Restoration of an Antique Assassin’s Dagger That Shocked Me!

Video Description

Hi. Today restoration of assassin's knife. I was shocked when I found this 19th-century assassin’s knife. It’s truly a rare piece. In all the years I’ve been working with antiques, I’ve never come across a knife like this. Judging by its condition, it dates back to the early 19th century. The materials are forged steel, copper rivets, and buffalo horn. Now, as for the condition — it’s poor. There’s a small crack in the handle, deep rust, and of course, the sheath is missing. But I’m going to fix all of that. And of course, there will be many surprises along the way. First, I cleaned the blade from a thick layer of rust using a fine knife and a brush. Then I filed off the copper rivets. But while I was removing the handle scale, it cracked. That’s natural, because the horn is over 150 years old and has dried out — so it split. But that’s okay. After disassembling the handle, I placed the blade in a rust remover and carefully started cleaning the handle scales. I cleaned the scales with a thin knife — removing the rust that had stuck to the inside. Then I used a wire brush, some liquid soap, and napkins. After all the technical steps, I applied linseed oil for preservation. The broken part I glued back after degreasing the surface. Then I left it for 24 hours to dry. While the handle was drying, I began sanding the blade. After removing the rust, it turned out that the tip wasn’t just chipped — it was completely rotten. I realized it would break off sooner or later. And during hand sanding, when I was trying to even out the finish and remove burrs, about 2 centimeters of the tip broke off. It simply crumbled, because the rust had eaten away the steel. There’s no point in welding a new tip — the temper would be ruined. So I just reshaped the blade and left it as it is. After that, I moved on to attaching the handle back to the knife. While I was trying to rivet the handle, the horn scale cracked again. This time, I decided to take a different approach. I used epoxy resin, glued everything back together, and made wooden pins. I inserted them into the holes. After it dried, I processed the handle and did a traditional mounting — I took small steel nails, cut them down, and hammered them in from both sides. That caused the wood to expand inside, which will help hold the handle securely. Plus, the epoxy adds strength. Then I started making the sheath. I used dry linden wood and covered it with genuine leather. I had some nickel silver fittings for the sheath with primitive decorations. I soldered the necessary parts and attached them to the scabbard. As usual, I did a small test for you. As for the knife itself — it’s not convenient for cutting or carving wood. I didn’t sharpen it to a razor edge, because I don’t need that. Still, I’m very satisfied with this restoration. It was an interesting project. And most importantly, this is the first time I’ve come across such a unique item — and I hope it won’t be the last. Thanks for watching. Make sure to share this video! Sincerely, Alex. Thanks for attention! Good luck and health to everyone! With best wishes, Alex! Please subscribe to my channel: @ScrewsAndTools 🍖 My New Cooking channel! @screwsandtoolscooking Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Screwsandtools Paypal: paypal.me/screwsandtools Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scresandtools/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/screwsandtools/ #screwsandtools #knife #restoration