All About Pocket Knives

I'm curious what the Masters would do about a knife that had very old paint splatter on a stag handle, bolster and blade. Would you try to gently buff the paint off, or would you try to use a solvent to soften the paint and wipe it off? Maybe solvent and then buffing? I'm not sure what kind of paint it is - could be oil or water based, but it is probably 20 years old.

The best way I have found to remove old paint is using a small pen blade and lightly pop / scrape it off , most old paint is brittle and comes off fairly easy , painstakingly yes but effective .

This is what I would do:

Consider first if it was water based paint: Soak knife in rubbing alcohol or 70 % isopropyl alcohol.
The paint is more soluble in alcohol than water. Soak the knife over night in the alcohol.

If the paint does not peel off, it may be oil based. Soak it in WD-40. Soak the knife
over night. The paint should be soluble in the WD-40 base ( petroleum based )

The above 2 liquids should not harm your knife but will probably help you to remove the paint.

Bob

I find that my sonic cleaners work really well for removing paint from jigged bone, I can't say that I have used it on stag specifically but in general stag and bone respond in a similar manner to the sonic cleaner. I have used the sonic cleaner on stag without ill effect to the stag, I just have not used the sonic cleaner to remove paint from stag. I found it quite effective at removing paint from bone and paint from wood handles. The vibration from the sonic cleaner along with the Dawn dishwashing liquid works well on the paint although you may need a dental pick to gently remove pieces of paint in deep jigging.
I allow the sonic cleaner to run long enough that the water gets warm, normally about 3 to 5 minutes.

I usually just flake it off with a dental pick or fine tipped knife blade if it's on there thick

As a follow-up to my original post, I did buy the knife with the paint splatters. When I received it, it was not nearly as bad as I had feared. I put a little dab of "Goof-Off" on a paper towel, and that EASILY removed all the paint with just a couple of swipes. Magic! I re-oiled and now it is just a nicely worn Case 52033 Pen in stag from 1980!!