How To Clean up a REALLY old knife.

PheonixKingZ said:
I would upload pictures, I just can’t figure out how... do I need a subscription or something?

Ok, good. I have dawn dish soap, an old tooth brush, and mineral oil. Should the oil be applied via a dropper?
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Go to postimage.org then select your picture. Then select hotlink for forums. Paste it here.
 
PheonixKingZ said:
Oh yes no buffing wheels.

There is rust in the blade, even if you can’t see it from the photo. :)

Many people keep suggesting mineral oil. I have some, but do I just lather the knife in it? Or use a dropper or what?
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First off, just ry some oil on a clean rag and rub. If that doesn't work, try a bit oil on a bit of 0000 steel wool and rub GENTLY and see what happens. I would not go any more aggressive than that. Oil the joints well and work the blades back and forth. I'm betting you will see some black gunk seeping out of the joints. Just wipe off with rag.

With an old knife, I would not go too much over board. Some/little bit of rust or light pitting is okay if its arrested at that point. Preserve it. Don't try to restore. I try to keep the sense of wabi sabi in mind. Imperfection is not needed, but functionality is. Sharpen it up and carry it, and use it. The knife will gain in value to you with use.
 
I wouldn't use the Super Eraser; you don't need it. 0000 Steel wool is what you need. and either mineral oil or WD40 will work okay on either of those knives. (Never soak any knife with a wooden handle). Those aren't in really bad shape, they just need a little lubrication, cleaning, and sharpening to be usable. If you have an ultrasonic tank you could give them a couple minutes in that.

When cleaning, use really hot water to rinse and then (if you can) blow them dry with compressed air. That will minimize the chance of new rust forming. The red one looks to be stainless, so that's not going to be much of a problem at all.
 
Since both your knives have plastic handles, I don't think it's a problem if you happen to get too much oil all over it. (some natural handles like stag or wood can absorb oil and cause problems)
I usually make a paste of baking soda and dish soap, and scrub inside the well and around the joints with wooden coffee stirrers. That's usually all the abrasive you need. Rinse in hot water, dry, use wd-40 or mineral oil, and keep working the joints open and closed until no more gunk comes out.

Then sharpen the blades. Never sharpen the blades before getting the knife slippery with soap and oil. Guess how I learned that? ;)
 
Ok, I will work on the body/inside of the knife first, and then focus on the blade. I have mineral oil (great value brand ok?) and WD-40. Thanks so far guys! ;)
 
On the OldTimer I would focus on flushing, cleaning, and, lubing the pivots.
For me I would say
Step 1 WD40 to flush the pivots and the well the blades sit in
Step 2 toothbrush to scrub and knock out what doesn't just flush out you might need to use some warm water and mild dish soap to aid here depending on progress and severity
Step 3 oil, I recommend mineral oil it is cheap and effective, to lubricate and help the blades move along thier pivots you can be generous with the use and wipe up the excess

Once you complete those 3 steps it should be opening and closing like most any knife and now it would be on to the blades for this it would be remove the surface rust, read prior post for advice, and then sharpen the blades. Following that I would then hit the scales/handles with a dry toothbrush to just brush off any loose dirt or debris stuck to it shouldn't need more than that.
 
Nice Old Timer (33OT?) stockman. :)
I don't see any pitting on the blades, so it is likely just surface rust. Scrub with a rag and mineral oil, scrub until the red rust is gone.
I'd be leery of that "super eraser". It might take the patina, which is not rust.
After removing the rust, sharpen, and lube. It doesn't need anything more. That is a very nice example.
 
The 'Super Eraser' is likely SiC (silicon carbide) grit embedded in a rubbery binder. Many brands of these around, all the same recipe. These WILL scratch steel like medium/fine-grit SiC sandpaper. Know that going in. I'd avoid it, for the Old Timer.

Scrubbing those blades with some baking soda can gently remove some of the red rust, without scratching the blade or removing much patina.
 
I’m honestly not sure on the model. :dunno:

Ok, I will get to cleaning it today. No steel wool for the blade, just a clean rag and mineral oil. :good:

Thanks guys so far! I will definitely ask if I have any questions. :)
 
The model number should be on the pile side tang (side without the nail nick. the side with nail nick is the mark side) of the clip point (main) blade.

Looking at the Old Timer again, those blades look to be daRn near full. (not significantly ground down from sharpening)
A lot of "life" left in that one. :)
Make many memories with it. :)
 
OK here's some advice from someone who works on knives for a living:
Clean active rust from the blades with dry, 0000 steel wool-it's available at Walmart or any hardware store. 0000 is the finest steel wool. Make sure you blow/wipe all of the steel wool fibers off and out of the knife. Clean the blade well of the knife with toothpicks and remove all gunk and pocket lint. Flush the knife with WD 40 (Your Schrade handle is Delrin, not wood.) Let it sit a while and wipe vigorously until most of the WD 40 is gone. Work the blades open/closed and wipe off what comes out of the joints. Repeat the WD 40 flush if necessary.
Oil with any good oil or just WD 40, as it contains mineral oil.
 
Bill is the expert here so follow his advice and then if anything doesn't work out or still have problems post up and we can see what to suggest.
 
Ok, so I attempted to clean it but the rust is not coming off. Maybe it is stains on the blade, not rust? I’m not sure...

I don’t want to put the whole thing under hot water, because I’m afraid I will damage it.
 
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