# American Cutlery Co. Chicago Refurb



## Dave Martell

Here's a vintage knife that came in for the full refurb. It's a c. 1879-1928 American Cutlery Co. Chicago slicer. 

The owner asked that I fix the edge chips, correct the profile, & thin the blade while retaining the maker's mark (which was very lightly done). He also wanted a handle mounted too since apparently knives feel better in the hand with these things. He asked to maintain the full tang if at all possible, and supplied the wood. 

The job went well except for the tang as it was just way too thin at the ass end (it was super tapered - the major problem here) and way too thick at the choil with many ups and downs in between. Even though I tried my best to save it I finally had to give up and grind it down.  I then tried my best to replicate the feel and shape the tang but I sure do wish that I could have saved it none the less. 

On the blade finish, I made a conscious decision to leave behind some of the original battle scars on both sides of the blade, sort of like leaving some history to it. It felt wrong to erase it's past completely.

In the end this knife feels great in the hand and surprisingly the blade gets STUPID sharp so I'm sure that the owner will enjoy using it. 

Here it is.....











Before






AFTER









Before






AFTER








Before






AFTER


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## tripleq

Super job Dave. Looks beautiful.


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## V1P

Dave, tell me, would it be easier to make a new knife or refurb this one?Lol.

Wow, amazing how you managed to bring this one back from the dead and in the end, it probably looked better than it was new.

Ferry


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## Chef Andy

Wow! Really nice. I really like the profile, never seen a profile like that.


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## El Pescador

Good to see your work Dave! As usual you set the standards that other should aspire to!


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## unkajonet

Just beautiful, awesome work.


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## EdipisReks

looks great!


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## daddy yo yo

Very nice job, Dave! Well done! I am sure the owner will be very happy...


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## Dave Martell

V1P said:


> Dave, tell me, would it be easier to make a new knife or refurb this one?Lol.




Hahaha - yeah it might have been easier to make a new one from scratch. 


Thanks for all the kind words guys.


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## quantumcloud509

Dave, thats ridiculously beautiful.


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## brianh

Insane.


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## ecchef

:bliss:
What more can I say? Beyond all expectations, Dave!


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## Dave Martell

ecchef said:


> :bliss:
> What more can I say? Beyond all expectations, Dave!




I hope it works even better than it looks. Thanks for the opportunity to do this project Dave. :thumbsup:


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## rogue108

Dave your refurb work is stunning


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## NCMK

Beautiful work, bringing life again to an old knife......well done Dave!


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## ecchef

Messed up the polish this past weekend.


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## Dave Martell

I guess it's working OK for ya?


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