All About Pocket Knives

Here is one ugly duck! It is too old to call it a duckling. Sheepfoot Schrade Cut.Co. Barlows are hard to come by, so I took a chance on a crappy picture on ebay, and paid too much for this much abused specimen.
The main blade is missing some teeth , and the blades look like they spent a little time in a mouse nest; HOWEVER, the blades are near full, and the snap is thunderous, once I oiled it, and the bone is in good shape. The dark bottom edge on the front is a marrow streak, and there are no chips or cracks.
So I am faced with a decision. Should I go against the grain, and clean it up a little, or leave it as is??? ???
Cleaned knives are not right in my book, but this one has no original finish left to speak of. What would you do?? (besides not buy such a ratty thing )??

Just my humble opinion.
I haven't been around the pocket knives very long, but I do have, and deal in other antiques and collectables.

I recently acquired one just as ratty. I brushed on a coat of MINERAL OIL, from the drug store. Let it set a few hours, brushed the handles with a soft tooth brush, the inside with 4-0 steel wool on a dental pick, and carefully went over the blades and bolsters with Flitz on a tee-shirt. Mostly tee-shirt, and not much polish. Quit before you think you should, and you still have patina.

I'm much happier with mine, and it still looks like a nice, old knife.

The blade nicks .....

You could send it to me, and I'll think about them.

Fran

i agree, mineral oil, 0000 steel wool and a little elbow grease. the wool on a sharp stick will clean the nail nick.

I'm just a fledgling duck when it comes to knives, but...looking at this old girl, I'd say put her in some new "Sunday-go-to-meetin" clothes. Clean her up. Make her the fine old gal she is. I say this not having any idea of the collector value and hoping I'm not putting my foot in my mouth. But, the knife would sure look mighty fine all polished up, with lipstick, rouge, a new gingham dress and a new hair do!

I'll wait and see what kind of fallout I get from my admittedly novice position on the matter. Of course, keep in mind, when I was just a kid and began collecting coins, I thought using Brasso or steel wool made 'em look cool.

If it were mine I would restore it.

Knowing how you don't like cleaned knives maybe just some oil and 0000 steel wool to knock off all active rust while retaining the patina. About the nicks, a light sharpening should knock them out without loosing any blade
"fullness"

Hi upnorth,
I'd give the knife a good steep bevel with old diamonds, being careful not to scratch the patina and take off just enough metal to remove the gaps; if you have the medium size ezy-lap (6") take the lap to the knife blade and not the blade to the lap and establish a rather steep bevel which will support the lap and using a backwards and forwards motion and not lifting the lap from the blade, you will be able to establish a true edge with no gaps and still have almost a full blade: The edge wil re- color in no time. Cheers

Thanks for all your opinions guys! I am going to try and take some of the scaly rust off, but not "shine" it up. I fear it is deeply pitted, but we'll see how it goes. I'll post it here.

Hi upnorth,
Soak the knife for a few days inW-D40 in a plastic bag, then carefully slice off any stubbon rust with a stainless steel razor blade, which won't affect the patina- mineral oil and 0000 steel wool will remove the eazy stuff and toothpaste will do wonders for the scales. Cheers John

O.K. Here's the knife after an aggressive session with 0000 steel wool and mineral oil.
I doused it with oil overnight, and used a dental chisel to scrape off the scaly rust. The soft chisel doesn't scratch the blade - I love that tool! Then lots of rubbing with the steel wool, and oil. I also doused the bone, and rubbed it lightly. I am not going to do the insides, or other details at this time, but will keep a good coat of oil on everything.
I followed John's advice and after a few straightening swipes at 90 degrees, I sharpened a very blunt angle just to give it a decent edge. One chip was too deep, and I didn't want to lose that much steel.
As you can see, the pitting was pretty bad. I am not sure I have done the right thing, but the knife does look better to my eye.
Have I erased history?? Some, for sure. But to me, the rust represented neglect, so for better or worse, I intervened. If the knife were 50 or 100 years older, I probably would not have touched it!!
I put both pics in for comparison.
Please comment, as I am interested in all opinions!! I won't feel insulted, so spill forth if you will !

upnorth,
There is the answer that counts, "the knife does look better to my eye."
You haven't restored it, you've just cleaned it up and made it more presentable. Photo looks like you might pick a little more grime out of the handles when it softens. Dirt is dirt, not history, as long as you can remove it without harming anything else.

Fran

upnorth,
IMO, you have done brilliantly and just enough! Keep a light coat of oil/ 3 in one on metal parts. The scales look fantastic- stopping the deterioration
process is saving history. Well done

hey charlie, i wish i cleaned up that well! dirt and active rust have no place on an old knife. looks good to me.

It looks much nicer Charlie!
Personally, I have done more to knives in such condition. I feel it it is really important to stop the active rust.
There are chemicals used in the auto body repair industry that will stop the rust & prevent it from rusting. Unfortunately it also makes the steel real dark, so I don't use it on knives. I will usually put a blade that is that rusted on a Satin Bright belt to knock the rust off, especially if I know that the knife had a Scotch Brite finish on the blades originally.
I absolutely love the sheepfoot Barlow pattern. They are really hard to find, so I would probably clean that up, sharpen it and use if for a EDC. But that is just me.

Great knife! I think the only thing you could wrong with it is to let it continue to rust away.

Just my 2¢,
Dale

orvet wrote:. I feel it it is really important to stop the active rust.

I'm the same way, active rust has no place on a knife, no matter how old. It will only keep eating deeper and deeper into the steel, oil or not. you done good in my book

Nice job Charlie! In that condition I think it's well worth what you paid for it, especially with those beautiful handles

Eric

Thanks for the encouraging words guys. It will rust no further!
I remember when I had no appreciation for a "rough" old knife like this. Now I love them!!