cleaning and honing blades

S

slavheart

Joined
Apr 17, 2002
Messages
7
Hi everyone,

Any suggestions for how best to clean years of gunk and packing tape residue off the blade of a Schrade Uncle Henry Bear Paw lockback (or some model name like that) and also off a fairly standard Victorinox Swiss Army Knife blade?

Any suggested whet stone or honing kits out there?

Thanks!

Slavheart
 
for adhesive residue.... Naptha type Lighter Fluid... Zippo or Ronsonol brand will do... saturate the knife with fluid, rub off with disposable cotton cloth repeat if necessary... once complete, clean liberally with soap and water... oil and/or lubricate as usuall afterwards...

Stones? I like a combination of DMT diamond whetstones and Spyderco Ceramic stones...
 
Originally posted by MelancholyMutt
for adhesive residue.... Naptha type Lighter Fluid... Zippo or Ronsonol brand will do... saturate the knife with fluid, rub off with disposable cotton cloth repeat if necessary... once complete, clean liberally with soap and water... oil and/or lubricate as usuall afterwards...
Click to expand...

I agree, but I'd probably go with some Flitz metal polish after the lighter fluid bath.

As for hones, I just got my Spyderco Sharpmaker last Friday and I have not been able to stop sharpening everything in the house. I don't think I'll ever give it up...
 
Smear some Go-Jo,(without pumice) hand cleaner on the knife and let it soak for a day or two then rinse it off and treat oil on the pivot, and Flitz on the blade.
As far as stones and sharpeners go a 2" X 8" fine diamond hone, a Sharp-Maker, or a Lansky. Any of these will do great just don't get discouraged at first, practice a lot:D ,and ask lots of questions from people who can sharpen:).
 
cause it's a natural solvent for adhesives...
I remove price tags and sticky labels with it and it's generally safe on most surfaces...It's one of a dozen ways to do something...
 
I have used rubbign alcohol with success in the past! In fact, I had to clean a blade of tape residue this past friday!

As for stones, well, get diamonds! If you plan on getting some of the modern super-alloy blades, or you have soem already, diamonds are their best friends. Diamonds will cut the carbides where other stones will just wear the carbides down, makign them kinda smooth. Cliff Stamp can give you a more technical answer on that one!

DMT makes the most popular diamond products here, and youg et a lot to choose from. Combo bench hones would be a good place to stard with the DMTs. They also make a folding diamond hone with 2 grits that would make a great field piece.

I can recommend the Sharpmaker as well as a cool ceramic sharpening rig. That and a long, coarse Silicoen Carbide hone that youc an pick up anywhere would do many a knife!

Welcome to the forums, slavheart.
 
I've also used toothpaste:D to clean blades, and some handle materials, hell if it can clean your teeth:D without hurtin' em' it's gotta be ok for your knife. Just be sure to rinse well and lubricate when done.(your knife that is, not your teeth:D )
 
You may try to use scotch tape: stick and remove it several times, the gunk tends to stick to the tape.
The reamaining residue can be removed with dishwashing detergent or rubbing alcohols.
The scotch tape trick works on many different materials, it is great to take avay glue prints sticked to surfaces after removing price tags too.
 
Thanks for all the tips, everyone! The lighter fluid idea worked like a charm. I thought it would take hours of rubbing, but I was done in less than four minutes!

Now, I'm off to order a honing kit.

Thanks again.

Slavheart
 
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