Clean before selling or leave as is?

Gaither Stephens

Gaither Stephens

Joined
May 27, 2018
Messages
35
Is it better to clean knives before selling them or leave them in their original condition?

Thoughts are appreciated.
 
Leave them- please!
I guess it depends on the Knife, but I would rather buy a knife if uncleaned ALL DAY LONG rather a buffed up shiny older knife.

The only time I will buy a shiny old knife is if I would rather have the knife than not ( in it's now unfortunate shiny condition ) - and then I dont want to pay anything near what it's worth if untouched and "Real" - if the knife is uncleaned it's far more attractive and also - its an Honest Knife then - once you clean it- it is not an honest Knife.

Charlie Campagna said this one day......." by buffing and resurfacing a knife- you take away all the history of the use that knife and of all the previous Owners, also most importantly - the Makers touch to that knife".

So True!

So when you see it like that- what a shame to do that to a knife!
Unless you are to keep the knife and have bought the knife to clean up and use, other wise anyone who knows a small percentage about Knives - flinch and cringe when seeing a old Knife that has been cleaned.

Also can I say it? by cleaning the Knife you are trying to deceive the prospective Buyer that the Knife is better than what it is - Sorry to sound Harsh.
 
Are you talking about shining up an old knife, or just literally cleaning one that's simply dirty ?

It's always best to leave an old knife in it's old condition and let the buyer decide what to do with it.
Btw an old knife with patina and character is not a dirty knife so shining it up is not cleaning it in any way at all.

For a dirty knife a flush / scrub with hot soapy water and thorough drying is good and safe.

It's my opinion that old carbon steel should never be shined up.
from a hammer to a knife and everything in between, if you want new and shiny looking buy new and shiny.
In most cases you can always tell an old item has been shined up, so you've got a tool with all it's history wiped out that doesn't even look like a new knife anyways.
 
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Campbellclanman said:
Leave them- please!
I guess it depends on the Knife, but I would rather buy a knife if uncleaned ALL DAY LONG rather a buffed up shiny older knife.

The only time I will buy a shiny old knife is if I would rather have the knife than not ( in it's now unfortunate shiny condition ) - and then I dont want to pay anything near what it's worth if untouched and "Real" - if the knife is uncleaned it's far more attractive and also - its an Honest Knife then - once you clean it- it is not an honest Knife.

Charlie Campagna said this one day......." by buffing and resurfacing a knife- you take away all the history of the use that knife and of all the previous Owners, also most importantly - the Makers touch to that knife".

So True!

So when you see it like that- what a shame to do that to a knife!
Unless you are to keep the knife and have bought the knife to clean up and use, other wise anyone who knows a small percentage about Knives - flinch and cringe when seeing a old Knife that has been cleaned.

Also can I say it? by cleaning the Knife you are trying to deceive the prospective Buyer that the Knife is better than what it is - Sorry to sound Harsh.
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You hit the nail on the head.
 
These knives are at least 40 years old and have been sitting in boxes in my attic. I plan to sell them soon but I can definitely tell they have not been properly cared for and it shows. While I do have a pocket knife or two that I use on a regular basis, I am a complete amateur when it comes to cleaning and properly caring for something like the knives in this collection.

I really appreciate your input and at this time do not plan on cleaning the knives or touching them up in any way.

My plan right now is to get a good set of pictures and get a gold membership on this site in order to sell them properly. I just want to make sure I don't make any missteps along the way.
 
A good cleaning is fine.
It won't hurt the sale to get the lint and dirt off it.
Oil the joints and get it working.
Take very good pictures.
After that grease or oil the blades for shipment, so no further damage happens.

It best not to try and polish it back to new. It usually just winds up looking like you are hiding something.
 
Just take some good, clear, focused, and high resolution photos. Nothing else necessary to sell them.

As Duncan said, definitely don't resurface them by buffing, sanding or polishing. Often "cleaning" is used as a euphemism for resurfacing. It's a no no. In addition to destroying the original craftsmanship, it can make an authentic knife look questionable since resurfacing is a finishing step on a parts knife.

If you do oil them, just wipe down the steel parts with a rag damp with mineral oil. The rag should be damp, not drenched. Don't get any oil on the handles for several reasons. But I'd recommend just selling them as is. Any knowledgable and capable knife enthusiast won't benefit from you oiling or otherwise messing with them. He'll just need good photos.
 
Like everyone else has said if you are going to do anything give the pivot a shot of WD-40 and maybe run some cotton swabs though the handle
 
Just wipe the dirt and rust off and leave it as is. You cannot "clean" and old knife to make it look new, you can only damage it further in the attempt to do so, or scrap the old item as raw material for a new project.

n2s
 
Oil the knife, especially the joints and any active rust, but leave the decision to clean to the purchaser.
 
WD-40 is not a good lubricant, IMO. It will help clean out gunk, but it should always be blown out and followed with mineral oil or other lubricant.
Thanks for quoting me, Duncan!!
Campbellclanman Campbellclanman
 
waynorth said:
WD-40 is not a good lubricant, IMO. It will help clean out gunk, but it should always be blown out and followed with mineral oil or other lubricant.
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Very sound advice indeed! WD-40 is perhaps best thought of as a cleaner and de-greaser rather than a lubricant for most applications. The solvents used in it will damage some plastics and dissolve some types of synthetic rubber. I have witnessed many a costly repair in the bicycle shop result from folks trying to lube with it (especially bad for bearings). Great for removing sticker residue and gum though.
 
You may need to oil the pivot to get the blades open for the photos. Just a tiny drop will do it. This may also help you describe the mechanics of the knife since that can't be judged from photos. You'll need to describe whether the blades snap open and closed with good spring tension -- "walk and talk"... and you'll need to describe any problems like blades that wiggle side-to-side.

But cleaning them, isn't desirable... unless you're selling to the racoons on Ebay. ;)
 
Gaither Stephens said:
Is it better to clean knives before selling them or leave them in their original condition?

Thoughts are appreciated.
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All depends on what you mean by cleaning.

If you mean removing some fingerprints and smudges and swabbing some dirt out of the frame with a q tip that is fine.

Anything that is removing material or changing the appearance of the knife is not.

The only possible exception might be putting a mirror edge on the blade.
 
Actually it would depend on your target market and how sophisticated they are, how careful and skillful you are at cleaning, and exactly how rare/old your knife is.

If you have a fairly recent production knife, that is not exceptionally rare or valuable, and you want to polish off a patina or take a few scratches out of the bolsters, it would probably increase the ease or speed of sale to a wide market - for example, on Ebay. Cleaning (by wiping) or buffing the handles or using a non--damaging product like Renaissance Wax is also OK. You should not, however, try to pass it off as new or unused merely because you cleaned it up. This would be no different than washing / waxing / vacuuming out your old car before trying to sell it.

If you have a truly old knife that has wear, usage, and patina commensurate with its age, that has true collector value due to age or rarity, then I would probably do nothing other than wiping off any dirt or grime but I would not polish the metal or try to restore it using any chemicals or abrasives.
 
Bartleby said:
Very sound advice indeed! WD-40 is perhaps best thought of as a cleaner and de-greaser rather than a lubricant for most applications. Great for removing sticker residue and gum though.
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Is there anything better? If there is, I sure ain't found it. :)
Not even 'VAND OFF' works as well ... and it costs more, too.
 
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