Cleaning a Knife Blade

[rknarr3]

My husband past away many years from cancer. I found a knife with some surface rust on it. The
knife was found inside a leather sheath clipped on to a colonial reproduction white bag strap. The
knife has writtened on the blade Brusletto Geilo Made in Norway. Please see photos.
1. Is it ok to just to spray the blade with some machine oil and gently try to remove the surface rust off with steel wool 000 or 0000?
2. Is it ok to put the knife in apple cider vinegar for hours to remove the surface rust?
3. Is the handle made of stag or bone?
4. What is stag?
Thank you for help with these questions?
Robert

[tongueriver]

For our purposes in this day and age "stag" means a piece of antler from an individual in the deer family. In Scandinavia, this very well might be reindeer. Do not use vinegar on the blade; it is too harsh. First line is rubbing with the tip of a regular pencil over the offending areas. Additional work might be gentle scrubbing with 0000 steel wool but it is easy to overdo. Better minds than I should be along soon to give even better advice. The functional quality of the blade in your knife should be excellent.

[doglegg]

Great looking little knife. I bet if you do what tongueriver suggested you will be fine.

[Mumbleypeg]

The objective should be to remove and stop the rust while maintaining as much of the original factory blade finish as possible. If it was mine I'd apply a coating of light oil (3-in-1 or similar) to the blade and let that sit overnight. Try to keep the oil off the handle. Then rub (use elbow grease) the rust spots with a soft rag. Apply a little more oil if needed. If it's just surface rust most, if not all, should come off during this process. After doing that if there's any stubborn rust left, it's not simply surface rust. Those places need the pencil treatment that Cal described.

Ken

[kootenay joe]

The tarnishing on the blade is not bad at all. Do as members have explained and then apply a thin coat of oil, most of use use mineral oil, to the blade and brass guard and do not store it in the sheath.
The Brusletto blade should be an excellent cutter.
kj

[terryl308]

For our purposes in this day and age "stag" means a piece of antler from an individual in the deer family. In Scandinavia, this very well might be reindeer. Do not use vinegar on the blade; it is too harsh. First line is rubbing with the tip of a regular pencil over the offending areas. Additional work might be gentle scrubbing with 0000 steel wool but it is easy to overdo. Better minds than I should be along soon to give even better advice. The functional quality of the blade in your knife should be excellent.

Your handle is in my opinion, is antler of some type, probably like Cal said reindeer. To me the only real stag is sambar stag from India, but the term is loosely used now days meaning any type of antler. Nice old knife, do not soak the handle it would soak up whatever you dip it in and probably swell up. I use a stock wax and buff it off, if I do anything to it. Terry

[rknarr3]

For our purposes in this day and age "stag" means a piece of antler from an individual in the deer family. In Scandinavia, this very well might be reindeer. Do not use vinegar on the blade; it is too harsh. First line is rubbing with the tip of a regular pencil over the offending areas. Additional work might be gentle scrubbing with 0000 steel wool but it is easy to overdo. Better minds than I should be along soon to give even better advice. The functional quality of the blade in your knife should be excellent.

I just want to thank you for the education and the advice you have given me.
Regards,
Rob

[rknarr3]

I want to thank everyone for the education towards my questions.
Regards,
Robert

[Wally Taylor]

You might try Simichrome polish too.

[orvet]

I think you have received good advice in the previous posts. I just wanted to say I have a Brusletto fish knife that was given to me years ago by a very dear friend who spent some time in Norway. The knife is excellent quality.
You might wish to check eBay and see the price says that the Brusletto knives are bringing there, even I was surprised.