Recommendation? Restoration of a corroded knife (Puma Skinner)

A

Anthony Fister

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Jun 17, 2018
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A friend of mine asked me to clean up an old Puma Skinner.
The owner is more interested in removing the corrosion & "stain" than preserving the lightly etched lettering. Using some wet/dry 3m sandpaper, the corner of a waterstone, and Flitz, I have managed to remove the corrosion. But what it revealed was what appears to be a stain and some scattered pitting.
To be frank, at first I was unfamiliar with this brand of knife. I thought it might be some chrome plated POS. It looks like Puma did used to make some pretty good stuff around the time this was purchased (70's) so I'm sure it's using the "good" Pumamaster steel.

I'm looking for recommendations for what I might do next to improve the condition of this knife. Or maybe this is as good as it gets. I don't expect to fix the pitted spots (I wasn't going to relieve a bunch of steel just so the pits do not show), but I was hoping to remove what appears to be a stain where there once was rust.
I hope this picture helps.
https://imgur.com/LUxK0bM

Thanks!
 
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The steel is actually chrome plated. Most Puma blades are plated with industrial hard chrome.
That's about as good as you are going to get on that knife.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
The steel is actually chrome plated. Most Puma blades are plated with industrial hard chrome.
That's about as good as you are going to get on that knife.
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What he said!^^^^ Also tell our buddy to keep the knife coated in a few layers of Floor or auto Wax to try to keep it from oxidizing further!!
 
I’ve got a puma 1968 white hunter and got the same advice. Still, buffing with the red or green buffing tips for a dremel wouldn’t hurt the plating would it? And I’m hoping some of the pitted areas, which appear to be rust may in fact just be stains from the dark brown sheath.
 
Yes, you can eat through the plating with felt bobs in a Dremel-especially with green rouge.
Rust can be scraped down to bare metal with a sharp edged piece of brass, or an old copper penny. Buffing is not the way to remove rust.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Yes, you can eat through the plating with felt bobs in a Dremel-especially with green rouge.
Rust can be scraped down to bare metal with a sharp edged piece of brass, or an old copper penny. Buffing is not the way to remove rust.
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They aren’t felt, they’re like steel wool except fabric. They disappear fast during use. I used one to dull out the snail trails on my Ti Millie. Would brass wire work?
 
Those sound like Scotchbrite-type abrasive wheels. Most definitely they will scratch/remove plating.
Brass wheels will work, but any polishing compounds will abrade the plating.
 
People don’t realize that a cotton Sisal wheel or even a Muslin buff , and all of the other kinds of abrasive wheels, especially with Compound does/can remove a few thousands of steel..
 
I see that someone must have already done some buffing on this blade I hadn’t noticed. Well, since the serrations were visibly ground off when I bought it, I paid the price I wanted(less than 1/3 of what better preserved examples sell for) so I’m not upset. Wanted to see how the knife handled, and It’s a user rather than a collectible piece. I just keep forgetting is all.71CB2CBA-BE18-4D5F-967E-0DA3A31B0962.jpeg
 
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Those are Scotchbrite wheels.
On a blade in that's that bad, block sanding all the plating off won't hurt a thing, but it will be difficult to get it all off without removing the handle.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Those are Scotchbrite wheels.
On a blade in that's that bad, block sanding all the plating off won't hurt a thing, but it will be difficult to get it all off without removing the handle.
Click to expand...

If I leave it as is will the knife pit out before my eyes if I use it like a regular 1095 blade, ie clean after use, oil it?
 
Don't forget it's value as a user, as many old school hunters in my area will testify.
Pumaster steel is very tough, easy to sharpen, the burr will almost fall off by itself, and it will take and hold a very good edge.
The steel also has a tendency to form a protecting blackish patina long before any red rust sets in.
You might consider sending it off to Josh from Razor Edge for a high quality regrind.
That will of course remove most of what remains of the hard chrome layer, but you would gain a knife that will both cut and look noticeably better than it does now.
 
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