All About Pocket Knives

I have collected some older carbon steel pocket knives with plenty of build up from years of use. The question is if soaking them in boiling water to break up the crude will hurt the knife?

while it technically should not hurt the blades, It can be detrimental to your handles, especially if they are natural materials (i.e. horn, bone, wood). I'm not sure how well things like celluloid and some of the synthetics would handle it either, to be honest.

If it were me, I'd have at them with some WD40 on a Qtip and manually de-gunk them. Again though, watch the handles. oils can lead to staining on some materials.

Thank you

I 2nd 3rd that one ...no water.

Just take care not to over clean them, they've lasted this long

About the only time I've heard of any correlation
between pocket knives and hot water is when
a collector brings too many home too frequently.
Actually, I guess that would be the collector in
hot water, not the knife. Nevah mind!

Orvet has an eraser in his AAPK store for use
removing gunk w/o removing blade. Least I
think that's what it is for. I have soaked some
overnight in a small bottle filled w/ Marvel Mystery
oil. Then work on debris with round toothpicks
which won't mark the steel and provide some degree
of pressure control via their breaking point.
I use the tip first on tang stamps then after that
breaks off, use remaining blunt end on rest of blade
and inner surfaces. 1000 count box pretty cheap &
best way I've found to reach all those nooks & crannies
w/o damaging anything.

woseyjales wrote: Orvet has an eraser in his AAPK store for use
removing gunk w/o removing blade. Least I
think that's what it is for.

The Rust Erasers were called Multi-Purpose Erasers when they were made for and sold through United Cutlery.
Now that United is out of business, the manufacturer of the erasers distributes them and they are called Super Erasers.
I use the Super Erasers to remove active rust from a blade or to remove gunk or heavy patina from a tang so to be able to read the stamping.
I have used it to remove gunk from handles as well.
The eraser is a rubbery material with an abrasive in it. It can leave very fine scuffing on a high polished blade, but if you are trying to remove rust from a high polished blade, some scuffing is preferable to active rust, IMHO.

Super erasers are available in some brick and mortar cutlery stores as will as in my AAPK store.
I did not bring this subject up and am posting on this subject to follow up on wosey's post.
Wherever you buy them, they do work very well!

Dale

Good thing you asked before you did that...

Gr8 answers here too. Thanks guys

I want to add one thing.

If the handles are Celluloid I would not use Marvel Mystery
oil. I use WD-40 and blow out with air even after polishing.
I think the polish and oil gets behind the handle and frame and in time starts the gassing-out.(a long with heat and sunlight)

justold52 wrote:Good thing you asked before you did that...

Gr8 answers here too. Thanks guys

I want to add one thing.

If the handles are Celluloid I would not use Marvel Mystery
oil. I use WD-40 and blow out with air even after polishing.
I think the polish and oil gets behind the handle and frame and in time starts the gassing-out.(a long with heat and sunlight)

I would agree with that;especially with old picture handle knives as from Aerial or Novelty Cutlery.Any oil that gets under the surface will gray out the picture and in all probability start the out-gassing process.I have ruined a couple of old Aerial knives doing just that.

Johnnie Fain was a fan of using only mineral oil on his knives.
He went through his collection once or twice per year and wiped his knives down and lubricated them with mineral oil.

As you know I am selling Johnnie's collection for his widow. Seeing the condition of his knives, the steel, as well as the wood, bone, stag and all other handle materials, including celluloid, I have become a big believer in mineral oil.

When you hold one of the knives from Johnnie's collection in your hand, you know it was well loved and well cared for. The old stag and bone handles that sometimes dry out were not dry on his knives. They have a life and glow to them from years of being rubbed with mineral oil.

Since starting to sell Johnnie's knives, I have rethought my use of lubricants and use just mineral oil 90% of the time.
Another bonus of mineral oil is that it is relatively inexpensive; $3-$4 at a pharmacy.

Dale

Thank you all for the g8t info. I did get one of Orvet's erasers and it has worked extremely well, even the grit that gets into the knife afterward, removes very easily. Again THANKS

Dale, great info thank you

Dale is right on. At Johnnie's suggestion a while back I started using some choji oil (basicly mineral oil w/ clove) on my stag and ivories... pretty much anything that's not wood or stabilized that I've put together. Choji has a bit of an amber hue to it which I prefer, but plain ol' mineral oil as a preservative is awesome.

Sounds to me like a good time to switch to mineral oil.
This old dawg doesn't mind learning new tricks,
long as it doesn't hurt much.
I just hope I can find some mineral oil w/o MSG or
high fructose corn syrup.

woseyjales wrote: I just hope I can find some mineral oil w/o MSG or
high fructose corn syrup.

Try a pharmacy.
You can get food grade mineral oil for about $3-$4 per pint. You will probably find it in the laxative section.

I got a syringe that the dentist uses to rinse out your socket when you have a tooth pulled.
There is no needle on it, so I just fill it with mineral oil and I can put a drop right on the round end of a tang to lubricate it.
I was actually suprised how well the mineral lubricated a dry knife.

Dale

I also use food grade mineral oil. It has no colorant or other chemicals of dubious value, and I have noticed no "side effects", either on me or the knives!
Good stuff, and cheap like borscht!

I keep an 8" length of pin stock standing in the bottle, and just pull it out to lube a knife. It comes off the rod a drop at a time, and you can see it coming.