Reparing rust and aluminum liner oxidation on Victorinox knives.

M

Mud Shrimp Moe

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Nov 6, 2011
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644
I've recently purchases some used SAKs and have two problems.

The first is on an Executive model that I bought. There is some noticable rust patina on some of the blades. It's not bad enough for pitting and is only on the surface. Last night I washed the knife well with soapy water, rinsed, ground some of the rust off (using a wetstone fine surface, as I was out of sandpaper or steel wool), dried it, and wiped the blade down with Tuf-Cloth. I know Tuf-Cloth is a rust preventative. But since there is still some patina on the blades, do you think it will arrest further decay? Is surface patina even much of an issue?

The second problem is on a Waiter model that I bought on the world's largest auction site for $4 shipped. That's a great deal, but I overlooked in the description that the bottle cap remover / screwdriver blade will not open. The seller says it "needs cleaning" to get it to work. I suspect what's happened is aluminum liner oxidation. I didn't know aluminum would even do that, but a Google search indicates it will. But I can't find out how to fix it.

It's only a $4 knife, so I'm willing to experiment with any reasonable or even extreme measure to reverse the damage and lube the blade so it's usable. Can anybody recommend a solution to either problem?

I'm sorry I don't have pics at the moment. But I can post some later.
 
Hey moe,

For your first situation, maybe you can try a rubbing compound used on car surfaces. I use turtle wax rubbing compound. The wax is a very mild abrasive that sort of "sands" the surface while polishing it. I think this will remove the patina on the blade because it even works with light scratches.

As for your second situation, as long as you're not using it on food, maybe you can spray the knife with WD-40 and let it sit overnight. Don't wipe off the excess WD-40 and instead just allow it to seep in and do its work. This might work to unclog the knife hinge. Oh but don't forget to wash it once you have it working again... WD-40 is pretty toxic. :)

Cheers!
 
By the way moe,

Remember that thread where I mentioned that I love the scissors on Vics? And then your talk on wanting thinner knives made me want to go minimalist?

Well, I'm getting a new Vic in the next few days - a Victorinox Compact.

It's as thin as the Spartan or the Tinker, but the can/bottle opener layer is replaced by the scissors. The small blade is then replaced with a combo tool that has BOTH the can opener and the bottle opener. So it pretty much has all of the functionality of a Climber but because of the combo tool, it is one layer thinner. :)

Gives me the scissors that I love. And gives the thinness that you like in SAKs.

Try it out as well! :D
 
Thanks for the recommendations, Carloxicus. I've used buffing compound before and will give that a try on this blade. I'll also pick up some WD-40 and give it a shot on the "locked" blade. I'm hoping the seller just didn't put much effort into opening it (it's a TSA seizure) and that I can open it before I treat it. The knife has a high res photo and no rust was visible, so I'm hoping it's not bad where I could not see it in the pics.

As for the Compact, I've seen them and they look like a very good configuration. As noted in another recent thread, the price point on those is a bit high compared to Spartans and Tinkers, or even larger models like the Explorer. But I suppose pricing isn't based on a "per feature" or "per gram" type formula by Victorinox. I'll keep my eye out for a good deal on a Compact, because it looks like a great knife.

For now, I'm enjoying the heck out of the Executive. It's small, has full sized scissors and six other instruments counting the toothpick and tweezers. But, alas, it has no bottle opener or can opener combo tools.
 
BTW, Carloxicus, you know the Golfer 91mm model is basically the Compact, except for the later models added a "divot tool" instead of the combo bottle capper/flathead screwdriver. They can be had (new, not used) online for $10 shipped. The earlier models were essentially identical to the Compact (save for the silly golfer logo) and, per SAKwiki, the "ancestor" of the Compact.

I like the black Compact a lot better, but I can't decide if I want a Golfer 91mm since they are so much cheaper. The divot tool would only be a curiosity to me, but at this point I have enough SAKs I'm buying for style rather than features anyway.
 
All the severely stuck or unmovable SAK tools I have worked with do not ever really get back to being usable. The liner probably needs to be replaced.

BTW, I have soaked in various oils, and used dental floss on the joint, put it in a freezer, heated it, and basically it only improves the movement slightly. I have never disassembled one but I might do that in the near future and try modding a SAK.
 
dfwcowboy, I'm just wondering how many you've seen in this condition and do you know how they go there?

