Do you leave your old Bucks with patina/as found? Or do you rub them down

I think we have covered the spread on this subject. I can only add what I would do to a rare or one-of-a-kind model not to cause harm. You polish off a square corner or some etching or blade printing then you lower or ruin the value. I have quietly read in this forum of folks buffing off ink printing on a blade because a knife "was built to be used".
I sometimes have to take a toothbrush (not wire) and toothpaste or other mild abrasive to remove the white deposits of 'gassing off' from old black Delrin scales. As a collector if you have a whole flock of old black scaled 300s from the early days, even if you keep them in their boxes or stored in a cabinet you can see this happen. Knives that do this get a cleaning with toothbrush to remove the white scale, washed or wiped as you see fit. Then oiled all over and dried off, or waxed. I have used Johnsons paste wax but prefer Renaissance wax and put a very light coating on the entire knife. When dry, polish off the excess and oil pivot. This helps fight white 'gas off'' and rust. I even use it on firearms by recommendation by Larry Potterfield of MidwayUSA.

I pray you never take a pawn shop or yard sale find like this model and polish off the printing. Yes it is a little over the top on looks, but a $100 collector knife goes to a $20 dollar 'user' knife.
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Even an old salesman give away Buck is more valuable than a plain model, or altered model.
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dsutton24 said:
Buying knives as an investment is not a sound investment. Just ask anyone who bought Case knives in the 80s and 90s, and has tried to sell today. What collectors are buying over any period changes, things go in and out of favor frequently.

The $24.95 that a Buck 110 cost in 1970 would be $165.00 in today's money. You'd have to work hard to get that kind of money out of a 70s 110 today.

As for the original question, if the knife is pristine except for some marks made by a hamfisted sharpening attempt, I'll clean it up. If the knife shows overall signs of honest use, I'll put a new point on it, or file a kick, but otherwise I'll leave it alone.

The Buck Spa treatment is a bargain, and they do a great job. If you have them change the edge geometry you're going to ruin the knife for collectors down the road. It can always be sold as a user, but you've just turned a $75.00 to $100.00 knife into a $30.00 knife.

My advice is to not worry about value or collectability. It's your knife, do what you want with it. There are always people around who will tell you what to do with your stuff.
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Mmmm....I have a different perspective on this. If I buy that same 70’s knife at a garage sale, auction site, pawn shop for..hmmm let’s say $25-$50 and get a spa treatment then there is value...I also get where you are coming from regarding The new BOTM, Custom, Limited release knives that I buy today....very interesting

good thing I love looking at them, holding them and appreciating the workmanship that goes into them
 
Got this Three-Dot 110 last week, oiled the joint, sharpened the edge, and wiped it down. That is as far as I go unless the knife is a mess - then its off to the Buck Spa for a treatment. I will use various grits of emery cloth to refinish a seriously scratched blade. OH

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I clean and polish with Flitz but I like clean and shiny knives. Patina will always come back with use. I don't have safe queens...no fun :)

The spa devalues any vintage Buck, paricularly those with square edges.

For example, I was at a gun show and saw a sweet 532 1990s version, red jigged bone, nice and shiny. Dealer says it's barely used. On my second trip I noticed the bolsters had a small gouge. Looked closer and the bolsters were thinner, dished and contoured. Challenged the "barely used" used claim. Emphasized "no box" claimed little to no collector value. Knife was bought by the dealer from a collector's estate in a private sale. I mentioned the "spa" and he readily agreed that it wasn't a collectors dream and to a deep discount. For me it's a user and I like the thinner bolsters, it's "customized" :)
 
Old Hunter said:
Got this Three-Dot 110 last week, oiled the joint, sharpened the edge, and wiped it down. That is as far as I go unless the knife is a mess - then its off to the Buck Spa for a treatment. I will use various grits of emery cloth to refinish a seriously scratched blade. OH

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That’s more or less what I would do. But the only used Bucks I’ve bought needed blades. So they got the spa treatment anyway. The patina came back. Your picture is a good example of why I hate nail nicks on 110’s. Not needed and they collect crud. I filled one of mine in with JB Weld. It’s holding up well.
 
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I have a 110 that my grandfather used for fishing. Scratched dinged and a large chip in the box blade. I have only oiled it and sharpened it as needed. Took it on the first fishing trip a few weeks ago. Wildlife officer came over to where we were fishing and after giving us some tips. He saw the damaged blade and suggested the spa treatment. Son who is a teenager and never wanted to learn to fish before replied h**l no and told him the story.

He never asked me for my license. He did compare his 112 to my newer 110 that I was actually wearing. I let my son use my grandfathers.
 
I don't like to keep my brass shiny ( aside from my belt buckle ) it fingerprints too much, so I let it patina.
I will polish my 110 up if I carry it on Christmas but I leave it alone afterwards.
 
I keep mine clean and polished, Spa treatments as needed.I personally don't think it lowers the value. I just had a 2 dot 110 done and the square bolsters are still square.
 
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