Inherited Large Collection-What to do?

O

Osclib2

Joined
May 10, 2022
Messages
23
Hi there, my Father has just passed along a pretty large collection of knives to me and its a bit overwhelming (in a good way). He was/is a serious collector and there are some significant pieces. Around 30 customs including a Lum Tanto and Art Knife Invitaional knives from Jim Schmidt and T M Dowell as well as an early Brend sub 8. In addition to the customs, there are a little under 600 pocket knives stored in a cabinet that can hold 720.

I have some, but not much knife knowledge and am learning more everyday. Almost all of the customs have full documentation and even hand written letters from the makers so it's a little easier to research.

So far I am in the process of Flitz polishing any of the pocket knives that have tarnished from storage and giving them a coat of Renaissance Wax.

Looking for tips on storage, humidity control and insurance.

Thanks!
https://imgur.com/WhleF9V
https://imgur.com/IeuRkhT
https://imgur.com/ONW69xm
https://imgur.com/zzOZDFr
 
If I were you, I would invest at least in a Gold membership with all those beautiful knives. Also Welcome to BladeForums. Sorry I couldn't help you more.
 
Wow - that is completely awesome.

You are on the right track with Flitz and renaissance wax. Keep them stored in a relatively non-humid, room air temperature environment and you're good.

Wipe down any blades you have handled, with a light coat of oil before putting them away. I would also suggest that you not store any knives in their leather sheaths. Leather can trap moisture and accelerate tarnishing and rust on your blades.
 
Wow nice collection! Be careful about flitz, it will kill an edge in a hurry and can damage the value on vintage knives. Ren Wax is good stuff. I would also get the gold membership, then you can ask about values and sell if you would like.
Welcome!
 
I'm sorry for your loss. Looks like you've got a great chest of memories there.
Osclib2 said:
Looking for tips on storage, humidity control and insurance.
Click to expand...
In the short to medium term, add some dessicant packets (which you can buy in bulk on Amazon) to that knife chest. I keep a couple packs in every drawer of my knife chest, and even living in Seattle -- where it rains 6 months a year -- I have zero corrosion problems.
 
Osclib2 said:
Hi there, my Father has just passed along a pretty large collection of knives to me and its a bit overwhelming (in a good way). He was/is a serious collector and there are some significant pieces. Around 30 customs including a Lum Tanto and Art Knife Invitaional knives from Jim Schmidt and T M Dowell as well as an early Brend sub 8. In addition to the customs, there are a little under 600 pocket knives stored in a cabinet that can hold 720.

I have some, but not much knife knowledge and am learning more everyday. Almost all of the customs have full documentation and even hand written letters from the makers so it's a little easier to research.

So far I am in the process of Flitz polishing any of the pocket knives that have tarnished from storage and giving them a coat of Renaissance Wax.

Looking for tips on storage, humidity control and insurance.

Thanks!
https://imgur.com/WhleF9V
https://imgur.com/IeuRkhT
https://imgur.com/ONW69xm
https://imgur.com/zzOZDFr
Click to expand...
Welcome to BF! To get more info on the pocketknives, which look to be slipjoints, can ask in the Tradional Folders and Fixed Blades section, which is also called the Porch.

If you think you will sell some, would invest in a Gold membership, which also allows you to ask about values.
 
Ernie1980 said:
Wow nice collection! Be careful about flitz, it will kill an edge in a hurry and can damage the value on vintage knives. Ren Wax is good stuff. I would also get the gold membership, then you can ask about values and sell if you would like.
Welcome!
Click to expand...
Thanks. I will get the Gold membership. I won't be selling any of them, but I would like to narrow down current value for insurance purposes. I am just using the Flitz for tarnish removal on the bolsters and hopefully the Ren Wax will prevent them for tarnishing again for some time. No Flitz on the blades, only a wipe and Ren Wax.
 
Another consideration would be to apply leather conditioner to any sheaths you have.
 
You said your father was / is a serious collector.

If he "is", isn't he capable of giving you good advice on how to care for these knives? Or is there something we're missing here?

Also information about original, current / or recent values?

As mentioned above, we are limited in what we can discuss without your investing in a "Gold" membership or above.
 
Dadpool said:
I'm sorry for your loss. Looks like you've got a great chest of memories there.