If I can't fix this one via other methods, I'll go ahead and knock out the pins and tear the knife down. What the heck? I'd like to learn to do it anyway and I think it's better to do it the first time on a knife I only have $4 invested in.
 
Mud Shrimp Moe said:
dfwcowboy, I'm just wondering how many you've seen in this condition and do you know how they go there?
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More than 10, not sure how many. Some were a friends and a couple were mine. What I have seen is just folks not properly cleaning their knives and over time the grit , dust and crud cause some kind of gouging to the liners in the pivot area.
 
Carloxicus said:
Oh moe,

Here's an article about SAK restoration. He used WD-40 here as well. And the knife here is in a really bad state, a condition that's probably far worse than what your knife is in.

Check it out:
http://www.sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=376&Itemid=35
Click to expand...



That's a very encouraging article, and an awesome endorsement of the powers of WD-40, actually. That knife looks far worse than the one I'm buying.

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Mud Shrimp Moe said:
That's a very encouraging article, and an awesome endorsement of the powers of WD-40, actually. That knife looks far worse than the one I'm buying.
Click to expand...

Nice! A waiter. Is that the 84mm one? By the way, tell me how it performs... still haven't gotten the Compact and I'm wondering if I can do without the scissors and be okay with the Waiter. Probably the 91mm though so I can get the Plus scales for the extra tools.

Thanks.
 
Carloxicus said:
Nice! A waiter. Is that the 84mm one? By the way, tell me how it performs... still haven't gotten the Compact and I'm wondering if I can do without the scissors and be okay with the Waiter. Probably the 91mm though so I can get the Plus scales for the extra tools.

Thanks.
Click to expand...



Just a tip, but you can get a Golfer (includes scissors) quite cheaply. Most have the "divot" tool instead of the (more useful) screw/bottle opener combo tool. But they did make some with a combo tool instead of the divot fixer. 91mm. $9.99 for new old stock on the world's largest online retailer's site.

If I could find a Golfer with a combo tool instead of the divot tool, it'd be pretty close to a perfect EDC. I also love the Executive, however.
 
Too funny. I have a Waiter too with a severely seized combo tool that I have barely been able to budge. The blade is only a little better. I probably need to take it apart and see what the liners look like since I have given up on getting it back to usable service.
 
Tonight, if I get home in time to get the Waiter from my apt office (which receives my packages), I'm going to give it an overnight bath in WD-40 and see where that gets me. If it doesn't get me where I can operate the tool acceptably, I'm going to remove the scales, pop the rivets, and do some knife surgery. I understand there are YouTube videos about doing this. I'm not sure how one re-rivets the knife, but I'll try it.

As for sending it back to Victorinox for repair, I only have $4 invested in the knife. So it's cheap enough to satisfy my curiosity in taking one apart.

As for the patina on the Executive, I've had good luck removing it with a scrub pad. Tonight I'll rub it down with some stainless/silver polish and then Tuf-Glide it up. It'll will be fine.
 
Well I got the Waiter today and "repairing" it was laughably easy. First of all, the eBay seller said the combo blade would not open. That was false. It was really stiff, but I opened it using my thumbnail, and my thumbnails aren't made of steel or anything. It got much better after just cleaning it with some Palmolive. Then I used a generous amount of Goo Gone. The knife's condition actually looked quite good (blades were in fine shape and liners didn't look bad) figuring that some "goo" must be clogging it up. It was really quite acceptable after only that. But for a next step I drenched it in WD-40 and let it soak/set for about an hour. That's all it took. Overnight soaking was not necessary.

I'll see if it seizes up on me later, but for now, the Waiter is rocking! It's a really cool knife, btw. The combo cap lifter/can opener/screwdriver is a nice tool that eliminates the need for another can opener. And having a single layer 84mm SAK with most of the functionality of a Spartan (but only about half of the weight) is just too nice. This could become a favorite EDC blade for urban carry.
 
Well its hard to go wrong with a $4 knife that is easy to fix. Glad it worked out. I am going to dismember my knife and take photos to see the liner damage or whatever is wrong with it. I will post some photos if they come out good.
 
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