Cleaning advice

Joined
Dec 19, 1999
Messages
260
I've posted this question to a couple of different forums and, surprisingly, have never gotten an answer. Maybe y'all can help me out.

About 6 months ago I got a Smith & Wesson brand folder from the 70's that had never been out of the box. In fact, it was still wrapped and sealed in plastic. I opened up the plastic to check it out, but other than that the knife is completely mint. There's a little tarnish on the bolsters and I'm wondering if I'm better off polishing it up or leaving it as is. I realize there's not a lot of value in the knife, but I don't want to detract from whatever value there might be.

Thanks in advance for any and all help.
 
I can't see any problem with a light cleaning. I haven't seen many old knives that don't show some evidence of being cleaned, including old bowie knives that sell for thousands. The secret seems to be cleaning without altering original finishes that may be remnant. With brass or nickle silver bolsters you would be restoring an even finish that would retarnish more evenly if stored properly.

Flitz is a good polish, but any metal polish should work fine for this purpose.
 
Andrew has a point, but once a knife is cleaned it is not mint. It is lightly cleaned and will not bring as much in a collector market. If you wnat the knife to retain it's value oil and a soft cotton cloth or q-tip is as far as I would take it.
 
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