To polish or not to polish?

[MountainMan]

Good evening folks. Ive seen various threads in my search as to polishing knives. Ive also seen comments saying not to. Now, Ive collected and sold antique tools and with the exception of hand saws, you are not suppose to do any heavy cleaning or restoration to the tools or the lose the patina and for most collectors of those antique tools, that is where the "story" of the tool is.

Now, Ive started collecting knives. Most of the knives I find are at garage and estate sales, the local gun show and a storage locker I purchased during an auction. Most of these knives have quite a bit of corrosion on them and considering I live in the pacific northwest, that isnt that uncommon. The knives I am keeping for my own personal collection, I am not going to polish. That is my own personal preference. However, the knives I want to sell, is it worth doing? Does going beyond the standard cleaning of the knife and actually polishing it make a difference in the value?

Thanks for your input.

Scott P.

[knife7knut]

A very good question and one that I am sure will get varying opinions.Here's my take on it for what it's worth:

Being a collector and not a dealer,I usually polish a knife after I get it with one exception:If it is a very valuable and/or old knife I will usually give the blade a very light rub down with mineral oil and leave it at that.If it is a folder,I will clean out the inside with a toothpick or cotton swab dipped in oil.If there is corrosion on the blade or other metal surfaces,I will lightly scrape it away with a sharp knife blade.

If I am going to be using the knife,I will usually polish and if needed profile the blade,grind the kick if needed to drop the blade down,and do minor repairs to the scales.

[Chief RID]

The only knives that will bring top dollar in the future will be what collectors consider mint. Once you alter a knife it will lose value as long as this is the standard. Collectors of some discontinued knives will gain value, possibly but the mint ones in some collectors collections will still be the standard for those.Polishing can be done any time. "Can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear" comes to mind.

[singin46]

I agree with what K7K has to say. I do polish if I will carry it, if I'm just putting it in the collection then I usually clean out the insides, toothpicks are great for this. I will also use compressed air for easy removal of dirt and lint. I always use the rust eraser for blades and liners. I use the gunscrubber spray to clean out the liners as well. And I always finish up with a good coating of oil.

[jerryd6818]

Unless it's a rare and valuable knife, here's something to remember. Shiny sells. I've looked at a lot of eBay auctions and two knives, one with "patina", the other fluffed, buffed and all shined up, the shiny one always gets the most interest and sells for the highest price.

Guys can cuss and discuss "patina" all they want and I have no argument with them liking that but where the rubber meets the road, the buying public is like a magpie, always drawn to the shiny object.

Just my opinion formed from experience.

[TripleF]

Unless it's a rare and valuable knife, here's something to remember. Shiny sells. I've looked at a lot of eBay auctions and two knives, one with "patina", the other fluffed, buffed and all shined up, the shiny one always gets the most interest and sells for the highest price.

Guys can cuss and discuss "patina" all they want and I have no argument with them liking that but where the rubber meets the road, the buying public is like a magpie, always drawn to the shiny object.

Just my opinion formed from experience.

zactly what I wuz gonna say!

[RICK day]

I posted this question a few weeks ago.....and I agree with Jerry...Shinny Always sells.
Rick

[Elvis]

As a rule, Jerry is right. The general public, including a lot of collectors, like the bright shiny ones while the more experienced treat them like any other fine antique and just clean them from dirt and active rust. If you're unsure about the rarity and value of a knife to aid you in your decision to buff it or just clean it enough to make it serviceable again, you can always post a picture of it here and let some of our resident experts help you decide.

[jerryd6818]

the more experienced treat them like any other fine antique and just clean them from dirt and active rust.

Bob is correct of course but I think the 80/20 rule applies here or maybe it's more like 95/5.

[singin46]

Yep, odd but very true.

[reddirtknives]

Sad but true, This is where guys and girls are alike hehe (giggles like a girl) drawn in toward Shiny things like blades and bolsters (man bling) to the point that money doesn't matter and the thought of natural Aging or patina skips our mind HEHE (MANLY GIGGLE) even though we've all read, heard or seen experts on antiques say that heavy or harsh cleaning cleans the hard earned age off that makes it an apparent antique and therefor lowers the value as an antique. So when erasing the patina or buffing/polishing you are in essence cleaning/erasing off the value. If you don't care one way or the other about value or the fact that it's an antique you do what you want to do anyway, but you did ask the question so you must have some care.So the questions are these, are you a purist (it's easier) following some vintage knife collectors code of ethics or are you wanting to bling your way into a few extra dollars (could be dangerous, lots of work) or do you not care because you are going to use it (maybe it was given to you by your grandfather) and you want it to look good, function properly and be as food safe as you can get it, who knows? You might have to cut your arm off with it to save your own life (it's been done) and you know grandpa would have said something like " That's why I always drop a stainless steel blade into my pocket knives" or " thats why I always keep my high carbon steel blades buffed , oiled and rust free" anyway... Clean and oiled is always good no matter what but this is just my personal opinion. The main thing is that you do what Mom,Dad and Grandpa would have wanted you to do... and grandma

[MikeEngland]

Never underestimate the potential of a clean rag and oil, says I.

[knifetime]

I say the cleaner the better.I thank where most people git lost on this question is what is clean?
Clean for a 1988 Bulldog should be like new but for a 1930s Remington like new would make me very suspicious.
I would never clean the patina off a knife with any age to it.I am also very careful not to scratch a knife as I clean it which happens to be very easy to do.
So I say clean them but not to much or you could take away from the value of the knife.