Schrade Cut Co Walden, clean it leave it?

[Rossr]

I have had this knife for a long time probably 30 years now. It came off a hilltop farm in the catskills that belonged to my great grandparents. It's still got walk and talk in both blades. I am guessing the handles are celluloid? The blades have some rust crud etc and need work.

I assume it doesnt have much value. So curious what you knife restoration folks think should in try to clean it up.....best thoughts on how?

[TripleF]

Clean it. Absolutely!

[herbva]

Many knife lovers are opposed to cleaning, but I'm with Scott - clean it! I can't stand to have crud, dirt, congealed grease, surface rust, etc. on my knives. I'm a big fan of WD40. Go over the rusty metal parts with 0000 steel wool and WD40 and flush the inside with WD40 and then clean the inside with a thin letter opener or something similar wrapped in paper towel. It's amazing how much nasty gunk and dissolved rust can come out of the inside of an old knife when you do this. WD40 dissolves a long laundry list of stuff that that can accumulate inside knives. Lastly, oil the joints and then enjoy it! Just my 2 cents worth.

[Rossr]

Many knife lovers are opposed to cleaning, but I'm with Scott - clean it! I can't stand to have crud, dirt, congealed grease, surface rust, etc. on my knives. I'm a big fan of WD40. Go over the rusty metal parts with 0000 steel wool and WD40 and flush the inside with WD40 and then clean the inside with a thin letter opener or something similar wrapped in paper towel. It's amazing how much nasty gunk and dissolved rust can come out of the inside of an old knife when you do this. WD40 dissolves a long laundry list of stuff that that can accumulate inside knives. Lastly, oil the joints and then enjoy it! Just my 2 cents worth.

Pretty much how I feel. I like functional items too and its not.doing any good being unusable! Ill post the afterpics once I get to it. Appreciate the thought on how to. I like the nail file thought. I've used qtips before with variable success

[Mumbleypeg]

Just about anything you need to know about cleaning a knife can be found here viewtopic.php?f=37&t=54157

Ken

[edge213]

Clean it for sure.
I wouldn't use WD40 on a celluloid handled knife. Some believe petroleum products can cause celluloid to begin outgassing.
I have no idea if this is true or not. Better safe than sorry.
Having said that, this type of celluloid seems to be somewhat stable.

[treefarmer]

That is a neat lookin' handle! Like the others, clean it up, sharpen it and use it or set it up and enjoy something from your great grandparents farm. The steel bolsters will need a bit of work as will the blades but it'll be something to enjoy when you get done.
Treefarmer

[Meridian_Mike]

Yep, I am with the "clean it" crowd....
BUT, be careful with the cell handles.... That stuff is unstable.
Good luck!

[buddyie22]

Cleaner up. put it in rotation and enjoy it when people admire it when you use it

[Rossr]

So I put just the steel blade part in evapo rust to help remove the surface rust. Did a nice job. Evaporust tends to darken the steel some but since I'm cleaning it anyway I was ok with that. I dont have a clue if evaporust will hurt celluloid so I kept it away from that best I could. The nicks in the small blade are pretty bad but I'll see what I can do....

The pencil trick on the cleaning pages ....does that mean using the eraser? Or actually using the graphite pencil part like a abrasive? I took it to mean the graphite...seems to help...

[Mumbleypeg]

Both the graphite and the eraser can be used. The eraser is more abrasive/aggressive. Use the graphite for removing light rust or tarnish. If that doesn't do the job, you can move on to the eraser end, or get a "Pink Pearl" type eraser for larger jobs. For graphite jobs my preference is a "carpenter's pencil" because its graphite "lead" is wider and stronger than a writing pencil. Not as likely to break and doesn't need to be re-sharpened as often.

Ken

[Rossr]

Both the graphite and the eraser can be used. The eraser is more abrasive/aggressive. Use the graphite for removing light rust or tarnish. If that doesn't do the job, you can move on to the eraser end, or get a "Pink Pearl" type eraser for larger jobs. For graphite jobs my preference is a "carpenter's pencil" because its graphite "lead" is wider and stronger than a writing pencil. Not as likely to break and doesn't need to be re-sharpened as often.

Ken

appreciate the explanation! Funny I had already migrated to the carpenters pencil same reason wider and sturdier... I also noticed it makes the name on the blade easier to read with the graphite! At least temporarily

[Rossr]

Ok so the bolsters had some slight pitting so I ended up sanding most of that away and then polishing it up. I then did similar to the blades. Theres pitting on both blades but that's ok. I have to work the Nick's out yet and sharpen. The small blade is missing just a bit of the tip but that is easily fixed .

Open to critique and thoughts

[Doc B]

Already looking much better! Almost makes me think someone intentionally did the pen blade, like that. Maybe for wire stripping

[Rossr]

More pics

[Rossr]

Already looking much better!

Thanks. And I agree. I dont think I'm gonna be a pro restorer anytime soon though

Interesting thought on those Nicks. I've been pondering them and they are deep and seem more intentional then most Nick I see in blades

[herbva]

Now she's lookin very pretty! Well done!

[TripleF]

Now she's lookin very pretty! Well done!

Uh-huh! Ditto!!!

[glennbad]

I haven't seen much EOD cell on schrades. It's a cool knife, and you put it back to working order quite nicely!

[edge213]

I also was thinking that the nicks in the pen blade look intentional.
No idea why.
The knife is looking good, really like the handles.

[Rossr]

Now she's lookin very pretty! Well done!

Thank you sir

Now she's lookin very pretty! Well done!

Uh-huh! Ditto!!!

thanks

I haven't seen much EOD cell on schrades. It's a cool knife, and you put it back to working order quite nicely!

Appreciate the kind words. Excuse my ignorance but what's is EOD celluloid ....I tired a quick google search and all I got was end of day

I also was thinking that the nicks in the pen blade look intentional.
No idea why.
The knife is looking good, really like the handles.

Thank you. I have now removed the nicks and I suspect we will never know but it's interesting to ponder.

[Rossr]

Well I stole some time to sharpen the blades today. I also removed the offending nicks. Overall I'm glad in my choice to clean it up. It is useable once again if I ever decide to carry it. I may display it. The handles are unique but I'm more a stag or jigged bone guy. Appreciate all the thoughts and kind words. I picked up some great tips too for cleaning up pocket knives

Best

Ross

[Doc B]

[Rossr]

I looked up the tang stamp and it appears this knife was between 1917 and 1946.

[glennbad]

They call that pattern end-of-day. Supposedly, companies would take the scraps left over from the "end of day" and make those. Don't know if that's true, but that's what I have heard and read.