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I also found an unfinished bowie knife for $2 - but it's a work in progress...... :mrgreen:
This blade has a very faint Colonial "anvil" stamp just forward of where the guard will go (bracketed by "Prov" & "USA"), and I've been inside the Providence (RI) Colonial factory many decades ago, in the late 1960's, when I was a business machine serviceman.
This blade isn't lightly etched with the "TUF-STAG..(deer head)....ULTRA HONED" - it's deeply stamped.
I've seen the fake stag (ugh ! ) before on Colonial & Imperial knives - one of the reasons I decided to go with black Micarta ILO real stag for grip scales, because of the possibility that future viewers of the finished knife would pooh-pooh the real stag, thinking it was imitation.
Soooo, as soon as I got back home, I ordered a brass cross-guard & a set of black micarta scales, and intended to polish the blade, then fit/finish the knife guard & scales.
I got the crossguard, black Micatra scales, & a pack of rivets that I ordered from the
CRAZY CROW TRADING POST for the yard sale bowie knife blade.
Today, I started the rehab by filing/fitting the crossguard to the tang via enlarging the pre-made slot in the guard so it slides onto the tang.
I also started polishing out the blade, and will permanently affix the guard when the polishing is done.
(below: before a slight polishing)
(below: after a slight polishing)
When the final polish & guard install is done, I'll start on the scales.
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