Need advice on kitchen knife cleaning and restoration

In 1939 Joseph Gerber (advertising agency owner) had custom knife maker David Murphy make 24 sets of carving knife for some of his select customers. Catalog retailer Abercrombie & Fitch saw them and was so impressed with the quality of the knives they wanted to sell them. Thus was born Gerber Legendary Blades.
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MUD
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Need advice on kitchen knife cleaning and restoration

Post by MUD »

I recently purchased a complete set stamped GERBER 12, The Round Table.
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They are in really good shape, but I would like to bring them back to their original glory. I've ran them thru the dishwasher :D , sink and rag and me. Took off the years of greasy grime, and they look a lot better.
Sometime during their life, an idiot sharpened em with what looks like a deemed. Nice little swirly scratches on an otherwise good-looking chrome.
What I need is a food safe way to polish the handles and get the scratches out of the blades. Yes food safe, they will be used :D .
Any assistance and advice would be greatly appreciated.
IMG_20160912_183814603.jpg
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Case V42
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Re: Need advice on kitchen knife cleaning and restoration

Post by Case V42 »

I've tried to clean up chrome plated blades that someone tried to sharpen with a grinder, and sadly have never had positive results. It seems that the chrome is always gone before the scratches are!

Mark
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orvet
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Re: Need advice on kitchen knife cleaning and restoration

Post by orvet »

That is an awesome set! I would love to have a full set, especially that year. ::ds::
I believe that was the last year they were made wiyh the old Murphy design handle. I think the year was 1950.
Great set! ::tu:: Congrats!


Unfortunately my experience has been much the same as Mark's.

The handles however can be polished.
My own experience has been that dishwashers cause a lot of tarnishing on the aluminum handles. I have given several Gerbers to a granddaughter who had lived with us when she was in high school, so she had heard my "Never Put a Knife in a Dishwasher" lecture a few times. :lol:
Her husband put a Miming in their dishwasher and turned the handle nearly black. The only was I was able to get the tarnish off it was using Black Magic rouge on an 8" wheel and then a second polishing with No Scratch Pink.

Perhaps someone knows of a chemical solution for polishing them, but that is what I had to do.



Having managed a cutlery store for several years, I have seen many knives damage by dishwashers. Henckel's handles would pit and used crack from washing in dishwashers. That happened to my grandmother's Henckels, I had warned her not to put them in the dishwasher. ::shrug::

I have seen blades nicked from things banging into the cutting edge, not to mention the danger of someone cutting themselves when taking the knives out.

I know Henckels warned against damage to the temper of the blade from the heat in the dishwasher and I another company issued the same warning as well. I have not personally seen that happen to a knife, but that was part of the educational information which we received from the salesman.

Hopefully, you have a buffer or someone knows another method of polishing the handles.
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Re: Need advice on kitchen knife cleaning and restoration

Post by jerryd6818 »

"I've ran them thru the dishwasher :D , sink and rag and me. "

It's okay Marine. You just need to take a few days off and go fishing.
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Re: Need advice on kitchen knife cleaning and restoration

Post by MUD »

Well, there it is. If y'all don't know, tried and caint...but that's what I figured. So we live with it.Not a problem.

Mr Dale, I'd bet $ you've got a nib set, but thanks for the kind words. Guaranteed they will be used on a regular basis.
The only thing to do now is reline the box, 60+ years ain't been to kind to the velvet.
Thank y'all for your time and wisdom.
My name is Mud,
But call me Alowishus Devadander Abercrombie
That's long for Mud, so I've been told
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Re: Need advice on kitchen knife cleaning and restoration

Post by MUD »

Finally got time to clean em up.
Used em for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Now I've gotta make time for the Mimings.
IMG_20161121_162104694.jpg
My name is Mud,
But call me Alowishus Devadander Abercrombie
That's long for Mud, so I've been told
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