All About Pocket Knives

I was recently approached by a customer who asked me to polish an old knife he had acquired. Upon inspection of the knife I realized that it was a German Third Reich Army officer’s dagger from WWII. After discussing other options with him, he talked me into polishing the blade although it was against my better judgment.
As I stood behind the buffing wheel washing away a piece of history, I felt as though I was doing the knife world a great injustice. This brought up not only my own personal thoughts and feelings, but also questions as to whether we should clean knives and if so to what extent.
I have collected and cleaned many knives in my lifetime and the following discussion is of my own beliefs on the subject matter and nothing else. Just the ponderings of a knife enthusiast with too much spare time.
I have several pocketknives that belonged to my grandfathers and great grandfathers that have lint in them from their pockets; they are stained with oil from my forefathers’ hands and have nicks and scratches from the tasks these tools have performed. How could I possibly erase the character from these knives that helped my relatives throughout their lifetime?
But suppose we find a knife in an antique store or at a yard sale and have no idea who the previous owner was, knives that have lost their sentimental value through the years. Should we clean these knives or possibly even polish them to make them look shiny and new again? Cleaning and polishing the knife often increases its value and makes it more attractive to collectors or future buyers. It also helps preserve these pieces for future generations to enjoy. I feel cleaning is a personal choice that the current owner needs to make with these type of knives.
Now let’s take a look at the knife that started this whole debate in my mind. The knife that has great historical value. These may be knives that are war relics or perhaps tools of everyday living that belonged to civilization of long ago. The markings and wear on these knives can tell us how these tools were used or even who used them. Cleaning them beyond normal maintenance or preservation can erase a part of history that our children should enjoy and learn from. I realize that no person would ever think of polishing George Washington’s Mother of Pearl handled pen knife or Abe Lincoln’s ivory handled congress but where do we draw the line? Am I wrong in thinking that polishing a WW2 war relic shouldn’t be considered? Your opinions in this matter are of great importance to me and other members of our club. Please e-mail your opinions to [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you.


Jeff Mutz

I love the character, or MOJO if you please, of those old battle scarred soldiers. I wouldn't clean them any more than it took to make them usable again, and if it took too much to do that, I'd just wipe away the grease and grime and let 'em go.

Jeff,

I did an interview on this very subject for Scott King that was to be published in Cutlery News Journal before Scott shut is down. I will cut and paste the relevent parts of that interview and email them to you.

In short, it is indeed a tough question. As opposed to other antiques, when it comes to knives, people like shiny. Mint is mint and patina isn't mint so then money comes into play and money always changes everything. I feel that if a knife cannot be cleaned (not buffed) back to mint, then leave the patina and respect the antique. When you talk restoration as opposed to a cleaning, you've entered a new arena.

Excellent question that I'm sure will bring out some lively debates.

Bob

Thanks guys for your feedback. I'd love to read the article if you get a chance to send it Bob.

Thanks,
Jeff

It never made it to full article form, just questions and answers that turned into full blown essay answers. It's here on my hard drive somewhere. As soon as I locate it, I'll gladly share.

Jeff,

I would like to see the before and after pictures

Most people around here know where I stand on this subject.

I was asked earlier this year my opinion about "restoring" a very rare switch blade knife.

The owner purchased a rare knife, the blade was pretty well worn out from sharpening and use. He wanted to cut the old blade off at the tang and weld an original unused blade on to it

Well after about 20 minutes of my lecturing he reluctantly decided not to go through with it.

Some collectors are what I call "Mint Freaks", every knife they own has to be in like new condition, or they are never satisfied with it

This was one such collector. He sold it 3 months later for one he managed to locate in better condition.

If he cut off the original blade and welded another full blade on, IMO that knife would be junk

If you are in the knife repair business your getting paid to do what the customer asks of you, you do have the choice to try to recommend that the owner not polish or alter the history of an old knife.

Like Bob said, people pay more for buffed up knives. As long as this is the rule people will buff them up to get more money.

I do see, due to these forums , collectors attitudes starting to change a little.

Remember a knife can always be buffed, but you can never put the original patina back on.

Dimitri