- Joined
- Dec 9, 2005
- Messages
- 2
Hi all,
I lurk once in a while... I rarely step into the light, but I need the help of the collective brain trust!
I picked up a Buck 112 at the gun show yesterday--$5 It was marked $10, and the guy said "Five and it's yours" even before I had halfway looked at it. Heck, for $5 I couldn't pass it up, even if there was something horribly wrong with it.
So, it had no sheath, just the knife, but it looks as though the knife had sat in the sheath for a long time, and for a goodly part of that in a humid environment. There is lumpy green mold (my best guess) on all the points where the knife would likely contact the leather sheath. The brass is pretty beat up, as if dropped or banged around a toolbox a LOT. And, the blade is, well, seriously abused (there ought to be a law!). In addition to looking like the owner had sawed cinder blocks with the blade edge, it also looked like he had tried to sharpen it on concrete--the edge is pretty bad (and ground lopsided), but the scrapes all along the edges parallel to the blade edge are horrid. Edges that had come square from Buck are rounded over. Anyway, a bit of a project to rehab.
I have "scraped" the mold off the brass using my thumbnail and a paper towel. It leaves a stain. I would like your recommendations for products/techniques for cleaning the brass. I realize that it may be that I need to go with Brasso to get back to something "clean enough" to start the process over of developing that lived-in look. Is there anything that you all know of that will take the stain out form the moldy areas? OR do I simply need to carefully and slowly buff/polish the brass until enough has been removed to get under the stain?
As for the blade, I gather that Flitz is pretty popular, and I'll pick some up. Other than the scrapes and desharpening job, the blade is in good shape. I will simply rehab the edge by re"grinding" it on stones and then work back from there to Scary Sharp (from my much earlier days on Oldtools, and before Scary Sharp was trademarked). Short of trying to rebuff the blade, is there a particular technique for getting rid of the worst of the scratches on the sides and relief lines of the blade?
Surprisingly, the wooden scales seem in pretty good shape--a little beaten up on the edges, but that's all. If I try to clean the wood with anything (Murphy's Oil Soap??), will that endanger the brass? If so, I'll leave the wood alone.
The overall condition of the knife is very decent. Looks like it wasn't used hard for a very long time, just abused for a little while.
Anyway, it makes a fun rehab project that I'll give to my brother when I am done. He lurks here, too... so don't tell him... ;^)
Thanks for any hints, suggestions, recommendations, and commiserations!
~henry
I lurk once in a while... I rarely step into the light, but I need the help of the collective brain trust!
I picked up a Buck 112 at the gun show yesterday--$5 It was marked $10, and the guy said "Five and it's yours" even before I had halfway looked at it. Heck, for $5 I couldn't pass it up, even if there was something horribly wrong with it.
So, it had no sheath, just the knife, but it looks as though the knife had sat in the sheath for a long time, and for a goodly part of that in a humid environment. There is lumpy green mold (my best guess) on all the points where the knife would likely contact the leather sheath. The brass is pretty beat up, as if dropped or banged around a toolbox a LOT. And, the blade is, well, seriously abused (there ought to be a law!). In addition to looking like the owner had sawed cinder blocks with the blade edge, it also looked like he had tried to sharpen it on concrete--the edge is pretty bad (and ground lopsided), but the scrapes all along the edges parallel to the blade edge are horrid. Edges that had come square from Buck are rounded over. Anyway, a bit of a project to rehab.
I have "scraped" the mold off the brass using my thumbnail and a paper towel. It leaves a stain. I would like your recommendations for products/techniques for cleaning the brass. I realize that it may be that I need to go with Brasso to get back to something "clean enough" to start the process over of developing that lived-in look. Is there anything that you all know of that will take the stain out form the moldy areas? OR do I simply need to carefully and slowly buff/polish the brass until enough has been removed to get under the stain?
As for the blade, I gather that Flitz is pretty popular, and I'll pick some up. Other than the scrapes and desharpening job, the blade is in good shape. I will simply rehab the edge by re"grinding" it on stones and then work back from there to Scary Sharp (from my much earlier days on Oldtools, and before Scary Sharp was trademarked). Short of trying to rebuff the blade, is there a particular technique for getting rid of the worst of the scratches on the sides and relief lines of the blade?
Surprisingly, the wooden scales seem in pretty good shape--a little beaten up on the edges, but that's all. If I try to clean the wood with anything (Murphy's Oil Soap??), will that endanger the brass? If so, I'll leave the wood alone.
The overall condition of the knife is very decent. Looks like it wasn't used hard for a very long time, just abused for a little while.
Anyway, it makes a fun rehab project that I'll give to my brother when I am done. He lurks here, too... so don't tell him... ;^)
Thanks for any hints, suggestions, recommendations, and commiserations!
~henry
