Vintage Knife Clean Up Question, new rules? etc.

[PointyThang]

Hello,
So I have not been around here for like a decade. But I used to post a lot on HI talking with Uncle Bill, RIP. Been completely out of the e-bay and knife trading selling business for 14 years.

Cut to the chase, I am selling a dozen or more fairly decent vintage pocket knife blades from Cattaraugus to Case to Boker to Kent, etc. for first time. I noticed that many if not most of the blades being sold on E-Bay and on other sites have been pretty heavily cleaned. I was always told that was a "no no" in antiques and especially knives. I mean I often cleaned any dirt or junk off the knife but it is clear that a lot of the knives being sold and even for rather high prices above three hundred dollars have been what I would call..."BUFFED" meaning more than just cleaned but completely polished.

What gives?
Thanks for any thoughts.

Jeeze look at me I am an old newbie.

 

[zzyzzogeton]

I personally am of the "Don't buff it, just kill the rust" crowd.

A shiny blade with obvious wear on the handles/rivets/guard and half the ricasso stamp buffed off is usually a deal killer for me unless the knife is so rare and so under priced that it's a bargain, and even then I'd think 2 or 3 times. Honest age/wear are perfectly acceptable to me.

 

[The Mastiff]

If the knife is a true collector item than cleaning can lower the value. If it is used and rusted it probably won't have much value to real collectors except in situations where the knife is collectable for other reasons like it's the knife that president Lincon carried.

If it is a case 1950's model and it's not in great condition than it's price reflects that and it won't go at much higher a price than any used one.

Most true collectors I know have very stringent rules on what goes in their collection. Each knife is different and there are no overarching rules to follow except a knife is worth what you can sell it for.

Joe

 

[KenHash]

I think the term "vintage" can mean different things to different people. A 1984 knife is vintage to one person while a 1948 one is to another.
Many sites go on about how you should leave a "vintage" knife alone as much as possible. But if you stop to consider that some of us have knives we bought
ourselves many decades ago, a dirty rusty knife of that same vintage to us simply looks poorly maintained and ignored. We certainly wouldn't treat our firearms that
way. I personally think that knives over 50-60 years old, knives that have historical value obviously should be left alone. But anything else makes little difference if
it is cleaned and polished. Just my 2 cents.

 

[PointyThang]

Quick Reply, thank you so much for the advice from all of you, I do agree with all the comments and happy to hear some common sense on the matter. It seems to me after mulling it over that some collectors are the type to buff all shiny and some are not. Also, I think there are a lot of buyers willing right now to pay for a "newer looking" vintage knife under a hundred bucks just because they are getting into vintage for the first time. This is just a thought and may be connected to new influx of millennial buyers or simply an endless cycle. I think I am just gonna describe honestly and show the rust or whatever, that's how I always did things before. Who knows, trail and error will show...but I really thank you all for your responses and I think I am gonna stick around, I forgot how fun this place can be.

 

[Tony_A]

IMO buffing knives (either on a rag wheel, or by hand with Flitz/Maas/MetalGlo/etc) destroys their collector value.

The reason is that these methods all remove the original metal finish. A beginner may not be able to tell the difference between a glaze or crocus finish vs one that has been buffed out (not to mention what buffing does to sharp edges and lettering) but anyone really serious about knives will only pay "user" prices for ones that have been buffed.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

You can not tell a properly restored knife from one that has not been restored.
Most people have no business trying to do more than simple cleaning and oiling of knives.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I think the term "vintage" can mean different things to different people. A 1984 knife is vintage to one person while a 1948 one is to another.Many sites go on about how you should leave a "vintage" knife alone as much as possible. But if you stop to consider that some of us have knives we bought
ourselves many decades ago, a dirty rusty knife of that same vintage to us simply looks poorly maintained and ignored. We certainly wouldn't treat our firearms that way. I personally think that knives over 50-60 years old, knives that have historical value obviously should be left alone. But anything else makes little difference if it is cleaned and polished. Just my 2 cents.

I once saw a listing on the 'Bay for a 'vintage' and/or 'rare' Case Sod Buster. Blade was very 'vintage-looking' with lots of very heavy, deep pitting. Unfortunately, the seller apparently overlooked or didn't understand the implication of the tang stamp on it, which was clearly seen in the pics they posted and dated the knife to the post-2000 era. It was just a relatively young knife that had obviously been neglected. Buyer beware...


David