Marble Ideal Slag Knife Info

[Larry1]

I was wondering if anyone can shed any information regarding this knife. Does it have a specific name and how old it might be. Also, how would one go about removing the rust on the blade. Thank you in advance.
How do you post pictures?

[btrwtr]

Your knife looks to be very early model Marble's Ideal. Can you tell us how the knife is marked? I suspect it is possibly a W.L. Marble stamp which would make it even more desirable than an M.S.A. stamping, c. 1900. What is the blade length?

[Larry1]

The blade is 5 1/2" long. Any suggestions on how to remove the rust. If I am going to sell this knife does cleaning the blade diminish its value. Thank you for your reply.

[1967redrider]

Using these two pictures for illustration, the M.S.A. Co. tang stamp is older (1903-1918 roughly). The Marbles "Rollercoaster" stamp denotes the age of a knife depending on how the "A" in MARBLES is crossed (hooks to the right for 1918-1925, hooks to the left for 1925 on). There's better information on this in Dunathan's The Encyclopedia of MARBLE'S Knives & Sporting Collectibles if you can pick up a copy. I hope this at least helps a little but you need to get through the rust to see if you can find any stamp first.

[Larry1]

Thank you for the information as its most helpful.

[Gunsil]

I would not use anything stronger than light oil and 0000 steel wool to remove the rust. Let it soak a while in the light oil (gun or sewing machine oil) and then rub it with the steel wool. Repeat as necessary. There are some, myself included who do not think the business about which way the slash on the A goes regarding dating the knives is correct. It looks like the spacers and guard on your knife are nickel silver instead of brass?? If this is the case it is a very scarce knife albeit not in the best condition. Please post a good photo of the maker's mark stamped on the ricasso (flat area right ahead of the guard).

[Larry1]

Is naval jelly safe to use and thank you for the correct steel wool to use.

[Gunsil]

NO, NEVER use naval jelly it removes more than just the rust. If you try to make the knife shiny you will kill value. If you are not experienced cleaning steel on an antique knife and you are looking to sell it it may be better to sell it as is and let the buyer decide if and how they would clean it. Oil and 0000 steel wool will remove the rust but not make the blade shiny and not remove any solid metal because the steel in steel wool is softer than the steel in the knife. So are the spacers and guard brass or nickel?? Photo of the stamp??