looking for restoration help

[HARDWARE]

Good Evening.... I'm new to the site I am looking for direction to the correct group. I have several(maybe 20) pre-70's Case pocket knives. There was a hardware store thst went out of business in our area. The wife of the elderly couple wrapped the knives in kleenex and put them in a shoe box.Many still have the original case factory boxes.I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time and bought them as a group.Some have been misshandled and as a result have fingerprints etched on the bolsters. I'm looking for information on the least abrasive(that may not be the right word) technique to use to restore the bolsters to pre-print condition. Or is this not possible? These are in display case, never pocket carried, never sharpened condition.Help!!!

[Diligence]

Welcome to the site Hardware - you came to the right place. Lots of excellent advice available.

First thing I would tell you is not to listen to me..... I'm not the right guy, but others will stop in and will provide you the info you need.

Cheers!

Jaye

[jonet143]

moved you here. flitz is a good product and will remove most fingerprints. 0000 steel wool with a little oil is good for general loose and active rust or corrosion. if the bolsters are etched, more aggressive cleaning/polishing may be used. remember, those pre 70 knives can be valuable even with a little corrosion. cleaning can devalue them.

[steve]

sounds like you have some great knives there. if the bolsters are a little tarnished and have light scratches and or fingerprints, i would recommend getting a tube of metal glo polish and a cotton cloth and cleaning them with that. metal glo is great on bolsters, blades and even bone handles and doesnt hurt the knife and is inexpensive, usually 3-4.00 a tube.

[orvet]

I ran across a new product this weekend at the OKCA show. The product is Walker Wax.

This is a quote from the jar of wax:
"A blended emulsion of wax, earth and fluids. Formulated with a light abrasive polishing compound, cleaning agent, corrosion preventative, and wax protection designed specifically for knife protection. Terrific for metal, wood, bone, stone and plastic. Buffs to luster."

"Walker Wax is a special emulsion that will clean, protect and polish your knife. Use a soft clean flannel and apply wax lightly. Smooth it out, let it dry and buff with a passion. Looks great and protects."
walkerwax@hotmail.com

I talked to the fellow who made it and he says it also protects knives against spittle. That may not be a factor for many people, but when you are displaying a table of high-end knives at a show, and talking across the table to another person who is talking across the table to you I can see where it would be a factor.

I bought one jar of this yesterday at the OKCA show and brought it home. I have a collection of knives that I need to restore for a customer. The knives were in a house fire. They are all covered by patina of smoke and soot. The Walker wax did an excellent job of removing the soot from the knife. It cleans the wooden handle, the brass bolsters and the blade. I was very impressed. I didn't polish the brass as well as I wanted it to, so I used another polish on the brass than polish it again with the Walker Wax. It did an excellent job on the blade and the wood.


A jar about the size of the large Renaissance Wax is only $15.
As I recall the fellow's name was Jim Walker. I was rather impressed with this new product. You might give to try on your knives. A sure worked on the one I cleaned.

Dale

[BIGHEAD]

This is the best polish I personally have used.There are 2 original wich works great on anything,but for my knives I use this one it is less abrasive than the original.It is mad for auto and motorcycles.I use this then follow with Ren-wax.Work like a charm on every metal part of a knife.
http://www.wenolit.com/autowenol3.html

[peterforce]

their is a jim walker ebayer who sells a ton of knives i wonder....

welcome new guy.how about posting some pics of this found treasure.bunch of us like case knives.if you cant tell. are any of them really small? or are any sunfish toenail knives? man just like i keep getting lucky here in philly helping clean outthis old house. i keep hearing about old hardware store closing stories. one i hear a lot is someoen going into a harware store and in the glass case only being 4 knives or such but they happen to be 20 yrs old because nobody ever bought one.so their they sat. post some pics you may get some offers if you are trying to let them go. youll make out better then ebay.thats just my opinion.

im good enough
im smart enough
and gosh darn it why dont they sell prison shanks on ebay..now thats a knifemaker.