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Cleaning a blade
- Thread starter Clare
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2001
- Messages
- 4,973
If it's a Schrade Walden then it goes back to at least the early 70s or earlier. What you probably have is a well-earned patina on that blade and if I was you I'd just clean it but not try to get rid of it. You'll never get the original finish back and an old knife just looks better with a patina. What you'll end up with will probably not look as good as a new knife or an old knife. Just my 2 cents.
I have used the following technique to restore several Old Timers (Schrades) that were given up for lost:
If it has rust (either on the blade, hinges, or inside), spray it good with WD40 and let is soak a day.
If the blades have deep scratches, I then buff them with a low speed dremel, a cotton wheel, and white jewelers rouge.
Finally (and this is what matters most), I use 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper (which you can get from an auto body shop) and a piece of rubber gasket material, cut into a 6" x 6" square. I lay a piece of sandpaper on top of the rubber, lay a blade flat on the sandpaper, press firmly and slide it back and forth. Keep moving the blade to clear areas of the sandpaper so that you are always rubbing on good paper. This will make the blades shine like chrome.
Lastly, I use the dremmel on the bolsters and the backspring of the body.
The above process was used on the knife pictured below. When I got it, it was covered with light rust, some patina, and it was generally pitiful looking. As you can see, it's quite a treasure now.
Hope this helps.
If it has rust (either on the blade, hinges, or inside), spray it good with WD40 and let is soak a day.
If the blades have deep scratches, I then buff them with a low speed dremel, a cotton wheel, and white jewelers rouge.
Finally (and this is what matters most), I use 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper (which you can get from an auto body shop) and a piece of rubber gasket material, cut into a 6" x 6" square. I lay a piece of sandpaper on top of the rubber, lay a blade flat on the sandpaper, press firmly and slide it back and forth. Keep moving the blade to clear areas of the sandpaper so that you are always rubbing on good paper. This will make the blades shine like chrome.
Lastly, I use the dremmel on the bolsters and the backspring of the body.
The above process was used on the knife pictured below. When I got it, it was covered with light rust, some patina, and it was generally pitiful looking. As you can see, it's quite a treasure now.
Hope this helps.