Bone Cleaning help

6

67nick

Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Messages
1,217
One of the things I like most about collecting traditional folders is finding a tarnished gem that requires a little elbow grease to unveil it's true personality and beauty... This brings me to a nice little barlow I purchased a week ago. When I first found the knife it was suffering from some neglect and needed a serious cleaning. I knew that if I could remove the thin layer of dirt and grime I could really bring it back to life. Well, I've run into a little problem in my restoration process... How to clean bone scales. This particular knife has red sawbone scales that look to have been stained at the bottom either by dirt penetrating the pores of the bone or possibly moisture. So far the bolsters, blade, and liners have all cleaned up remarkably but the bone issue is something I've not dealt with before. I've looked up a few cleaning tips on the internet but I'm not sure what would be the best/smartest way to tackle the job. So I figured I'd consult the experts here at BF before I go any further. Take a look at the pics below and let me know what you guys think. If you don't feel like posting in the thread feel free to shoot me an email via my profile. :thumbup:

Thanks,
Nick

Scales001.jpg


Scales002.jpg
 
Howdy, I flipped a coin and it came up heads, so I am moving this to Maintenance. The same fellas who give such good advice in Traditional mostly also spend time in the Maintenance Forum. There are also folks who hang in Maintenance who don't often venture into Traditional.
 
I've heard hydrogen peroxide cleans bone, but perhaps that is that it bleaches horn and bone, so in your case I dunno. I'm gonna try this about a month from now, on some reindeer horn.
 
Thanks Stoffi, I really appreciate the info. Let me know how it goes.

From what I've found online, it seems like hot-soapy water and an old toothbrush might be the best remedy for my situation...
 
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The hot soapy water and a toothbrush are about as aggressive as I'd care to get with it, if I did it at all.

Frankly, I'd be satisfied with a tidied up blade, bolsters, back and liners, and leave any "staining" of the bone as "character"

It's not a "new" knife, it never will be. I think it looks fine. Give it some pocket love....
 
Just an idea.

The brand of this one looks like Cripple Creek ('CC' with the arrow)? At some time or another, I think many of these were made by Queen Cutlery (probably older models), and maybe GEC more recently (Great Eastern Cutlery). You might send each of them an email, and ask what they recommend for cleaning dyed bone. I'd imagine they've refurbished a few bone scales over the years, and they might have a suggestion or two about how to go about it.

I'd like to offer better advice, but at least maybe the folks who made the knife might be able to steer you in the right direction. Good luck. :)
 
AKC: I really appreciate your train of thought. I think I may go that route and build upon the character of the knife by carrying it on a daily basis. Originally, I had planned on adding this one to my EDC rotation.

Obsessed:Yes sir, it's a Cripple Creek. From what I've learned over at the traditional forum, these knives were made by Queen around 1994 back when the company was run by the the same gentleman that now runs GEC. Thanks for the advice, I may just send GEC an email.
 
I like the idea of keeping it as-is, and giving it some pocket time. You'll find the natural oils from your handling the knife will start to give the bone some different tone. And with handling, those marks may start to wear away.

I also sometimes use some mineral oil on bone handles. It will tend to darken out the bone a bit. On really old knives, I have seen the mineral oil bring back dried out bone scales.

Glenn
 
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