Collector knife received from smoker. Overreacting?

J

johnstac

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Jan 29, 2014
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I purchased a C90GFPD Damascus Stretch on fleabay and it was described as new and in fact it looks beautiful. My problem is whoever previously owned the knife was a smoker and it reeks to high heaven. I paid just over $200 and I get that it's not a huge amount but this was actually the first knife I've ever bought that I didn't plan to carry.

I also collect coins and when I occasionally receive a package from a smoker I almost always let them know. A loose coin exposed to smoke or any pollutant really, can have and adverse effect that isn't always evident immediately. Now I get that we are not talking about coins here but isn't it just common courtesy to not smoke around more expensive knives? I mean really, as soon as I opened the USPS box it just stunk. Even the inside of the Spyderco box including the documentation, the bag and the knife itself just stunk. What do you guys think? If I let it air out for awhile, will the smell go away over time?

I'm just thinking that if I had to sell this knife to someone, I would feel compelled to let them know. It's obvious to any non-smoker and frankly, doesn't it make sense that if you are going to handle higher end knives, that you keep them in a smoke free area? If you think I'm just QQing then say so. I don't think I'm overreacting but that is why I want others opinions before I contact him.
 
You could probably clean the knife and lightly spray the box with cologne or something?
 
There is no such thing as "smoke free" ii someone smokes in their house, unless they store things in a sealed vacuum, gas expands and will permeate everything. It's physics, even if it was stored in a closet in a box it would smell.
 
Like the song says "I've looked at life from both sides now." I smoked heavily for years and then I quit. Now I don't like smoke around me, but I don't notice all my clothes and gear that were soaked in smoke all that time.

A smoker doesn't think about it and probably doesn't have any arrangements for protecting his collectibles from it. The best you could do would be for him to agree to take it back. I can't say for sure but I bet the smell lingers.
 
I also recommend cleaning it. I personally wouldn't see it as an issue at all, and don't see how a knife could be damaged by coming into contact with tobacco smoke.

I'd just wipe it down and oil it; the oil alone will soak into the hardware and leave its own scent. As for the box, just let it air out or store it in a freshly stained and lacquered wooden drawer.
 
I wouldn't put it in the direct sun, it may fade. But I would think that if you let the knife air out, the smell would eventually lessen also. Some G10 stinks anyway.
 
The knife should clean off with simple dish soap, unless it's some soft or porous handle material. The box and paperwork though is probably a total loss. You can air it out, not in direct sunlight, and it'll get better but maybe never entirely disappear.

The seller should have disclaimed that it smelled like **** from cigarette smoke. I wouldn't blame you for returning it, or at least including the complaint in the seller review.
 
Ozone generators are used on cars and carpets to take the smoke smell out. Restoration places often rent them you need to be a little careful around plastics, just in terms of how long you leave it running for but it works. Read up on it.
 
Tobacco smoke residue is soluble in alcohol. Cleaning the knife with rubbing alcohol should remove the odor and will not harm the knife. Problem solved.
 
Bob W said:
The knife should clean off with simple dish soap, unless it's some soft or porous handle material. The box and paperwork though is probably a total loss. You can air it out, not in direct sunlight, and it'll get better but maybe never entirely disappear.

The seller should have disclaimed that it smelled like **** from cigarette smoke. I wouldn't blame you for returning it, or at least including the complaint in the seller review.
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I wouldn't say it's a total loss. Ex-smokers don't just throw away all their old clothes and upholstery. Like others said, try spraying the box and paperwork. Or leave it in the garage/near an open window.

Never understood people's gripe with cigarette smell. It does have a distinct smell, but having grown up with it, it's just a familiar stink. I've found it comes out quite easily. Especially because those boxes are laminated, I wouldn't expect them to be completely permeated.
 
Do you realize you LIVE in a sputum-charged environment of metal corroders?

Ask a knife dealer who does a lot of public shows if his display knives get tarnished and pitted just from cough and wheeze in the air at shows, most from non-smokers....and how often he has to wipe them down to keep the finishes looking nice. Better yet, ask a museum curator about air-borne sputal protection of displayed artifacts. Ever hear of Renwax? You have the DNA on there of every person who's ever been in the same ROOM with that knife from fleabay. Far more damage to your steel than smoke from a cigarette is going to do.

Your knife smells like an ashtray? I've never heard of that but soak it in Polident or alcohol and go on. This sounds more like smoking militancy to me and, with all due respect, are you vegan as well??

I, too, maintain my own domain of irrational beliefs if only to protect me from the zealots.
 
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Give it a bath in Frog Lube. Then it'll have a nice minty smell. ;)

Getting smoke smell out of porous materials (eg. box & papers) is tough (if not impossible). Masking it with something else is probably as good as you can do. If you plan to sell/trade it in the future, it might affect the value then
 
Bob W said:
The seller should have disclaimed that it smelled like **** from cigarette smoke. I wouldn't blame you for returning it, or at least including the complaint in the seller review.
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I'm sure it didn't smell at all to the seller.

Growing up both my parents smoked. Once or twice other kids at school said that I smelled like smoke. Not in a mean way, they just didn't understand why a 3rd or 4th grader would smell like smoke. I never noticed it until it was pointed out to me.

When you are used to a certain aspects of your environment they may not register the same way as they do to others.

That sucks OP. Even as a casual smoker I know that the smell is very undesirable. Hope you get it cleaned.
 
knarfeng said:
Tobacco smoke residue is soluble in alcohol. Cleaning the knife with rubbing alcohol should remove the odor and will not harm the knife. Problem solved.
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The problem, as knarfeng alludes to, isn't just the smell. Cigarette smoke leaves a coating of 'soot', a film of microscopic particles. Cleaning after cigarette smoke is quite difficult, as it seems to have an oily composition. It can be nearly impossible to remove from fabric or textured materials.

OT, but relevant if buying used electronics: It's especially harmful to electronics and computers, coating internal components causing shorting and overheating, and infiltrating into hard drives where normal airborne house dust cannot reach.
 
Best thing for getting out odors as being discussed is just to set the item in or with a small bag of charcoal for a while. In the case of a small item maybe in a baggie with roughly crushed charcoal for a few days. A small bag of Kingsford opened and place inside a rotted refrigerator will kill even the nastiest smells in a few days.....sour milk spilled in the trunk in July and not discovered until Sept, etc....

To get smoke smell out of materials just put a cup of vodka in the wash or rinse water.

Both of these work.

Heloise.
 
The OP is not alone with his issue. It is a very real issue that smokers often don't recognize.

Not long ago we had a 2 page thread in the GBU on the subject. Enlightening and a lot of discussion about how to get the odor off of knives along with some discussion about how certain kinds of handle materials are more porous and keep the odor longer.

Here:
If you smoke the knife you sell is gonna smell bad
 
If you want to keep it, clean it. If not, send it back. Simple.

If you decide to keep it, I'd second the alcohol recommendation, then follow it with your favorite oil. Pick one that you like the smell of. I like how breakfree smells so I'd use that if I were in your shoes.

A long time ago I bought a Livesay Air Assault. The guy who sold it to me said he had the flu.... I said "well, try not to breathe on it too much!".... I was being completely serious. Flu virus can live longer than most people think outside the human body. The guy told me he sneezed on it (I assume just to be a jerk). I don't think he really did, but I took no chances... I scrubbed that thing down like crazy.
 
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