I never said anything about rare collectors knives or antiques. I definitely know when to leave something alone.
I have very few knives that have a patina on them that I feel belongs there. One of which is a really old stag handled German hunting knife that has been in my family for years. I generally don't like a patina, but that's one of the only knives that I've seen that looks right with one.
To address your question on finishing techniques, I just go by whatever's appropriate for the style and condition of the knife really. For example, A fellow gave me a couple of pretty common pocket knives to clean for him, a brown jigged bone Case XX stockman, and a large Schrade Old Timer stockman. The Case was made of stainless steel that had a few red spots of rust and some light scratches that came out with the fine scotch brite wheel. The blade had a pretty rough belt grinder factory finish (like alot of Case knives), so I wanted to keep the vertical, belt finish but make it brighter and more uniform with no scratches, which the scotch brite wheel did beautifully. I polished the brass on inside of the knife, the spine, the pins and the bolsters with some Flitz, and replaced the shield that was missing with a small oval of steel I cut out and worked on with the Dremel, and epoxied in the original hole (the Dremel rules!). It looked so good. Like new money.
That knife didn't take much to get it right, but the Old Timer was completely rusted over and the blades were pretty much almost stuck together. You could tell that the knife had never been used or sharpened. Just neglected to rust over. With knives like these, I generally hit them with some WD-40 and let them sit to loosen some stuff up, and then use the little steel brush on the Dremel to get the big rust and gunk off. If the blades are broken, I re-shape them using the Dremel or the belt grinder.
The Dremel is always on a slower speed, and I use great care with it. The little steel brush takes the crud off without really marring up, or heating the steel. Then I carefully use a little rubber eraser impregnated with a fine grit to get the patina and rust and all discoloration off the spine and blades. This eraser stuff can get into the knife joints and be a gritty pain in the ass, so I'm careful with it.
After the blades, ricassos, spine etc. are brightened up a bit and free of rust and discoloration (the eraser leaves a uniform satin like finish) I get any pitting or scratches with the sandpaper, (wrapped around a flat piece of wood or steel) usually starting with 400 grit and sometimes going up to 2000 or more if I desire to do a mirror finish, usually done with the Dremel and a felt wheel, depending on blade size.(The buffing wheels on the Dremel tend to leave swirly marks on larger surfaces.) The knives I generally do are working knives, so I stick with the fine scotch brite satin finish that I love, or a hand rubbed finish. Mirror finishes are kind of gaudy and tacky on some knives, so the scotch brite wheel makes them nice, but still utilitarian.
It takes a bit of time and some elbow grease. My hands have been sore for days after finishing a knife. Take your time, dont rush, and pay attention to small details.
I have very few knives that have a patina on them that I feel belongs there. One of which is a really old stag handled German hunting knife that has been in my family for years. I generally don't like a patina, but that's one of the only knives that I've seen that looks right with one.
To address your question on finishing techniques, I just go by whatever's appropriate for the style and condition of the knife really. For example, A fellow gave me a couple of pretty common pocket knives to clean for him, a brown jigged bone Case XX stockman, and a large Schrade Old Timer stockman. The Case was made of stainless steel that had a few red spots of rust and some light scratches that came out with the fine scotch brite wheel. The blade had a pretty rough belt grinder factory finish (like alot of Case knives), so I wanted to keep the vertical, belt finish but make it brighter and more uniform with no scratches, which the scotch brite wheel did beautifully. I polished the brass on inside of the knife, the spine, the pins and the bolsters with some Flitz, and replaced the shield that was missing with a small oval of steel I cut out and worked on with the Dremel, and epoxied in the original hole (the Dremel rules!). It looked so good. Like new money.
That knife didn't take much to get it right, but the Old Timer was completely rusted over and the blades were pretty much almost stuck together. You could tell that the knife had never been used or sharpened. Just neglected to rust over. With knives like these, I generally hit them with some WD-40 and let them sit to loosen some stuff up, and then use the little steel brush on the Dremel to get the big rust and gunk off. If the blades are broken, I re-shape them using the Dremel or the belt grinder.
The Dremel is always on a slower speed, and I use great care with it. The little steel brush takes the crud off without really marring up, or heating the steel. Then I carefully use a little rubber eraser impregnated with a fine grit to get the patina and rust and all discoloration off the spine and blades. This eraser stuff can get into the knife joints and be a gritty pain in the ass, so I'm careful with it.
After the blades, ricassos, spine etc. are brightened up a bit and free of rust and discoloration (the eraser leaves a uniform satin like finish) I get any pitting or scratches with the sandpaper, (wrapped around a flat piece of wood or steel) usually starting with 400 grit and sometimes going up to 2000 or more if I desire to do a mirror finish, usually done with the Dremel and a felt wheel, depending on blade size.(The buffing wheels on the Dremel tend to leave swirly marks on larger surfaces.) The knives I generally do are working knives, so I stick with the fine scotch brite satin finish that I love, or a hand rubbed finish. Mirror finishes are kind of gaudy and tacky on some knives, so the scotch brite wheel makes them nice, but still utilitarian.
It takes a bit of time and some elbow grease. My hands have been sore for days after finishing a knife. Take your time, dont rush, and pay attention to small details.
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