Two junkers --> Two better pieces

[AllenMcB]

I recently bought two older pocket knives, a Camillus BSA camp knife, and a Kamp King camp knife, for a total of $20. The blades were rusted and tarnished to a dark grey, the hinges sticky, blades dull, etc.

Being Sunday afternoon, I spent a pleasant hour with an old tube of Simichrome Polish and two rags. The crummy junkers now feel much, much better, and aren't an embarrassment to the other knives in the drawer.

Camillus BSA BEFORE

Camillus BSA AFTER

Kamp King BEFORE

Kamp King AFTER

End result of $20 and 20 cents worth of polish

Now, I've got to figure out how to get the rust stains off the blades. Any suggestions?

 

[Hard H2O]

If they are going to be users I would sharpen them and leave them as is. They look good with a bit of age on them.

 

[rebeltf]

I agree with HardH20 but , if you must then get some extra fine steel wool and use your polish paste , doesnt matter what brand they all do the same thing , and polish those rust spots off.

Most likely some are actual pit and may not come off all the way , but IMO it adds character to an old knife.

 

[AllenMcB]

Most likely some are actual pit and may not come off all the way , but IMO it adds character to an old knife.

These two knives were so corroded in the hinges that some blades wouldn't open, some were caked with rust. Once I started cleaning them up and oiling them, they looked so much better and worked so much better, I just went ahead and cleaned them up as best I could. No metal removed, no reshaping, etc., just an old dishrag and some Simichrome. They certainly don't (and won't) look new, but at least I can pull one out now without people thinking I store my pocket knife in a salt cellar.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Hard H2O]

These two knives were so corroded in the hinges that some blades wouldn't open, some were caked with rust. Once I started cleaning them up and oiling them, they looked so much better and worked so much better, I just went ahead and cleaned them up as best I could. No metal removed, no reshaping, etc., just an old dishrag and some Simichrome. They certainly don't (and won't) look new, but at least I can pull one out now without people thinking I store my pocket knife in a salt cellar.

Thanks for the input!

To a non-knife nut they might look like you abused them. If you pulled one out and I saw it I would assume that they were family heirlooms or some such.

 

[Zeasor]

These two knives were so corroded in the hinges that some blades wouldn't open, some were caked with rust. Once I started cleaning them up and oiling them, they looked so much better and worked so much better, I just went ahead and cleaned them up as best I could. No metal removed, no reshaping, etc., just an old dishrag and some Simichrome. They certainly don't (and won't) look new, but at least I can pull one out now without people thinking I store my pocket knife in a salt cellar.

Thanks for the input!

There's a freedom with using an old knife for me. I'm not afraid to use it for the task at hand; no fear of scratching it, dulling it, dropping it, etc. Steel wool that sucker with some WD40 and use it.

 

[AllenMcB]

Steel wool that sucker with some WD40 and use it.

I've got some 0000 steel wool on the desk now. It's wearing down most of the rust spots, leaving the discoloration (which is okay with me), but getting the thick rust residue off where it was really bad. It any case, they look good enough to give away now.

Just sharpened the BSA knife, and it's going to the troop meeting with me tonight. It came out pretty nice.

Now that official BSA knives are made in China, these are my best source of cost-effective USA made BSA knives. I pick up crummy looking USA BSA knives (sometimes others) when possible, clean them up, make them presentable, and then give them to my guys during various presentations. A boy who has just earned his Totin' Chip or a new troop officer position is more appreciative of a clean 40 year old American made BSA knife that he is a new, Chinese, $12.95 BSA Whittler.

I'll end up giving the Kamp King to one of the Scouts for something less significant, I imagine. It was inexpensive when made, but an inexpensive knife from 30 or 40 years ago is frequently a better pocketknife than what a young Scout can afford to buy today.

 

[Zeasor]

The WD40 may help penetrate/loosen the rust. Use something else for lubrication.

I applaud your work with the Boy Scouts. :thumbup: I wish I had some of my 40+ year old BSA knives to pass along.

