Knife Cleaning - For Better or Worse

[btrwtr]

To clean or not to clean, that is the question.

With all used knives, old or new, we as collectors are faced with this question both before and after buying a knife for our collections and use.

Most any time I buy a knife that has not had any cleaning at all I will do some minor touch up to make the knife more presentable. I do this as my personal preference both for knives I might offer for resale and for knives I may decide to keep. For me this process involves removing any loose rust dirt of grime from the handles and blades. Normally I will do this by hand or use a powered 10" loose un-sewn muslin cloth buffing wheel with a pink no-scratch rouge to do this. I find this process when not applied aggressively does not alter any of the grind lines or round off bone jigging and the like. For me this is acceptable and I find that when reselling a knife it is also acceptable to most buyers. I will seldom buy a knife that has been aggressively cleaned as a matter of personal preference.

It's not often that I have a knife that I believe will benefit from aggressive buffing and abrasive cleaning of the blades and handles. At times when blades are still full but heavily pitted I might choose for more aggressive cleaning because in my mind the knife will benefit from this. Many times I opt for this aggressive cleaning because a previous owner has "cleaned" the knife roughly (think stone wheel or dremel tool) and in my thinking diminished the value and looks of the knife in doing so.

I have known collectors that have every knife they buy that is in anything less than mint condition "cleaned" by completely resurfacing all blades to bright shiny steel. One dealer friend that resells knives "cleans" nearly everything he offers on eBay and has a very devoted following. He does disclose the fact that the knives are cleaned.

On the other hand I have met collectors that prefer to leave every knife they buy just as found and find it unacceptable to ever buy a knife that has been altered from "as found" and cleaned in any manor no matter how unobtrusive the cleaning.

In large any cleaning process is a question of preference and no one can tell the collector what is right or wrong for the individual. I'd like to know what your views are when it comes to cleaning knives. What do you prefer and find acceptable and why? If you do any cleaning how do you do it?

Post some example pictures of what you like and don't like.

Here is an old MSA fixed blade Ideal knife that has been aggressively cleaned. I love the old Marbles knives. I wonder what it looked like before the cleaning. I would probably have liked it more before.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Marbles ... 4addef73fa

[jerryd6818]

Wayne, I have said several times, "shiny sells" and the knife buying public proves that over and over. Understanding that there are exceptions to the rule: check on the big standard, eBay, and you'll see the knives that have been cleaned aggressively, typically get more bids and sell for a higher price than the same knife that was left in "as found" condition.

This is not intended as a suggestion or an argument. It's simply an opinion based on observation. Your mileage may vary.

[tjmurphy]

Since my knife attraction is to the older, pre-WWII to just post WWII, most of the knives I get in are in need of a little TLC. Nothing agressive, a soft cloth and some Semichrome polish or Brasso. I remove all active rust, both red and black with a No. 2 lead pencil (thanks for that tip Jerryd) and polish with the SC. I polish the blades, the bolsters and caps, the handles and the backsprings. If the bone handles appear excessively dry, I'll give them a little drink of lemon oil followed by Semichrome. If bolsters and caps are steel/iron and really bad, I will use a piece of Scotch-Brite and a little Semichrome. I have bought some knives, primarily CAMILLUS, with the "shrinky-dink" handles and have them rehandled to make them attractive to me. If no one else likes them that's fine by me, cause I'm a hoarder. All-in-all, every old barn needs a little paint now and then. I think these two turned out pretty good, thank you Bob.
Before

After

Before

After

[Dull]

TJMurphy

I remove all active rust, both red and black with a No. 2 lead pencil

I've never heard of the No. 2 lead pencil trick - could you explain, please?

Thanks!

[tjmurphy]

Take a simple No. 2 lead pencil and scrub the rust spots as if you're trying to color them. THE WRITING END, NOT THE ERASER END. Removes the rust but not the patina.

[Dull]

Ah! Thank you so much! I've got a couple of candidates to try it out on.

