Indian Ridge Sheffield England Knives

[Meerkat4848]

Anyone know anything about these knives? I picked one up at an estate sale for $15.00. No sheath and badly corroded. With some basic cleaning I was able to read the tang stamp. Handle appears to be sambar stag but I'm not certain. Just wanted to get some info on these knives. I also bought a rifle from the 1960's. If I had to guess the knife is from the same time frame. Also, any suggestions on restoring the blade to bright and shiny again? Appreciate any help thanks.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Anyone know anything about these knives? I picked one up at an estate sale for $15.00. No sheath and badly corroded. With some basic cleaning I was able to read the tang stamp. Handle appears to be sambar stag but I'm not certain. Just wanted to get some info on these knives. I also bought a rifle from the 1960's. If I had to guess the knife is from the same time frame. Also, any suggestions on restoring the blade to bright and shiny again? Appreciate any help thanks.

My suggestion would be not to.
Take some fine steel wool and mineral oil to remove the rust and leave it at that.

Why do you want an old knife to look new again ?

You've got an old knife, if you want a new looking knife then go buy a new knife.

 

[marcinek]

My suggestion would be not to.

If he wants it to look shiny, why not? Do have a reason other than your personal preference?

 

[Pàdruig]

Anyone know anything about these knives? I picked one up at an estate sale for $15.00. No sheath and badly corroded. With some basic cleaning I was able to read the tang stamp. Handle appears to be sambar stag but I'm not certain. Just wanted to get some info on these knives. I also bought a rifle from the 1960's. If I had to guess the knife is from the same time frame. Also, any suggestions on restoring the blade to bright and shiny again? Appreciate any help thanks.

I don't know anything about the the maker but if you do some looking and you determine that it is a collectible piece, cleaning the knife excessively can and will diminish its value. On the other hand, if you just want a solid old knife to restore and use regardless of its perceived collector's value or lack thereof, then you should feel comfortable doing what you wish with it.

I use Rem Oil when I have some serious cleaning to do on knives, tools, and guns. That and some steel wool should knock off a fair amount of rust. Past the surface rust, you may experience quite a bit of pitting, in which case you are looking at having to remove metal which may or may not be an option for you.

If you can load a picture or three, I'd love to see it.

Edited to add: If you pose this question over here: https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/traditional-folders-and-fixed-blades.773/, there are some very knowledgeable folks in regards to Sheffield cutlery that could maybe help shed some light on that particular maker.

 

[tltt]

Indian Ridge was one of the reenacting companies that popped up during the late 60's, early 70's. They mostly imported blades from J R Hopkinson Ltd, who in turn, is connected to John Nowill, and J Adams of Sheffield. They also bought blades from J Russell on the American side.

They are kit knives, so you're not hurting anything by cleaning them. The blades were usually just carbon steel, so just polish the blade like you would O1 or 1095.

 

[Meerkat4848]

Ok, thanks for all the useful information. As to why I would want to restore an old knife it is purely personal preference. And I wouldn't ask if I wasn't committed to the task. As for posting pictures - this for some reason remains one of the most daunting tasks for me on this forum. What is the SIMPLEST way to do it?
The handle on the knife is nice. Don't laugh but from a distance it had this Randall look to it. Thank you again for all the replies.

 

[paulimac]

Ok, thanks for all the useful information. As to why I would want to restore an old knife it is purely personal preference. And I wouldn't ask if I wasn't committed to the task. As for posting pictures - this for some reason remains one of the most daunting tasks for me on this forum. What is the SIMPLEST way to do it?
The handle on the knife is nice. Don't laugh but from a distance it had this Randall look to it. Thank you again for all the replies.

I registered just so I could reply to this. My dad bought me a Indian Ridge knife for two reasons, they were advertised in the American Rifleman and because they looked like his Randall. He was making me my first sheath knife when I was 6 or 7. I brought it to work today to polish the blade and condition the leather and decided to see if they were still available. Anyway, old news but I thought it was funny about the Randall thing. Cheers

 

[Meerkat4848]

Thank you for taking the time to reply and also providing useful and sentimental information!

 

[Many Knives]

Anyone know anything about these knives? I picked one up at an estate sale for $15.00. No sheath and badly corroded. With some basic cleaning I was able to read the tang stamp. Handle appears to be sambar stag but I'm not certain. Just wanted to get some info on these knives. I also bought a rifle from the 1960's. If I had to guess the knife is from the same time frame. Also, any suggestions on restoring the blade to bright and shiny again? Appreciate any help thanks.

Indian Ridge was an importer in Ferndale, Michigan. I have a vague memory of them being in Columbus, Ohio at one point in the early 1970's. Originally all their mail order knives were made by Jack Adams, 124 Scotland Street, Sheffield, owner of several brand names including J. Nowell. Some of their best products were out of production before 1975, especially their Longhunter blade that was very much like an early Scottish dirk blade before the Victorian era.