Cleaning Up Old Folders?

[maury]

Any advice on cleaning up a couple of old folders? One is marked “Imperial, Prov. RI” and the other says “Craftsman USA” and a 4 digit number I can’t make out. I picked these up at a flea market. The style is what I’d call “electrician’s knives,” one blade and a screwdriver with a liner lock. They have not been treated well.

There is corrosion on the blades and what looks like solidified lub in the pivot and inside the handle liners. They seem to be in good working order otherwise: everything locks up and the scales are solid and not broken.

Scale material looks like bone on one of them and some sort of composite on the other.

Even though they are not very expensive folders, I would like to bring them back to some bit of "past glory." I am afraid to try soaking them in solvent for fear of harming the scales, although that woud seem to be about the only way to get at most of the gunk and corrosion. Any suggestions on cleaning and restoring would be most appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Curtis_Lowe]

If they're real rusty, I'd rub them down with some mineral oil or even wd40 and let it sit. Then I'd try and rub off as much of the rust as I could and use a toothpick to scrape out any gunk that's loosened up. After that I'd use an old toothbrush to scrub them really good with soap and water. Rinse and repeat as necessary.

I'd love to see some before and after pics. I've never heard a tl-29 electrician knife with bone scales. They're normally ebony or synthetic.

 

[maury]

Before:

 

[maury]

Tried WD-40 soak and rubbing with scotchbrite type pads, but they still look much as above photo. Also tried rubbing a bit with one of AG Russel's "Rusterasers." That did get most of the joints clean, but the black pitting is still there. Will probably try some sort of more aggressive abbrasive.......unless someone had a better idea?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Tried WD-40 soak and rubbing with scotchbrite type pads, but they still look much as above photo. Also tried rubbing a bit with one of AG Russel's "Rusterasers." That did get most of the joints clean, but the black pitting is still there. Will probably try some sort of more aggressive abbrasive.......unless someone had a better idea?

Short of actually sanding the blades with wet/dry sandpaper, the pitting will remain. That by itself isn't a bad thing; many knife fans call that 'character' in a knife, an indicator of a life well-lived. So long as there's no red rust on the blades or springs, those knives should be fine.

By the way, both of those are synthetic handles, probably Delrin or a similar material. The one that looks wood-grained is a very common example of the electrician's knife pattern. I've seen those in issue tool kits, when I used to be in the military.