Restoration of Rusty Arkansas Toothpick - Iconic American Knife

Restoration of Rusty Arkansas Toothpick - Iconic American Knife. Hi today I restoring an Arkansas Toothpick. It is a famous and iconic knife from the United States. I managed to acquire this item at a flea market. Of course, I understand that this knife dates back to the 20th century, but I was attracted by its beautiful design, despite its poor condition, as well as the shape and geometry of the blade.

I bought this item and will try to restore it as carefully as possible. Let's begin. First of all, I disassembled the knife because the handle was completely rotten, covered with dirt, and had a rather unusual appearance. Then I removed the guard and placed it in a solvent, as it was covered with grease and various contaminants.

I first cleaned the blade from surface dirt and placed it in a citric acid solution. After several hours, I removed the blade, neutralized the effect of the acid using baking soda and warm water, and then moved on to polishing. At first, I started working on the blade with old sandpaper, but it turned out that the surface had very deep scratches. Perhaps the blade had once been sharpened on a very coarse stone, so I had to use softer abrasive stones to level the surface first.

Only after that did I continue working with sandpaper. After finishing the sanding process, I used polishing compounds and fine-grit sandpaper. Finally, using a felt wheel, I polished the blade.

At this point, the blade treatment was complete. After that, I coated it with oil. Now let's move on to the guard. Here, everything was much easier. The solvent removed the grease stains and various deposits. Then, using salt, regular soap and tooth powder. Then I cleaned the surface of the brass guard and lightly treated it with old sandpaper.

After that, I started making a new handle. I used dry walnut wood and shaped the rough form on a wood lathe. Then I drilled a through hole. I also have a brass pommel for a knife that I had once purchased at a flea market. I decided to use it because it matched the thread and, of course, the size. Next, using a file, sandpaper, and a cutter, I start to shaping the handle into the form I need.

After that, I cut two leather washers to place between the guard and the pommel and glued all the parts together using epoxy resin. After the initial preparation, I tightened the nut securely and left the construction to dry for 24 hours.

When the handle was completely dry, I gave it the final treatment with fine-grit sandpaper, then treated it with wax and oil. After that, I moved on to making the sheath. I made the sheath from leather and treated it with grease. And, as usual, I performed a small test.

I would like to point out that this steel has such high hardness that I was not able to fully sharpen it. Unfortunately, I simply did not have the proper stones that could effectively work with this type of steel. Therefore, I decided to leave the blade in its current condition.

If you would like to purchase my restored items, please contact me through my social media — Instagram and Facebook. The links are in the video description and on the main page of my channel.
Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely, Alex. Thanks for attention!
Good luck and health to everyone! With best wishes, Alex!
#screwsandtools #knife #restoration