Advice needed on refurbing my Dads 55 year old scout knife - Nothing?

[presterjohn]

Many years ago my Dad gave me his knife from his time in the scouts. The sheath says made in England and I presume the knife itself is too Possibly a Rodgers or similar perhaps? The thing is I would like to give it a gentle restoration nothing to dramatic but the leather has my initials scratched in it (as are my Dads) and it is generally quite worn and the pommel is a little loose and dinged and I wonder if it has been used as a hammer at some stage. Apart from that it just needs sharpening and a bit of a clean up.

This knife is almost identical apart from the blade looks a little longer on mine.

[parbajtor]

Does yours have the aluminium pommel or the earlier fibre one?
The fibre one has an oil hole to keep the leather supple and stop the tang from rusting.
Get some neatsfoot oil and give it a good soak over night. This will rehydrate the leather.
You might find that rehydrating will expand the leather slightly and take the looseness out of the fit.
Once rehydrated, treat with some waterproofing/sealant.

PS. Checked the leather spacers first because if they're split you'll pretty much have to replace the handle.

[presterjohn]

Thanks for the tips. The pommel is indeed aluminium (and a tad loose) the leather apart from the checker pattern being worn to almost nothing is in pretty good condition and not cut or badly damaged. Would I be wise to wet and dry the metal bits until they are shiny before doing this, after doing it or perhaps even not at all? Should I soak the sheath well I am at it?

Ta

[parbajtor]

If the sheath is wet formed or tooled, then definitely no. The problem with soaking in neatsfoot is that you tend to lose the stiffness. With the stacked leather spacers in the handle, the rigidity comes from them being in compression. Soaking helps the spacers swell abit. With a sheath, you're relying on the natural stiffness to give the sheath form. If you soak it it would become floppy. You be better off giving it a few wipes with an oil soaked rag. Condition the surface but leave the inherent stiffness in the core.

[presterjohn]

Thanks. I appreciate the advice.