Restoration of an old knife
How to take care of your kitchen knives Read our tips in this blog post
Found a used, and well used, big chef's knife at the market! I think the selling price was 15 euros, so we fetched the lost sheep back to the flock. The knife was once made as a business gift, so it had a company logo engraved on the handle. We asked the grand old man himself what the age of the knife might be and he estimated it was from 2011, so at least 10 years old. Read here how the restoration of an old knife was done!
Original state
The knife had apparently been left unused for a very long time and had got wet at some point in its life. The surface of the blade was very patinated and rusty. The handle had small cracks and all the protective oil had long since worn off. The cutting surface was dull, so the next items on the work list were:
- Rust and patina removal
- Sharpening
- Grinding and handling of the handle
- Cleaning the knife
Rust removal
In restoration and renovation, it is always a good idea to start with a light solution in stages and only move on to harder methods when it is clear that light solutions cannot achieve the desired result.
In this case, the lightest was a dish brush and a generous amount of soap, if only to get the biggest dirt off at this stage. The dishbrush had little effect on the rust, so the next step was to try a coarse scouring pad and dishwashing detergent. The rust started to give way, but it was quicker to take out a good old Spade and start rocking.
The rust could be removed with soapy wool, so the end result was relatively easy to achieve.
Sharpening
The blade was not in terrible condition, so sharpening it was quite easy with our grindstone. This was one of the first things we checked on the knife, as restoring a broken or otherwise deteriorated blade would have required more attention. Knives and knives are often only hardened in the area above the cutting surface, not the whole blade, as this would make the whole blade brittle. If the blade is badly broken, it has to be re-grooved, which again risks not getting the blade well hardened in the hardened area and leaving it soft.
Grinding and handling of the handle
This is where the most work was done. The handle had to be sanded, if only to remove the old laser-cut logo. Knife in the vice and sandpaper out. The Abranet discs were a good choice for hand sanding, as they fit the hand well and easily shape the piece. And no, this is not a commercial collaboration.
At 120 grit, the necessary amount of material was removed and the logo was quickly thrown into the bush. At the same time, a clean surface of the wood was obtained. However, the humidity variations had caused some cracking at the end of the handle. The end of the handle was re-sanded on a belt sander to remove some of the length. However, the cracks were quite deep, so we tried a homemade putty - wood glue mixed with sawdust. The end result was pretty awful, though, as the sawdust would have had to be coloured to match the handle somehow, so the tape machine sang with the handle end for a while longer.
The cracks are not very dramatic, so they were mainly cosmetic. The handle was still firmly attached to the blade and didn't break, despite a small stress test.
The handle was oiled with linseed oil before fine sanding to ensure that the oil was absorbed deep into the wood. After the oil had dried, a knife was used on the vice and the handle was sanded with a 320 grit burr. Bear's wool is an extremely good finishing tool, as it is easy to handle, especially with handles, thanks to its good adaptability. After this, a final coat of linseed oil and the knife was ready to be washed.
Final cleaning
The compressed air got the grinding dust off the steel so a trip to the dishwasher was in order. The blade was washed by hand with dishwashing liquid and a dish brush. A final rinse with really hot water to get any bacterial strains that might have stuck along the way out like a fish out of water.
Let the result speak for itself. Would you dare to sell it almost new? You'll find a new one in our shop. Perhaps we'll leave this entrainer for our own use.

The text was written by Jouni, the other owner of Laatupuukko, who plays the nominal role of CEO.
"There was something to do on rainy days"