost from the grip guards and it had tarnished to some awful grey and the remaining plating was spotty, so I elected to remove it and I was able to polish them to a near-mirror finish.
I understand restored items aren't for everyone, but it's better than letting a piece of history rot away in my opinion.
I'll be trying staining tomorrow!

[Thomas Bendixen]

I just can't wait to see it finished! Good luck with the project and keep us updated. Just a thought, is there some color code that matches the original brown scabbard color exactly?

Kr. Thomas

[Ralph P]

Thanks for starting this thread and I will be interested in seeing your restoration process.

[cevensky]

Thanks Thomas and Ralph! I really enjoy doing these, but it makes it better and the final out one more worth it when others are interested.
Thomas- I'm not sure if you meant the grip, but either way I think the answer is no.
The scabbard is pretty good, so I won't mess with it other than maybe to remove the plating.
As for a color code, it'll be trial and error with extra wood until I get it.

[HAF]

very nice work so far,will be happy to see the final result

[dasboot2011]

Good luck, and like most I'm eager to see the outcome.

[cevensky]

SA Dagger Restoration

I had to stop tonight for sleep and to let things dry but here's a sneak peek of what will hopefully be a near finished product tomorrow!
Thanks again for the encouragement!

[Thomas Bendixen]

Great work so far!

Kr. Thomas

[cevensky]

SA Dagger Restoration

Well it's done... but my internet is down.
So I'll post a couple of pictures from my phone and put up the rest tomorrow.
I think I did pretty good for a total of $224.94 spent on absolutely everything, including a $60 tool set I can use for other things. For the dagger I spent around $150-170
Let me know your thoughts. I may sell it eventually if anyone would want it.. but then again I put a lot of work into it!
I'll also add that it looks better in hand... Lighting does weird things.

[schönbeck]

you need to sand down the replaced parts in the handle much better. I'm pretty sure it could be almost invincible.

[dasboot2011]

you need to sand down the replaced parts in the handle much better. I'm pretty sure it could be almost invincible.

I agree, with a smooth even surface it should be perfect

[cevensky]

I think the wood shifts slightly each time I tighten the screw. It stays fine on the front and on the side of the grip closest to the blade, but the top seems to buckle a little and become uneven. I sanded it to be even twice now.
I'll give it some time to adjust. I hate the delay!