Buck 110 Bolster Scratches? - Happy to Join Buck Today

[Generalist]

Guessing, he keeps pulling them out to show people and they are getting microscratches each time. As other have said polish them out and move on, would be the easiest.

This seems most likely.

 

[Alberta Ed]

Any knife that is used will show some wear marks. I picked up few dings myself, come to think of it. Still mostly functional, though, same for my knives.

 

[XJ-linux]

Half the fun of a Buck knife is letting it get some character, and then cleaning it up again after. Great advice in this thread on playing with brass.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Half the fun of a Buck knife is letting it get some character, and then cleaning it up again after.

Absolutely, except I don't polish the brass back up.

 

[JTR357]

Brass bolsters can be both easy and fun in refinishing them to your preference. I have an older 4-dot finger-grooved Buck 112 that originally came with scuffed & dinged bolsters. See the 1st photo below.

I cleaned up those scuffs and dings using a progression of wet/dry sandpaper and following that with polishing - both using a Dremel with a cotton wheel and some green compound and then following that with some hand buffing using Simichrome polish. See the next 2 photos below.

After some time, I began to realize the high-polished finish tended to show fingerprints pretty obviously, so I used a green Scotch-Brite pad to give the brass a nice satin finish, which conceals fingerprints very well. See the next 2 photos below, taken immediately after I did that.

Since then, the bolsters have acquired a nice patina over the satin finish, which still looks very good. I've now come to the realization that, if the bolsters get scuffed again, the green Scotch-Brite pad is my easiest and favorite method to clean them up.

Those middle pics almost look like a highly polished nickel silver bolster. Quick question if I may piggyback on this thread. Does nickel silver scratch up as easily as brass?

 

[XJ-linux]

Absolutely, except I don't polish the brass back up.

Me too. Actually, I went with the best of both worlds - I have some that stay with patina, mainly my 70's & 80's Buck folders, and the newer stuff I generally Flitz up when I'm cleaning shotguns or something stinky in the shop.

 

[Hickory n steel]

View attachment 3102113

Me too. Actually, I went with the best of both worlds - I have some that stay with patina, mainly my 70's & 80's Buck folders, and the newer stuff I generally Flitz up when I'm cleaning shotguns or something stinky in the shop.

I'll sometimes buff the brass on my jeans to remove that buildup on the surface and to shine the edges for a bit of contrast, but otherwise I just leave them.
I was absolutely amazed at how beautiful my 110 looked when I opened the box and unwrapped the foam padding off of it, but then I spent the next week coon fingering it and constantly wiping the brass off with my T shirt afraid to even use it.

Polished brass looks great in it's own right, but I do prefer patina.
I will polish up the brass on a gently used Buck I receive so I can start fresh and watch my own patina develop, but that's it for me.

 

[texpat]

This whole thread made me pull out the Simichrome and a soft cloth last night, I have some VERY shiny Buck knives today.

 

[jmh33]

This whole thread made me pull out the Simichrome and a soft cloth last night, I have some VERY shiny Buck knives today.

If it dont shine..
It aint Mine!!!
John

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Those middle pics almost look like a highly polished nickel silver bolster. Quick question if I may piggyback on this thread. Does nickel silver scratch up as easily as brass?

Not quite as easily as brass. It's a bit harder. But NS is still prone to scuffs & scratches. I have a Buck 111 folder with the nickel silver frame, and I gave it the Scotch-Brite treatment for the same reason as I did for the brass-framed 112 in my photos, to conceal fingerprints. The Scotch-Brite pad works just as easily on the NS as with the brass, BTW.