In the short to medium term, add some dessicant packets (which you can buy in bulk on Amazon) to that knife chest. I keep a couple packs in every drawer of my knife chest, and even living in Seattle -- where it rains 6 months a year -- I have zero corrosion problems.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Dad is still very much alive though. Just passed them on to me to maintain. He had a fair number of silicon packets in the chest and they have always been air conditioned. I think where he went wrong is not coating them. Here is a before and after example of 1 of the 22 trays I need to go through:
https://imgur.com/qquvRpi
https://imgur.com/wiUfXOe
 
Osclib2 said:
Thanks, Dad is still very much alive though. Just passed them on to me to maintain.
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Oh gosh, I read "passed" and somehow skipped over "along." Sorry about that! :oops:

I don't know if other folks would agree, but personally I avoid absorbent cloth for long-term storage. Both the liner and the little bands holding each knife look like they're made of stuff that holds moisture.
 
Blues said:
You said your father was / is a serious collector.

If he "is", isn't he capable of giving you good advice on how to care for these knives? Or is there something we're missing here?

Also information about original, current / or recent values?

As mentioned above, we are limited in what we can discuss without your investing in a "Gold" membership or above.
Click to expand...
Well, Dad has never been a part of an online forum to gather information from so that is why I am doing it now. He is not nearly as active as he once was because of age and the collection does not get the attention that it once did. He recommended Ren Wax and was using some older polishes like Semichrome. I just want to learn and do what is best to preserve it.
 
Dadpool said:
Oh gosh, I read "passed" and somehow skipped over "along." Sorry about that! :oops:

I don't know if other folks would agree, but personally I avoid absorbent cloth for long-term storage. Both the liner and the little bands holding each knife look like they're made of stuff that holds moisture.
Click to expand...
Thanks! That is very good info. That was something I thought may be a culprit although the sides on the cloth are fairly untarnished and the sides that are exposed to the air seemed to discolor.
 
Osclib2 said:
Well, Dad has never been a part of an online forum to gather information from so that is why I am doing it now. He is not nearly as active as he once was because of age and the collection does not get the attention that it once did. He recommended Ren Wax and was using some older polishes like Semichrome. I just want to learn and do what is best to preserve it.
Click to expand...
I'm probably close to his age, so I get it.

Ren Wax is a good item to have. I've had the same can for a couple of decades and it still gets the job done without messing anything up.

I'd be very careful using Simichrome.

First thing...do no harm. It is often much better to do less...than more.

We'll move this over to the maintenance section where you'll get more appropriate responses on how to care for a large collection like this.
 
Although the members here are very good at estimating the current market value of many different knives, I don't think our opinions on such matters will help for insurance purposes. I think you're going to need a certified appraisal.

Of course the way an appraiser is going to determine current market value is the same way that we would- by searching the internet looking for what similar knives have recently sold for. But since a certified appraiser is certified, their opinion is the one that will matter to insurance companies.

But simply out of curiosity, if I were going to look around online for prices, I would start with Arizona Customs. They deal in the sale of many custom knives from many custom makers, and they show both the price the knives were sold for, and when they were sold.

Good luck. Welcome to Bladeforums. And my compliments on your fathers collection.
 
killgar said:
Although the members here are very good at estimating the current market value of many different knives, I don't think our opinions on such matters will help for insurance purposes. I think you're going to need a certified appraisal.

Of course the way an appraiser is going to determine current market value is the same way that we would- by searching the internet looking for what similar knives have recently sold for. But since a certified appraiser is certified, their opinion is the one that will matter to insurance companies.

But simply out of curiosity, if I were going to look around online for prices, I would start with Arizona Customs. They deal in the sale of many custom knives from many custom makers, and they show both the price the knives were sold for, and when they were sold.

Good luck. Welcome to Bladeforums. And my compliments on your fathers collection.
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Arizona Customs has been a good place to look so far. I think the 3 that will be the tricky ones are the T M Dowell/Bill Moran Damascus Dagger, the Jim Schmidt Dagger since I cannot find record of a sale of one anywhere and possibly the Brend since I have not seen another one with the maker mark/signature like mine.
 
Have a look at Nordic Knives as well. They do a lot of high end pieces...and there's a lot to see there for comparisons.
 
I don’t have anywhere near the knife knowledge that many BF members possess. That said, I’ll offer this. If your dad is in a condition that allows it, ask him. He might already have them insured, which would mean a list and an appraisal are out there already. Besides, I’ll wager that a collector with ~600 knives really might enjoy going through them with his son. Some of them will be attached to great stories!
 
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