Collection questions

[mountainwolf]

Hi, first post here. When I was a young boy, I was fascinated with pocket knives, and I acquired quite a collection. German knives and Cases are the bulk of my collection. All of my knives are from 1970's back. I am considering selling the collection to fund other interests. I have approximately 80 german eyes, maybe 50 Cases, and several Pumas, Hen & Roosters, etc. Almost all of the knives are new/unused, but over the years they have developed some tarnish, and maybe a small amount of rust on some. Questions:
What is the best way to clean old knives? Where is the best place to sell ? Ebay? Thank you.

[Reverand]

Welcome to AAPK!!!

Cleaning knives:
This question comes up often here on AAPK, and there is no single answer.
Just to get rid of rust from the blades - use the lead of a #2 pencil to scrub off any active rust. Some people follow that up with 00 steel wool and WD-40.
Others sand and polish, with various methods.
Then there are several different methods of cleaning down inside the knife.
Do a search for "cleaning", and you will find several threads dedicated to it, and dozens of opinions on how little or how much you want to clean.

Ultimately it is all about what you want to do. Various cleaning methods may add value to your knives, or may drop the values. There is not a "one size fits all" answer.

As far as selling knives - eBay is good. Also contributing members to AAPK can sell here on this site.

[Dinadan]

Welcome, Mountainwolf.

If a knife is never used, never sharpened, then I kind of question whether cleaning is going to enhance the value. You might be like the folks who lower the value of an old antique by cleaning it.I suggest doing some searches here: search.php to get some suggestions about advisability and techniques.

[tongueriver]

There are folk here on this forum that are dying to see and maybe buy your knives. You have to spend a tiny amount to get a paid membership and then you can sell knives here on the buy/sell/trade area. You get to keep more of your gross profit here than on Ebay but not as many people will see the knife. Meanwhile, if you do a search on Ebay for a particular knife you want to sell and look at the completed listings (a menu down the left side gets you there) you can see what similar items are fetching for $. If you decide to sell and chat on AAPK you will meet some nice people and learn a lot, as well.

[Mumbleypeg]

Welcome to AAPK. You have already been given good advice by the members who posted replies. You can find more about selling here and buying a premium membership by clicking on “Support AAPK” on the upper right of this page. As pointed out previously “how to clean a knife” is possibly the most often asked question here, especially by new members. Here’s a link to some posts about that viewtopic.php?f=37&t=54157. If the knives have only light tarnish or rust, and your intention is to sell them, I’d recommend you don’t clean them. Let the new owner do it. Too many knives are ruined by well-intended sellers trying to clean them. JMO.

Ken

[mountainwolf]

appreciate all the replies/advice. I’ll try to post a couple of pics too. Most of the knives look just as they did when I put them away.
First pic is Cases. All old except a few of the tins on right
Second Is German knives. G.eye, Puma, Hen & rooster, kissing crane, etc
Third pic is tarnish on ends. I assume could be polished
Fourth. Anyone remember the name of these knives with the bull emblem? One has emblem upside down.

[Ripster]

appreciate all the replies/advice. I’ll try to post a couple of pics too. Most of the knives look just as they did when I put them away.
First pic is Cases. All old except a few of the tins on right
Second Is German knives. G.eye, Puma, Hen & rooster, kissing crane, etc
Third pic is tarnish on ends. I assume could be polished
Fourth. Anyone remember the name of these knives with the bull emblem? One has emblem upside down.

Very nice Knives .
Take your time if you can and go from there . Some research would be wise ! Some Dang good looking knives . Some do need attention ,others wouldn’t do anything . Best of luck with them .

[gordonjohn]

Super knives you have there, I don't see any need to clean them up, but that's just me, I like my knives with a little patina , adds to the looks of the knife , IMO , welcome to AAPK a lot good folks here

[TritonJ]

“Anyone remember the name of these knives with the bull emblem? One has emblem upside down.”

I believe those are made by Schmidt and Ziegler and referred to as Running Bull, German Bull, or El Torro.

[mountainwolf]

Certainly appreciate the kind words and any interest in the knives. I really do not know the current value of these knives. Is there an easy to find current values? If not, I'm sure Ebay would get the most exposure, but probably the most hassle/fees too. I'm not against selling the entire collection, or selling on this site, but I still need to have an idea of the value. Again, appreciate the interest.

[Mumbleypeg]

Scroll up to the post from tongueriver. He gave you the answer to your question about how to find current values for the knives. Do an advanced search on eBay for sold listings of the same or similar knife. By similar I mean the same maker and pattern, but maybe a slightly different year of manufacture - there’s not typically much difference between a 1974 knife and a 1978 knife of the same maker and pattern.

But you really don’t have to know the value to sell on eBay - just list it with good clear photos and a description including closed length (measure it, don’t just lay it by a ruler), describe the opening and closing snap. Start the auction at a low price and let it run for a week. The bidders will find the value for you.

Ken

[philco]

Certainly appreciate the kind words and any interest in the knives. I really do not know the current value of these knives. Is there an easy to find current values? If not, I'm sure Ebay would get the most exposure, but probably the most hassle/fees too. I'm not against selling the entire collection, or selling on this site, but I still need to have an idea of the value. Again, appreciate the interest.

One of the best ways to research current values on knives is to do an advanced search of SOLD listings on ebay. Looking at active listings with their wishful prices won't help you nearly as much as seeing what similar knives really sold for. It's a time consuming task but if you want to know real world prices, there are few better options that I'm aware of. If you do this, don't forget to factor in the fees you'll be paying to ebay and to paypal when you sell through this medium.

Ken made his post while I was typing. I totally agree with what he said.

[TripleF]

Certainly appreciate the kind words and any interest in the knives. I really do not know the current value of these knives. Is there an easy to find current values? If not, I'm sure Ebay would get the most exposure, but probably the most hassle/fees too. I'm not against selling the entire collection, or selling on this site, but I still need to have an idea of the value. Again, appreciate the interest.

Best bet for the most money is ebay. Type in the knife and model number then on the left scroll down til you see "Sold Listing" Check that box.
Then see most recent and you can check the down arrow to changed to "Highest"