Renovate old Buck folder?

J

jlmac

Joined
Jun 3, 2003
Messages
7
Would the experts here please advise the best way to remove a heavy depost of verdigris (sp?) from the brass bolsters of an old Buck folder?

This knife is a Buck 'Folding Hunter' or equivalent from the mid-1960's. Carried by a Vietnam vet and probably not removed from its leather sheath since he returned, it has accumulated heavy verdigris as several points on the bolsters. (Verdigris - the greasy blue-green stuff that forms on neglected brass in contact with leather. Most of it is probably copper sulfate, but I'll leave that to the experts too.) Most of this stuff is at the actual points the handle has contacted the sheath.

There is no other corrosion - the blade itself is undamaged. And the wood (Walnut?) scales are undamaged too. It would be nice to get this old knife cleaned up if this can be accomplished without further damage.

Thanks, Jim
 
Two ways:

Try and get some brass cleaner and do it yourself.

Or send you knife to Buck, and they will take very very good care of the knife and clean it all up for you. It is all part of their lifetime warantee, which is among the best in the business.
 
You can probably get it at your local Rite Aid or Home Deport. This stuff is like magic. Wipe it on, bub it around for a few seconds and wipe it dry and the grunge is gone! It works rwonders on brass or silver tarnish and doesn't seem to affect the surrounding wood. It's great for chrome on Motorcycles as well.

jmx
 
Many thanks, one and all, for your prompt and informative responses. Maybe there's life in the old Buck yet!

Jim
 
best stuff i have found and man i've tryed them all is Mothers mag wheel polish,comes in small white container for around 6.99,found mine at walmart
 
My name says it all...

I'm stickin up for mothers! Just wipe it down real well afterwards, it has a wax base to the paste :cool:

Edit: speelin mistakes
 
Originally posted by parfive
Flitz will clean it right up
Click to expand...

I'm going with Flitz too.

After wiping off the excess, coat with Renaissance Wax. A matter of fact, do them same to the blade as well.

But for the wood I would only apply the Ren Wax, leave the Flitz alone when it comes to wood. If the wood is real dry (a telling sign of this is a whitish-flat look vs. a more vivid wet-look luster) then I would rub in lemon oil (or something similar) and the apply Ren Wax. over the oil once the oil has dried.

And don't forget the sheath. Depending on it's condition you might want to use saddle soap for cleaning & softening (remember this isn't always a good idea for sheath knives but your dealing with a folder) or maybe shoe polish (neutral or colored) for reconditioning rub marks or maybe just a leather conditioner if the sheath looks generally OK to you.

You do all that and this Buck will be looking like new in no time at all.:)

--The Raptor--
 
Alcohol may do it, just apply with a soft cloth, it won´t polish but probably won´t need much scrubbing either. I like to use sweet almond oil in wood handles, for the leather sheath, neats foot oil is good though it may darken its color.
 
All -

The job is done and the old Buck folder looks like new... maybe better than new. I wish you all could see it. Unfortunately, I do not have the ability to hotlink images in this forum. However, I would be pleased to send anyone who is interested a few 'before and after' pictures. Just send an email or private message, and indicate whether you prefer .jpg attachments or HTML format. I can't promise instant response, but will try to be prompt.

Actually, earlier this evening I tried to compose a lengthier post describing the job is some detail. However, despite logging in like a good boy, when I tried to 'submit' the post the forum dumped me out to another login page and the text was lost. Suffice it to say, however, that the job was straightforward and went pretty much as you fellows expected. 90 minutes or so.

The only complication I ran into was that the bluegreen gunk had accumulated in the blade's lockback notch, preventing anything like full engagement of the lockback 'tooth'. Dummy me didn't catch this and the blade nearly lopped off a digit bringing the matter to my attention! So this verdigris corrosion problem is not simply a cosmetic one... potentially, anyhow.

Again, many thanks for your advice and recommendations.

Jim
 
With Blue Magic you would have been done in ten minutes.

Glad your Buck knife is shiny again.

jmx

PS: Of course then you'd spend another 75 minutes ooogling the newly cleaned shiny knife for net gain of only 5 minutes.
 
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