[wiseguy]

I agree with btrwtr in that a very light touchup is acceptable ( to me anyway ) however to the point of altering the lines & such , unless to bring back ( reverse) damage done by a grinder etc. is something I don't care to see in the knives I keep . If it`s a suuuuper rare one or has a history / story behind its battle scars then I prefer to leave them be . Most of mine have had a little touchup here & there

[knife7knut]

For what it's worth,here are my feelings on cleaning vs leaving as is:

If you are in the business of buying AND selling knives then you are probably better off leaving knives as is....UNLESS your customer base(and if you are doing a lot of selling then you have a base and should know their likes and dislikes) prefers cleaned knives.

If on the other hand you buy knives strictly for your own enjoyment with no real thought of ever selling them(sort of my take on the game)then do with them as you see fit.If you like shiney knives;make them so.If you want to re-profile a blade to suit a particular need do it.

I can relate this to my experiences in working on vintage and antique automobiles. There is a school of thought that considers it a sacrilege if you alter or remove anything on a vehicle to make it different from when it exited the factory. These are commonly known as the,"analists" and that is not a misspelling of the word,"analysts";although much of what both do is similar they just reach different conclusions.

There is also the personality that looks at a vehicle and immediately visulaizes what he can do to change it for better or worse to suit his personal taste.These are commonly referred to as,"hot rodders". Potential resale value is rarely in their thought processes.In the case of my vintage Pontiac wagon;although there is an inordinate amount of paintwork done to it;the mechanicals and body are virtually untouched which would make it easy to restore to original for whomever gets it after I finish with it.

I have many knives in my collection that I have modified either out of necessity(broken blades;missing scales,etc.) or because I thought I could make them function better. I rarely consider the thought that one day I may want to sell one of these.Of course if I find a super rare piece (as in the Case V42 I acquired awhile back)I am not going to intentionally destroy it. I might do a bit of superficial cleaning and leave it at that.

But to the original subject: to clean or not to clean. My advice is to decide which path you prefer and take it with a couple of caveats: Don't alter something just for the sake of doing so. Also don't hesitate to alter something if by doing so it will help to preserve it somewhat such as leaving outgassing cel handles on a knife to preserve originality. Oh yes and one other thing:

ENJOY THE HOBBY!!!!

[dirtyfonzie]

IMHO unless the knife still has factory finish, a 100 year old knife should not shine.

I do understand removing active rust and dirt, but not to the point where any type of sanding paper or a buffing wheel is used.

buffed and sanded knife=

[jlw257]

Just like JerryD said " Shiny Sells ". I've bought a few knives that I knew were clean but only because of the rarity of the knife. To me cleaning a 70 to 100 year old knife to new look new only takes away the value. Here is a Tested Winterbottom Trapper that would be crazy to have it cleaned .
Just me running my mouth. Larry

[knives-are-quiet]

It is easy to make a vintage or antique knife shine with a sanding or buffing wheel.
But it is impossible to make a new knife look vintage or antique.
Old knives earned that patina and pocket worn look.

Stabilize the rust.
Clean and sharpen enough to make it functional and safe to use.
If handles are damaged;
A chip can be repaired with filler.
A broken handle is not safe.
Replace with material appropriate to the knife's era.

Admire it's beautiful look in your collection.
Or keep on using it as these knives were intended to be.
JW~

[wlf]

I guess I'm an anal.Anything other than rust (which destroys any knife),removed,removes information..I'm talking about an antique knife.

[Lawrence]

Good points by all. I find the act of cleaning, whatever level that may be, therapeutic. It's when I get to steal away in my little work-shop and forget about everything else. I even make some modifications to knives I would like to carry if they have broken blades (I can't stand a broken blade), or blades that sit too low.

I also hate blade wobble and every time I try to correct it the old fashioned way, my slip joints turn into friction folders.

[stockman]

The longer I collect, the less I clean. If a knife is really dirty I will wash in dish soap dry and oil. If it is clean
I will rub it with some oil on the metal parts. I have oiled the bone or stag with some mineral oil if it is dry.
That is about as far as I go. Unless it something I want to use as a everyday carry knife.

Harold

[FRJ]

I don't clean my knives as described here. Oh I may pick something out of the jigging or try to get rid of some crud on a blade, but I usually leave them alone. What I will do with each and every knife (and other vintage purchases) that comes into the house is wash it. I open the blades and go to the sink and wash it. Maybe twice. Don't know where any of that stuff has been, but now I know I have a reasonably clean knife. Dry it with compressed air, sharpen and oil it. Done deal.