Old Estwing needs love

[Danny Linguini]

I’ve got this Estwing fixie that’s the better part of 40 years old, that’s spent about the last 10-15 years in my shed. I dug it out about a month ago, cleaned it up as best I could, and put a killer edge on it. But I think I can do better.

- Is there anything that will clean up the spots on the blade, guard and pommel? It looks like oxidation and gunk, it’s not pitted, but it doesn’t scrape off with a thumbnail. I haven’t tried anything harder or abrasive cos I don’t want to mess up what’s left of the polished finish.

- The sheath still has a musty smell from sitting unused all those years. The leather feels like it’s otherwise in good shape. Is there anything I can safely treat it with to get rid of the smell and small stains that won’t bork up the leather? I could just replace the sheath with a generic one, but I’d like to keep the original if I can save it.

TIA!

 

[bikerector]

Rust eraser bar or a strop. Flitz or other polishing compound is also common. Elbow grease or a rotary tool with a buffing attachment.

 

[bikerector]

For the sheath, leather soap if it's in there really good. If it's mild, sometimes just using some conditioner helps a lot. Cleaning before conditioning is the "right"way, but with my own stuff, sometimes I get lazy and just clean/brush and add a conditioner. I use a mink oil paste, though I'm not sure what's actually in it. Bought a tub a decade ago for boots and a leather couch (vinyl backside) and haven't run out yet. A little goes a long ways.

If you don't have any mink oil, shoot me an address and I can ziplock bag a little in an evelope for you to try. I bought another tub recently just to try a different brand on my boots.

 

[JM2]

I recently brought back a schrade ph1 sheath. It had a mildew / musty smell. What I did was, Wash it in the sink with my dish sponge and dawn with some mild bleach water solution (this removes any mildew on the surface). Then, give it a wetting spray of 50/50 vinegar water (this kills any remaining mildew below the surface and in the cracks). I let that dry on it. Then, best I recall I gave it another scrub in the sink to further remove any surface mildew but more for removing the vinegar. Then when dry, I put it in a bag with baking soda, agitating it occasionally, for a month and checked it. Progress, but another month did the trick. No smell. Then I took it out and gave it a coat of paste wax.