So I went to the thrift store today ....

[Rhinofly]

And found a few vintage pocket knives. I have not done anything yet to restore them other than wipe them down with mineral oil. Any rust seems to be superficial and should clean off easily should I decide to do so. This is my first foray into cleaning and caring for vintage pocket knives so any tips on what to do and what not to do, I would welcome. I would like to better clean the blades - preferably without removing too much patina. All six knives came from one thrift store and cost me $90 out the door. How did I do?



First, a couple of scout knives - a boy scout knife with blade etch "Official Knife Boys Scouts of America" and tang stamp "ULSTER" over "USA", and a cub scout knife with blade etch "Official Knife" with cub scouts logo and tang stamp "CAMILLUS" over "NEW YORK" over "USA"with a line between. Both knives appear unused and un-sharpened. Great snap and W&T on the Boy scout knife and the Cub scout knife is a bit soft but still ok. No blade wobble on either. Scales on both blades appear to be some sort of plastic or synthetic material. The general feel of the knives is solid, but inexpensive.

Next, a "Boker" over "USA" tang stamp Stockman and a "CAMILLUS" over "NEW YORK" over "U.S.A."tang stamp Electrician's knife. Both appear unused and un-sharpened. Both knives have great W&T and snap. The Boker has zero wobble on all blades, the electricians knife is tight on the screwdriver but has some wobble on the main blade. Scales on both blades appear to be some sort of plastic or synthetic material. The general feel of the knives is very good, well made and workmanlike.

Finally, a pair of vintage Imperials. The black and white knife (Jack knife?) has the "Imperial" over "PROV. USA" tang stamp which dates it to 1946-1956. It has steel instead of brass liners and the scales feel hollow. It is lightweight. The scales feel like some sort of plastic or synthetic material. The purplish knife has the "IMPERIAL" over "PROVIDENCE, R.I." stamp dating it 1930-1936. This feels like a real quality knife. The snap and W&T feel like my new in the tube GEC 38 whittlers - its really good. and the shield is pinned. The scales look like celluloid or casein or something. No blade wobble on either knife.

 

[Old Biker]

When I clean up knives similar to those, I start with a brush and hot soapy water. Then I go to wet dry sand paper, used wet, and possibly soapy. 220 to 320 grit maybe 400. I generally work by the kitchen sink so that it is easy to rinse the knife off and see my progress. I'll fold the sandpaper into a pad about as thick as the blade well, to clean inside of it. When I have everything cleaned to my satisfaction, I blow it dry with compressed air and then oil with mineral oil. Work the blades to work the oil into the joints. Working the oil into the joints, may bring out a gray oil goop. That may be cause for another round of hot soapy water and the brush followed by blow dry and more oil. When everything is to your satisfaction, and any excess oil wiped off. Sharpen the blades and the knives are ready to be put to work.

O.B.

 

[Icarve2]

Good advice there from old biker and nice bunch of knives to get. I love all these old boy scout knives and camp knives etc and I love getting them a little cleaned up but letting them keep their antique look /patina. Have fun with them

 

[afishhunter]

The Jack Knife looks to be shell construction. No backspring rivet, for one thing. The covers and bolsters are one piece and clipped on. Nothing wrong with that, of course. Just a less expensive way to manufacture, but they have the same high quality blades as the more expensive knives. (Imperial was known for shell construction begnning in the 1950's I beleive it was.)
The Ulster Boy Scout and Cub Scout knives have Delrin covers. The Camillus Electrician's and Boker might have Delrin, as well. However, don't be too surprised if after cleaning, you find the Electrician's knife has wood covers.

Nice haul. Congrats.

 

[Rhinofly]

The Jack Knife looks to be shell construction. No backspring rivet, for one thing. The covers and bolsters are one piece and clipped on. Nothing wrong with that, of course. Just a less expensive way to manufacture, but they have the same high quality blades as the more expensive knives. (Imperial was known for shell construction begnning in the 1950's I beleive it was.)
The Ulster Boy Scout and Cub Scout knives have Delrin covers. The Camillus Electrician's and Boker might have Delrin, as well. However, don't be too surprised if after cleaning, you find the Electrician's knife has wood covers.

Nice haul. Congrats.

You are correct, the Imperial Jack knife is shell construction. It is very interesting to see the change in construction approach that Imperial made from 1930 to 1950. The build quality of the earlier knife (the purplish Copperhead) is top notch and exactly what I would expect from a modern high quality folder. Then the circa 1950 shell construction knife, while a decent knife, is clearly made to be less expensive to build, and it shows. It feels more flimsy and the liners are steel, not brass, which rusts and is a pain. What a difference it makes to see them in person and work the blades, feel the difference in weight. Now, when I look at the Big Auction Site I can easily spot the earlier high quality (Imperial) knives and tell them apart from the later cheaper Imperials. Funny, the later cheaper shell-construction knives are a dime a dozen there, while the earlier high quality knives are few and far between. It was well worth a few bucks to gain that knowledge.

I am going to undertake some clean and restore of these knives and it will be interesting to compare the after pictures with the (admittedly crappy) before pictures I posted above.