I’ve Got a Remington Stockman that STINKS…Really Bad. Anyone Ever Have a Problem Like This?

N

Nalapombu

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Oct 26, 2001
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303
Hey all.

A couple weeks ago I was going thru a toolbox and came upon a pocket knife. It’s a Remington large Stockman. I don’t know where it came from or how long I’ve had it in that box. It’s likely decades.
Blades had some slight surface rust which I was able to take care of. Of course the blades have decades of patina on them. It looks pretty good considering.

After handling it I noticed my hands had a terrible smell. I’ve never smelled this kinda thing after handling a knife or gun. I thought it prolly had some chemical residue on it and a good cleaning will take care of it.

I sharpened the blades, cleaned up the blades as best I could and then got put any gunk in the area where the blades rest. I got out some of my fancy pants gun cleaner/Lube spray and gave it a good spray. Brown drops started coming out. I put it in the sink and just let it drain. I would spray it down thoroughly about every hour and just let it sit. I then went back to it the next day. I started the whole wipe down gunk removal process again. I thought as much as I have used this high tech foaming cleaner/Lube on it, the bad smell would be gone. I even tried getting the spray behind the imitation stag panels thinking whatever is causing the stink was hiding in there.
I ran a clean rag all through it and into every crack and exposed area I could see. I actually got it looking pretty good for the circumstances. The blades take a great edge too. I want to keep and use the knife if I can. It would be a shame to have to throw it away.

Thinking that all the cleaner and wiping had got rid of the stench, I put it in my pocket and used it for a couple days. I noticed that after handling it, my hands had that same nasty funk that I was trying hard to eliminate. It isn’t as bad as it was, but it’s still there. I don’t know what else to do. I can’t figure out if it’s something on the blade surfaces or it’s something that’s soaked into the side panels or behind them. I can’t get to those surfaces.


So…I don’t know what else to try. I’m pretty much resigned to tossing it back into the old tool box and never having to get a whiff of that nastiness again. It’s in my fingers and palms after merely holding it and opening the blades.


Has anyone had anything like this….ever? Do you have any ideas or guesses what it could be or where it’s at on the knife? Is there anything I can do to save it? I’m open to about anything but totally dismantling it. I don’t have the know how or skill to do that and put it back together.

Any help or suggestions about what I can do will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time and any help you care to give me.
Have a good week all.

Larry
 
Can you describe the smell? Is it organic (like rot), chemical, indescribable?

Sometimes things just get stinky. It sounds like you've tried every reasonable step to fix the issue.

Maybe someone else can help.
 
Ask TheChunk91 TheChunk91 , If I remember correctly Paul had one that had a really terrible odor to it a couple years ago.
 
I never noticed an odor with celluloid damage, but maybe I never caught it in the right stage of decay. And it doesn't all decay the same way.
Not that I have a better idea.
I guess I'd lose the covers and hope the next scrubbing of the metal does the job.
 
How very odd.... 🤔

I've never heard of any steel having an odor, so it seems that it would almost certainly have to be the scales... could it also be brass liners? I've never heard of brass developing an odor, either, though...
 
Seems the knife spent a lot of time in a box rather than in a pocket... maybe return it to the box. 🤣
 
is it something they used? cause I have a Remington knife that ive received as a gift that sits in the box. its a gigantic grand daddy barlow or great grand daddy barlow with the fish scaler. i probably couldnt legally carry this in the city 🤣
 
Hickory n steel said:
Does the knife smell like puke ?

Are there any old acetate handle screwdrivers in that toolbox ?
The suspect brands would be Craftsman, Husky, Vaco, Xcelite...ect.
They're all Acetate and of the formula that likes to out gas and smell terrible.
Click to expand...
THATS why my old toolbox stinks! Thank you, i always wondered if something died in it. It got left in the garage at my parents house.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Does the knife smell like puke ?

Are there any old acetate handle screwdrivers in that toolbox ?
The suspect brands would be Craftsman, Husky, Vaco, Xcelite...ect.
They're all Acetate and of the formula that likes to out gas and smell terrible.
Click to expand...
I had a set of Xcelite mini nut drivers that smelled like farts. This explains a lot.
 
pvicenzi said:
I had a set of Xcelite mini nut drivers that smelled like farts. This explains a lot.
Click to expand...
Yep the old torque amplifier set.
They're pretty cool and very useful, but you'd often have a hard time giving them away because of that smell.

I had some old Xcelites that stunk up my toolbox as a teenager and I really got into it with my brother because I thought he put some Catfish bait in there to mess with me.

That acetate smell can stink up everything in a toolbox, and I would be very surprised if it's not the issue plaguing this Remington stockman in question.
 
The mention of the old Xcelite driver sets makes me smile and rings true, as to the 'funk' of the handles on those.

I spent a large part of my professional career as an electronics technician, both in military service and in private industry. In both settings, our standard-issue toolkits were loaded with that Xcelite stuff. Nice hand tools and quality too... but those handles were unique and always odd in their funkiness. I actually have a set of them at home, having purposely bought them years ago after becoming attached to using them at work. And even now, I still use them occasionally.

I suspect, but can't know for certain, that storing those Xcelite tools in a closed-up box tends to make that 'funk' carry on for years & years. The ones I now use occasionally at home are usually just laying around in the open, when I'm not using them. And they don't seem to smell quite so bad in the same way, after only 30-odd years that I've had them. ;)

Also had the same thought as posted above, about stashing the knife away in a sealed container with baking soda - bury it in the stuff for awhile. It's easy to do and won't harm anything, whether it cures the funk or it doesn't.
 
Very interesting about those tool handles, did they stink up right from the start or does it come with age?

Talking of which....I wonder if I could cover one of my neighbours with Baking Soda? :poop: :eek::D:cool: Finding a big enough ziplock bag might be challenging though..;)
 
- oh, shame..........hope you get to the bottom of it (pun intended) and the smell goes

The only smell I recall with folders was when I once heaviliy oiled one with Ballistol........the fragrance thereafter was most definitely on the pongy side :poop:..........😷
 
I have an older Schrade 858 stockman that smells like mouldy newspaper or something similar. Does the baking soda work?
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Will Power said:
Very interesting about those tool handles, did they stink up right from the start or does it come with age?

Talking of which....I wonder if I could cover one of my neighbours with Baking Soda? :poop: :eek::D:cool: Finding a big enough ziplock bag might be challenging though..;)
Click to expand...
The Xcelite tool handles were EXTRA FUNKY when brand new. If I recall, the new sets were sealed in plastic from the get-go, and the smell is a slap in the face when the plastic gets opened up. Really ripe, fresh off the factory vine. Then they SLOWWWLY MELLOW, as they age. I'd compare it to the smoothing of a good scotch over 12 or more years. But comparing these two would be blasphemous, I think, as the scotch is so much more rewarding in the end and well worth the wait. :D

I remember that Zip-Loc, at one time, had made some large-version bags for long-term storage of things like bedding and clothing. Maybe still not quite big enough for the neighbors though.
 
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