Advice on restoring an old leather sheath knife?

[theman101]

Hey guys,
My dad just handed me down an old Western sheath knife of his. It's in pretty messed up condition: the handle is covered in white stains, the brass has some light corrosion, and there's black crud all over the blade, but it should be all salvageable. I'd really like to get this thing looking great again, any ideas on where to start? I've found lots of resources on how to condition the leather, ect, but first I have to clean it. Advice? Pics here: http://imgur.com/a/fmufk

 

[OHALLUM]

Take a Mr. Clean magic eraser to the handle of the knife and scrub the gunk off. The blade will need some fine steel wool to get most of the "patina" of of it if you want it cleaned. You can get some Glitz to help get some of the shine back on the blade. When you get the handle cleaned up, you can put some light oil such as wd-40 to help bring back some of its shine. Don't put it back in the sheath to store it. The leather sheath is what caused the damage to it probably. Store it out of the sheath when storing it for any length of time. Nice Buck knife there by the way!

Blessings,

Omar

 

[gadgetgeek]

I would avoid the mr clean eraser, if you haven't started yet, and use something safer for leather. I'd go with a glycerine soap, saddle soap or very gentle hand soap. Also find yourself some neatsfoot oil to treat the sheath and the handle.

 

[cschol]

I would avoid the mr clean eraser, if you haven't started yet, and use something safer for leather. I'd go with a glycerine soap, saddle soap or very gentle hand soap. Also find yourself some neatsfoot oil to treat the sheath and the handle.

Agreed. Especially the Neatsfoot oil, its good stuff soaks in deep.