Little Knife, Big Cleaning Job

[oldmanwilly]

Howdy,

I ran across a little Schrade jack knife that is in desperate need of attention and I thought to start a WIP thread.

Backstory: I needed to borrow my grandparents' old car and found this little jack nestled between the seat and console.



It belonged to my late Opa who has not been in this car for 4-5 years, so it's been gathering gunk and rusting for at least that long, possibly longer.





Fortunately, the blades still open fairly easily despite the rust. Unfortunately, I think I'll have to use steel wool to remove rust and stop further pitting.




This morning I used a toothpic to scrape away as much rust and crud as I could before dropping the jack into a ziploc full of mineral oil. Hopefully that will help loosen things up a bit before I try scraping away more rust. I'll guage progress before moving on to using vinegar and/or steel wool to attack the rest of the rust. The springs seem strong and I'm optimistic that I can get the blades back to snapping open and shut soon.

Please feel free to offer suggestions for cleaning solutions, other methods, or pics of knives you've similarly rescued.

 

[tinfoil hat timmy]

soak that sucker in simple green then give it a rub down with something like a scotch brite

 

[oldmanwilly]

tinfoil hat timmy do you mean this stuff?

 

[tinfoil hat timmy]

yup. itll keep the bone nice

 

[oldmanwilly]

Thanks! I'll have to find some.

 

[AntDog]

I’d recommend WD-40 and start low on the abrasive scale and work your way up. WD and an old toothbrush will get a surprising amount of stuff off. Then move to 0000 steel wool, then up to green 3M pads, etc. til it’s clean.

 

[Arkansawyer]

Has anyone tried using Evapo-rust when cleaning these knives? I’ve never tried it on a knife but use it all the time in the shop and soaked a bunch of items in it. I’ve soaked parts that had aluminum and brass in them before I just don’t know if it would do anything to the scales.

 

[killgar]

One thing you need to be careful about when cleaning/restoring knives and using chemical rust removers is how those cleaners/chemicals might negatively affect the handle scales. Do plenty of research before you apply any chemicals or start doing any chemical baths. You wouldn't want to dissolve any synthetic handles, bleach natural materials, or cause any other damage.

When in doubt, don't use it.

 

[oldmanwilly]

All fair points. I'm certain that the scales are delrin which, in my experience, is pretty resilient.

I'm letting it soak for another day before trying to scrape away rust/corrosion again. Mineral oil is harmless so I thought that would be a good starting point before choosing to escalate.

 

[Letoff]

You must have some time on your hands cause as bad as that thing is, I'd have tossed it.
BUT, now you got me interested so keep us posted with your progress and remember to post pics.

 

[Officer's Match]

Crap! You found the murder weapon.

 

[GmpaJim]

Anyone had experience with ultrasonic cleaning in a case like this?

 

[bayouace]

Tubular lantern restorers often use reverse electrolysis with excellent results.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

I use ultrasonics every day. They help, but are just one tool in the shed. I also use small wire brushes in a flexible shaft machine, and a large carding wire wheel made for gun bluing. WD 40 and WD 40 Specialist are your friends in cases like this. Regardless, much hand work is still needed. Mineral oil is too thick to have much effect on the rust.

 

[Another Shepherd]

Project Farm on Youtube ran tests of Evapo-Rust, molasses, vinegar, and muriatic acid for rust removal.

I have seen Pete on Cedric & Ada use CLR.

 

[Letoff]

Where we at on progress ? Today is Thursday, you've had 2 full work days since your post

 

[oldmanwilly]

Letoff I was able to make significant progress last night. I wasn't able to take photos in the moment as my hands were coated in grimey oil, but I'll snap some pics of the mostly cleaned up knife when I get to my office (it has better lighting).

 

[Letoff]

I'm excited to see Willy

 

[oldmanwilly]

I'm excited to see Willy

If I had a nickel for every time I heard that... I could probably buy a coke in the 50's.

Great progress today. I spent 30 minutes last night scraping away rust, corrosion, lint, and who-know what else from the blades, joints, and the frame. As a consumate professional, I chose to use an old Opinel #8 to do all of this scraping.

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Other than a few spots along the edge, I think I've removed most, if not all, of the active rust. As you can see, there is some deep pitting near the ricasso on the main blade. I'm undecided as to whether I will try to remove the pitting or just sharpen, use it, and keep it oiled. I never expected, or wanted, to make this look brand new again so I am leaning towards the latter option.

After working the joints a couple hundred times I am happy to report that both blades are nice and snappy. However, I have one major problem: the main blade seriously wobbles laterally when open.

https://imgur.com/dgYfuj0

This little Jack has the Swindon Key construction. Is there any way to tighten up the pivot without dismantling the knife? Would a few light taps on an anvil be effective or destructive?

 

[oldmanwilly]

I think I have found the answer to my question, and it doesn't look good:

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/any-hope-for-loose-swindon-key-knives.1159886/

I don't think it would be worth the time or effort to try to tighten up the pivot, unless somebody has discovered a new, simpler method. Que sera, sera.