cleaning inside?

C

CoffeeCat2112

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Jan 26, 2007
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I have an older, US-made Schrade Old-Timer Middleman Jack that needs a good cleaning. What should I use to remove speckling on the inside bottom of the knife (basically, the tops of the springs under the blades)?
 
I've tried a flattened q-tip with a little mild solvent like WD-40 with some success, but (for me) its not easy to get down in there.
 
That's been my experience so far, too. I got the crud and straw out, but I'd like to make it look a little nicer in there.
 
never remove it completely without potentially damaging the knife, i usually just clean it up as good as possible with wd-40 qtips, pieces of card board and have even used a dull exacto blade to carefully clean it out. I also use just hotwater and dishsoap maybe the soft bristle dish brush (if the wifes not looking:))
Personally i wouldnt worry too much about it
Post some picts of that knife if ya can
cheers
ivan
 
I've got a variable speed dremel with a nylon bristle wheel that I run in there on the lowest speed with some WD-40. Seems to work pretty well and because the bristles are nylon they don't remove knife material, only the dirt and trash. Gotta be careful that the brush is spinning away from you when you do it.

Chuck
 
Thanks for the ideas, guys! I'll post pics tonight. The knife is about 25 years old. It was my first "real knife;" my Grandpa Evan gave it to me. I used it around their farm for a long time when I was younger, and it has sat in my dresser for quite a few years since. I'd like to clean it up some and start using it again. The blades don't look bad, but the inside is pretty crummy.
 
Shape a bamboo skewer to fit and use a little lapping/polishing compound. Shaped matchsticks might be the better choice since they hold the compound on the endgrain a bit more -- but they tend to break a lot.

Edited to add: I'm talking about if you really want to try to get the speckles out of the inside of the springs after you've otherwise cleaned it out.
 
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I use pipe cleaners, they are cheap and come in several different formats.

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At work Idip it in mineral oil and blast it out with shop air.Then I just wipe it out with a folded paper towel. At home I use a toothpick and a napkin folded over it. Slice the toothpick into any shape that works.Speckles or stains stay there forever.
 
Lots of good suggestions here. As mentioned, you will probably never get all the spots out. Its not uncommon for older knives to have some spotting inside..
Just get the crud out, oil the joints, touch up the edges if needed and drop her in pocket.
 
Mineral oil and a toothpick have always worked great for me.

Speaking of toothpicks...those fancy plastic ones with the bristles that they sell now work great...they sell it in the same place as the dental floss. Very small, plastic so won't damage the metal, and the little bristles get in the tight spots. I've been using them a lot lately.
 
An obvious word of caution. I have used various methods as mention above and a couple of times tried to force the cue tip or rag and received a nasty cut in the bargain. One required a trip for stitches.
 
Scoop65 said:
An obvious word of caution. I have used various methods as mention above and a couple of times tried to force the cue tip or rag and received a nasty cut in the bargain. One required a trip for stitches.
Click to expand...

Yes, probably should add that it's a good idea to wrap the blades securely -- a folded paper towel wrapped around the blades and tightly wrapped with masking or painter's tape works very well. Even just a few wraps of painter's tape around each blade will help a lot -- and a wrap around the bolster will give an extra margin of safety against the blades closing accidentally as you're messing about.

Also, be very careful with multiblades -- they bite, hard. Once you open more than one blade, you need to be very careful. They can get you opening and closing -- after opening one blade, for the second, third, ... blades I open each part way, then bump it against a table edge to pop it fully open. Closing is similar.
 
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