Last week I finished up cleaning a David R. Burton 8in drawknife. I own several drawknives but they either need replacement handles, or handles need to be tightened up on the tangs. This one was in the best condition out of the bunch and needed the least amount of work.
I never try to bring the tool back to 100% brand new shiny, the tool loses its history when someone does that. I only try to knock off the years of neglect, only removing what is necessary for the tool to perform as it should. Stains, bits of black rust, minor pitting, minor cracks in the wood all give the tool character. If I wanted something bright and shiny I would simply buy a new tool.
Unfortunately there are no before pictures, I need to quit forgetting to do before shots. The overall condition was ok, just several years of neglect sitting in a barn. The whole thing was covered in dust and grime. The steel was only lightly rusted, very little pitting. I used loctite naval jelly on the steel to remove most of the rust. The ferrules and end caps were sanded with 220 until most of crud was removed. The handles were scrapped to remove the old varnish and paint, then sanded to 220 grit paper. The handles were finished with four coats of tung oil finish with two coats of Johnson's paste wax.
I only need to remove the nicks out of the blade's edge and run it through the process of sharpening. Also need to make a leather mask for it.
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