restoring of an old knife

[maxegb]

Hi all,
My most valuable knife is an old pocketknife that belonged to my father,who died 7 years ago.At that time i was nineteen and since then i did not try to use, clean or restore it.Now , after lot of playing with other blades , i think i am ready to restore it and it's a feat that makes me tremble.( there will never be another knife like this in all the world ) this knife has a sheepsfoot blade and a can opener/wire cutter that is marked "1948 H.rowestham" and something else a cannot see clearly under the rust ; none of them are stainless, so there's a bit of oxide to remove. scales are made from a black sinthetic material , probably bakelite.
I think i will clean blades and springs with fine sandpaper first , then i will probably scrub them with a glass fiber scraper , in order to remove black pits and to clean nail notches. I still have no idea about cleaning the handle, but i think that any modern silicone polish will probably do the job.
Before starting this job i'd like to receive some advice from you fellow forumites.Have you got any tip or trick to pass me ?

 

[Hoss]

As long as there is'nt a lot of rust on the knife, cleaning it up as you are talking about will ruin whatever collector value the knife has, I would oil it generously and leave the blades alone. Just preserve it in memory of your father and get a carry knife that you would'nt mind losing (if it happened). That's a special knife!

[This message has been edited by Hoss (edited 09-25-2000).]

 

[maxegb]

Thanks for the advice

Get a carry knife i wouldn't mind losing ? i just have to pick up one of my other knives...no, i never carry my father's knife in a typical day so loosing it is not an issue. I generally carry it only a couple of days a year.