All About Pocket Knives

Hey all,
A while back I received a gift of an old Schrade Copenhagen Snuff promo knife, which is in need of a deep clean and blade restoration.
I'm hesitatent however as the main blade is etched with the Copenhagen logo, and I'd like to preserve this as much as possible.
Any ideas?

You might wish to peruse this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=37&t=65598

Thank you kindly, much appreciated.

It's patina/tarnish; and not really rust. It will help to prevent from rust. My 34OT is exposed to a lot of potentially corrosive things (especially fruit); and actually rusts less (even when I forget to wipe the blade down with oil) than a 420HC stainless Leatherman. Doesn't really need cleaning. To get gunk out, I use extra-strength dish detergent and an old toothb rush.

Oh yes, I know it's only patina - but there's also a bit of muck on there. Inside the scales is also caked with dirt.
I've just never had an etched blade before, and wasn't sure what I could and could not do in terms of cleaning.

Thanks so much for your reply!

First you need to decide if it's an etch or ink. That will determine what you can or cant do

espn77 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 18, 2020 11:15 pm First you need to decide if it's an etch or ink. That will determine what you can or cant do

I am not knowledgable enough to discern the difference unfortunately. Looks like I've got some research to do. Thank you!

I use WD40. It dissolves or at least loosens all kinds of dirt, gunk, surface rust, etc. I've never had it damage blade etch, But, if what you are concerned about preserving is something that is painted on (not etched), then you might need to be very cautious.

I wonder if this would remove the tarnish but not the etch/ink?

That's an etch. Just don't use anything abrasive. Even something mildly abrasive will remove the darker parts of the etch and you'll be left with just a shallow imprint of the etch that's the same color as the steel.

Eric

ea42 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 19, 2020 1:19 am That's an etch. Just don't use anything abrasive. Even something mildly abrasive will remove the darker parts of the etch and you'll be left with just a shallow imprint of the etch that's the same color as the steel.

Eric

I agree. I have a knife that had a blade etch and had a bad pitted blade. I cleaned up the blade slightly by light sanding
but the etch got a little lighter.

Bob