How to clean up an old knife?

G

GOODBOY

Joined
Oct 16, 2003
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21
My father gave me a wonderful surprise the other day. He handed me one of my grandfather's old slipjoints - a Robeson stockman with beautiful jigged bone handles. We guess it's from around 1890 or 1900, and it's in beautiful overall condition. It even still has some good snap to the blades. The problem is that the blades and bolsters are pretty dirty or rusty. I dont want to use sandpaper if that will harm or scratch the knife. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to clean up the metal on this knife? It's a gem waiting to be uncovered.
 
A soft cloth and 'semichrome' only. Sand paper is a no-no as you have already guessed. Semichrome Polish will take off the oxidation safely and leave it nice and presentable...

How about posting a nice clear & tight photo if possible?
 
Be very careful, I would suggest going over to the Bernard Levine forum and searching on cleaning vintage knives first. Active rust should be carefully removed and stopped from progressing, black patina however is normal and to remove it, is to also remove metal from the knife.
 
The Last Confederate said:
Be very careful...

Active rust should be carefully removed and stopped from progressing, black patina however is normal and to remove it, is to also remove metal from the knife.
Click to expand...

This is exactly right!! The semichrom polish should be used to remove the oxidation (rust) only! Just so the knife functions properly and performs correctly and is no longer inhibited by the rust. Many people over do it, so be careful.
 
What a great gift!


You have some good advice here. Some old knives can be worth quite a bit.
If they are cleaned harshly (patinas removed, etc) they will be worth less. (Just like an old used collectable coin.) Start out with oil, Semichrome , qtips and a soft cloth before you try anything else.
 
Thanks for the advice, everyone. "Patina" is the word I was looking for earlier, and that is what seems to be on the blades, so I will leave them alone. I would like to clean up the bolsters, however. I'll try the semichrome ever so gently. Maybe I can post a pic later.
 
GOODBOY,
If you desire to "Clean" the bolsters of dirt or grime.....NEVR-DULL (correct spelling) can be found at auto stores and some Big Box stores. It is a wadding material polish by Eagle One, that comes in a silver can. It will remove the bad stuff, but will not alter the natural patina on bolsters, springs or blades. Some folks confuse cleaning with stripping.... :( ...these folks here are just trying to help you avoid a common mistake of stripping the history from the knife , along with the finish. It is, in my opinion, good advice. Wiping the blades with a little mineral/machine oil....and a drop to the pivot areas....is good form as well.... ;)

Bill
 
Thanks very much, everyone. I will check Levine's before I do anything. After all this, I may not even touch the knife, if it means de-valuing the knife. It looks kind of nice the way it is, anyway. Maybe I'll just sharpen it up. At any rate, I think this a knife I can pass down through my family, and give future generations a lot of pleasure. As always, thanks for the great info.
 
How does Simichrome polish differ from the Flitz metal and fiberglass polish? Aside from the obvious that the latter may be used on a wider range of materials. I'm currently using the Ren wax on all my carbon steel and stainless knives.

Jay
 
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