"Scuff" on my Ruana

T

TheLastUserName

Joined
Nov 30, 2005
Messages
39
Ok, I was going to place this Ruana 30A Bowie on Ebay tonight and list it as "Mint" (has never been sharpened and is rarely out of the sheath), but as I started photographing it I noticed something on the blade.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c55/TheLastUserName/Knives/RuanaScuff.jpg

A closer look:

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c55/TheLastUserName/Knives/suff.jpg


These scans are higher resolution, so feel free to zoom in.


It appears that at some point in the past something got on the blade. In the scan the mark looks more like pitting, but it's more like Tar on the blade. It also looks like my father-in-law (it was his knife) tried to clean it off, but it's more likely that something got on the blade and it scuffed when it was placed in its sheath.

I was able to remove most of the Tar stuff with some WD-40 and a T-Shirt (sorry if I did that wrong, but I don't know much about knives.)

I had my cousin look at it, who is a serious collector, and he told me that it would be pretty easy to clean/buff out, but he forgot to tell me what to clean it with or how.


Should I attempt to remove it or buff it out before selling it, or not? If I am to do it myself, how should I? I was just going to go ahead and sell it because I don't want to try to remove it and put permanent scratches on the blade (right now, the scuffing marks don't feel like they're actually scratches, just more of a smear.)

Help?
 
I should also mention that I found the knife to be coated in a heavy grease and in its sheath. I think this is what is on the blade. Apparently he put lots of thich grease on all of his knives.
 
Maybe some moisture got trapped under the grease (if it was thick stuff), and caused the mark. If it can't be buffed out, I would imagine a good maker could refinish the blade for you.
 
You could try using a more powerful degreaser, like Gun Scrubber or a carb cleaner. Then rub it down with something a little more abrasive. Scotch Brite or the plastic dishwashing scrubbers that you find at the grocery store work well. You have to be very careful that it’s not too abrasive though, or it can scratch the finish.

If the finish is already scratched, and it’s not just grease or something smeared on the blade, then you’re pretty much screwed. You would have to refinish the entire blade, which IMO you definitely don’t want to do. I think that it’s probably a good idea to just sell the knife “as is” if you have any doubts about trying to remove the scuff.
 
I would soak that part of the blade in some Goo Gone or some other really concentrated stain remover/degreaser that's oil based, so you don't run the risk of corroding the surrounding steel. Other than that, if it's to be sold as a collectors item I wouldn't buff anything out, save perhaps a light rubdown with flitz or similar. Anything more aggressive than that and you may run the risk of devaluing the knife. The various "gunscrubber" type degreasers might work, but they are highly volatile, and can easily damage handle material if you aren't careful.
 
Ok, I looked at it some more tonight after cleaning it up a bit, and it does appear that there is already some damage to the finish, and the remaining specks are indeed pitts.

Should I have the blade refinished, and if so should I see if ruanaknifeworks will do it?
 
Hey Neighbor. Great looking blade you have. I know the guys at the Ruana shop and have purchased several knives from them. Drop me an email and I will give you some info on the last time that I had a Ruana refurbished by them.

Talk to you later.
 
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