A noob looking into some penknives hoping for some help :)

[Grarea]

Hi there,
I am new here and hope it is ok to just launch in with some questions?
As I have gone about, I have occasionally come across some old penknives.
They have been popped into my 'penknife box' until I get the chance to have a fiddle.

I am going to try and tidy some of them up.
I shall probably keep a few and sell a few on Etsy.
I see that I can't ask for values, but I have a few other questions.
https://imgur.com/gallery/EghUxdq

1 Are there any here that i might spoil/devalue if i get it wrong?
(I am not expecting there to be any of great value, especially as they are pretty damaged. But i thought I had better check)
2 I am mostly interested in finding out how you find out about a knife. Is it just googling?
3 How do I confirm the handle material so I can work out how to treat it when cleaning.
eg, there are a couple that I thought were plastic, but have seen one similar that was horn How could I tell?
4 I am pretty sure some of them are bakelite. Is there a way to confirm this or is it just how they feel?
5 Number five and twenty one on the list. Sort of a standard handle that I recognise from my granddads era. But what is the handle made of please?
6 Number 18 on the list. To my unknowledgable eye, it looks like tortoiseshell. How do I know?
7 The white ones all seem like different material which I shall be looking into.
8 I also have a uk issue Thompson army folding knife that is covered in some sort of (probably building) product but that too is damaged. I think it is late twentieth century. It has CC 1286 Does that stand for carbon content? I have only had a quick look so far.
9 Number one on the list is disappointingly broken.
The bits of metal along the spine have snapped and so the blades are floppy and don't hold position.
Am I right in thinking that (because these have a middle pin), the metal acts as a resistance but needs to move. Meaning the only way to repair would be to remove central pin and cut new and replace the metal parts completely. (Pretty sure it is not something I can do. (But never say never eh?))

I also have another knife which is a fixed blade with a couple of tools in the handle which I quite like.
Not sure what you would call it. It has a saw blade and a slightly curved blade that both fold into the handle. It is a Leegebruch.

Then I was just going to look into general cleaning advice online.
I am thinking wet/dry and wire wool, a brass brush (which I think I have).
Someone else mentioned I should use white vinegar, which I thought might damage the handle material.

Hmmm, I hope it is ok to put in such a long list of questions right off the bat?
Look forward to any input, thanks.

 

[dsutton24]

Welcome! You're asking a lot, I'll hit a few of your points.

A pen knife is a specific type of pocket knife. What you have there is a collection of pocket knives.

Learning about knives is an interesting question. I originally learned from a book called Levine's Guide to Knives & Their Values. Look for edition 4 or earlier. The internet can be helpful, and it can be annoying. Like anything else, you have to figure out what's good information and what is nonsense.

Bernard Levine has a sub forum here. That would be a good place to ask some specific questions. Try not to bombard them with too much at once.

Cleaning is just a matter of soap and water. Wipe them dry, and oil the joints and other metal parts. You can use anything from mineral oil to light machine oil. Oils won't harm any of your handles.

If you're thinking about trying to restore anything to new or pretty condition, you won't be able to do it, and you're not going to gain anything monetarily or otherwise. Removing metal to clean up abuse, bad storage or signs of use always devalues a knife. Do it wrong and you'll ruin the blade for cutting and edge holding.I'm not trying to be demeaning when I say this, but anything an amateur can do to a knife will devalue it, and will almost certainly be really obvious.

Nothing you have there looks like it has any significant value. My advise would be just to enjoy them. Pocket knives are tools, and their history sometimes tells an interesting story.

 

[Grarea]

Thank you for your reply.
Yes, I realise I was asking a lot.
I wasn't really sure where to start, so I thought I would throw it all in there and see where I was at from any responses.
Thanks, I didn't think there was anything of particular value or interest, but I thought I had better check before I start messing with anything.
I am pretty pleased actually, it frees me to play.
I have no intention of trying to make them something that they are not.
I would like to remove the rust though and make them usable.
I quite like that they have been well used. Like you say, tells a story.
I think the one that may end up in my pocket is the beaten up/dented metal Richards one with concrete on it. (I shall probably remove the concrete )

I best look into the definitions of knives to start with.