 

[AllenMcB]

The WD40 may help penetrate/loosen the rust. Use something else for lubrication.

I use 3 In 1 oil for most everything, but I do have some WD40. I'll try that, thanks for the suggestion.

I applaud your work with the Boy Scouts. :thumbup: I wish I had some of my 40+ year old BSA knives to pass along.

If you want to see what we're up, to, our website is www.BSATroop45.Org. next week we're working on getting ready for the spring camporee, which is a "re-do" of the camporee held here in 1957. One of the events involves sharpening a knife and a hatchet for tinder and kindling prep. Guess who gets to teach the sharpening? 12 year olds have trouble grasping the notion of 15 degrees, but they do understand "you can slide a nickel under it".

 

[Zeasor]

...12 year olds have trouble grasping the notion of 15 degrees, but they do understand "you can slide a nickel under it".

Will you settle for 22°? Try the technique on the Spyderco Sharpmaker training video. Hold your knife blade straight up and down (perpendicular) to the stone, that's 90°. Now, lean it over half way, that's 45°. Lean it over half way again and that's 22.5°. 12 year olds may not understand degrees but they can grasp "straight up and down" and "half way over". A 15° bevel may be a long, slow grind at age 12.

 

[AllenMcB]

12 year olds may not understand degrees but they can grasp "straight up and down" and "half way over".

Good explanation, that is! Thanks, Zeasor, I'll use that method next time we have Totin' Chip class. Heck, even I can understand that idea.

 

[Zeasor]

Good explanation, that is! Thanks, Zeasor, I'll use that method next time we have Totin' Chip class. Heck, even I can understand that idea.

I mis-posted. The "half way over" approach came from DMT's training video. Hope this link helps.

It seems to me that the absolute bevel angle would be less important than the boys acquiring the motor skill and technique to hold and reproduce a chosen angle and acquiring the patience to grind away at that angle. Patience on the stone wasn't a problem for me during my scouting days because I enjoyed it. I still have a tiny translucent Arkansas stone from those days. Oh, how my bevels did shine. Knives were a passion.

Keep 'em sharp.

 

[AllenMcB]

I mis-posted. The "half way over" approach came from DMT's training video. Hope this link helps.

I just watched this video. The demonstrator gave the knife six passes on a side before turning it over, and doing six passes on the other side.

We've always been told, and I've always taught, to turn the knife blade over after each stroke, i.e., to alternate sides when sharpening.

What's the story on the "six per side" process?

 

[Buck268]

I've never found WD40 the best for ANYTHING. If you want to loosen up rust, PB Blaster works great, hoppes gun oil is also better than WD40 (in my experience any light weight *oil* is better than WD40). If you want a solvent, use a solvent; 3M makes the best stuff IMHO.

That said, I've cleaned up a few old Imperials that looked like that. One I polished up with Mother's metal polish and oiled up nicely with hoppe's. Came out real nice; too nice actually, its an ammo box queen (like a safe queen but mine are in ammo boxes). The other I just wiped down real well with hoppes oil and lubed up to preserve the patina. I did polish up the bolsters but they were so pitted it only had limited effectiveness. Used to use that knife a lot when I lived on-campus as it was very non-assuming.


Ahh, if only they were more convienent to access and open, I much prefere their timeless style and class to that of my handy and robust spyderco!

 

[Zeasor]

I just watched this video. The demonstrator gave the knife six passes on a side before turning it over, and doing six passes on the other side.

We've always been told, and I've always taught, to turn the knife blade over after each stroke, i.e., to alternate sides when sharpening.

What's the story on the "six per side" process?

That's Hollywood fer ya. Actually, multiple strokes per side is more efficient and more effective. It is much easier for a person to hold a constant angle for repeated strokes if he is not flipping the knife over. Each flip requires "finding" the angle again. The common expert approach is to sharpen one side until a burr forms then repeat the same on the other side. Here is a detailed tutorial with diagrams:

Knife Maintenance and Sharpening by Chad Ward