Cleaning Swiss Army Knives?

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michaelh162

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Jul 21, 2025
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What's the best way to clean dirt and grime off of Victorinox blades?

Just bought a 1940s vintage Huntsman.

Will post an update when it arrives today.
 
One tip, do not use alcohol on celidor scales as it breaks them down and they will be cracked and warped. Not sure 1940's vintage used celidor, so this might be moot. For the blades I would start with nothing more than mineral oil and a soft cloth. See how much grime that removes before resorting to something stronger.
 
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Pretty sure the '40's Vic's had stainless blades.
When my Vic blades get ... "cruddy" I clan each blade separately (one blade open at a time) by rinsing each side with hot tap water, then wipe on a dish towel. If necessary, I re-wet,then scrub with toothpaste and a old toothbrusg, rins, dry, continue to the next blade, as needed.
After cleaning, I oil the joints with 3-in-One oil, or Hoppy's Number 9 Gun Oil, or motor oil ("Real" oil or synthetic, generally 10w-30 or 5w-30) or transmission fluid (usually Dextron, I had very few Ford's with an automatic, so rarely had any "F" transmission fluid on hand) or hydrolic oil, or 2 stroke oil. A few times I used olive oil (NO! NOT POOP EYE'S Gold Digga Hoe "girl friend"!) or Mineral Oil. It just deepended on what was available.

Of course if the knife blade(s) needed sharpened, I would sharpen using a "soft"/"medium" arkansas oil stone (with whichever of the above oils I had), and dry stropped on a leather or canvas strop or belt.
 
michaelh162 said:
Planning on using Goo Gone to start with:
Click to expand...
I've used Go Gon to clean the seats in a couple of the school busses I piloted.
Good for removing ink (magic marker & ballpoint), bubble gum, lipstick ... be aware you may need your shop/work retired from original intended use toothbrush.

I would strongly suggest taping the cellidor scales. Go Gone MAY damage (soften/dissolve) or fade them.
I never red the list of ingrediants, but since it does remove ballpoint pen ink, and a few other things like automotive adhesives, there is a high chance Ethel/rubbing alcohol is in there. It likely contains an acid or two as well.
 
michaelh162 said:
The 1940s Huntsman just arrived. Everything is there and working,just the blades are rather dull.

I do have a Victorinox sharpener: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AR7AKG?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

How do I use the sharpener? (without damaging the knife)
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I have one but I only use it for emergencies when I am travelling. I set mine vertically at 90 degrees to a counter with the top of the sharpener stabilised on the counter. Then I set the blade at a correctly estimated angle and draw the blade from the top of the sharpener towards the counter. I move the blade from side to side to sharpen each bevel evenly. In other words a single stoke for each bevel alternating each time.
Honestly while I can give the knife a working edge I am not a huge fan of this thing and only reserve it for emergencies.

I suggest you purchase a Spyderco Sharpmaker and watch their instructional videos on youtube. I find it the easiest and best system for most working knives.
 
There are a lot of methods to clean a swiss army knife.
One would be to open all the tools and let it soak under warm or hot soapy water for a few minutes to loosen the grime then use a toothbrush to brush out the joints, followed by rinsing it under running warm or hot water while exercising the tools to break off any remaining grime or dirt, after that apply your favorite oil ( i use kpl).
Other methods include pouring liquid soap down into the knife and run hot water into it until the soap runs out clear, others have used this method but eith oil.
 
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