How To Clean Old Pocket Knives: Your Guide

• Basic washing and drying will work for most knives
• Carbon steel rusts faster and requires a patina or oil
• Cleaners that target carbon can damage wood and bone

Old pocket knives have a charm all their own, with every detail shaped by the needs of the time they were made. Their designs carry a story, etched into each curve and feature. Having one is literally holding a piece of history in your hand. If you happen to have one (or several), you may be wondering how to clean up an old knife blade.

Cleaning old pocket knives can be easy, but can also have its challenges. Making knives back then involved a lot more craftsmanship and fewer modern protections. Unlike knives made today, which are built to withstand almost everything short of a meteor strike, older knives were crafted with more natural materials and less advanced coatings. This means that they need more care to keep them in good shape. Let’s discuss how to clean old pocket knives.

Taking Care of Your Old Pocket Knives

To make things easy, we’re going to break the essentials of cleaning pocket knives into two areas: the blade and the handle. Each has its own concerns and nuances.

We will start with the major feature of the knife, the blade.

How To Clean Up an Old Knife Blade

Old knife blades are usually the most used and dirtiest part of the knife. If it isn’t too dirty and the knife is relatively well-maintained, using some basic soap and drying it by hand will be enough. However, if the knife blade doesn’t look clean, is rusty, or appears oxidized, you may need to conduct a further inspection of the knife to determine the best way to clean it.

What Kind of Material Is the Blade?

Many older knives were made from high-carbon steel. This steel can be very sharp, but it needs to develop a patina (black rust) on the surface to protect it. Removing this patina can cause the blade to rust more quickly. 

Carbon steel blades tend to rust whenever you take your eyes off them. This is why carbon steel blades will get blade oil treatments. The oil helps prevent oxidation and can even extend the steel's lifespan in wet or salty environments.

If the steel is very shiny, it might be made from stainless steel. This makes it harder for the knife to rust. However, stainless steel will eventually rust if left in a wet environment for an extended period. Determining which material you have will determine how often you have to clean, dry, or oil the blade to keep it in good condition.

Is the Edge Damaged?

Another aspect of how to clean old pocket knives is checking for edge damage. Many vintage pocket knives have seen considerable use. This will leave chips or gouges in the edge. If there are any present, sharpening the edge can remove them along with some blade material.

Sometimes the edge will roll over, and a straightening rod can be used to pull it back into place. However, if the roll or chip penetrates very deeply into the edge, it may be impossible to remove. For example, if the gouge goes almost halfway to the spine of the knife, you need to retire it.

Cleaning the Blade

If there is any surface rust that shouldn’t be there (usually red or brown rust), you can use a rough scrubber to clean it. Whatever you would use to scrub your dishes can work, and in severe cases, steel wool can be used. However, keep in mind that steel wool can wear down your knife or mar its finish.

How To Take Care of the Knife Handle

The handle of the knife will often be exposed to a lot of hand oils and other environmental dirt. This means it can be one of the easier steps of how to clean old pocket knives. Older knife makers knew that knife handles would get dirty quickly, so they used a few materials to make a knife’s handle more resilient.

What’s the Handle Made Of?

Handles or handle scales can be made from a variety of materials, including metal, wood, bone, and mother-of-pearl. Some even feature early plastics and resins used to maintain a sharp appearance. 

If you’re unsure what the handle is made of, look up some common materials, such as horn or Bakelite, to see what they look like. If it is a visual match, they probably are that material. If you want to feel the materials, remember that bone tends to have a slightly grippy texture, while materials like resin, plastics, and horn feel smooth.

How to Clean the Handle

If you are dealing with a handle made of organic material (such as wood, bone, or horn), you may be limited to the type of cleaners you can use. Normal soaps can work, but if you’re dealing with something that breaks down carbon, you don’t want to use that on organic handles.

Soap and water, along with some solid scrubbing with a slightly rough cloth, should handle most things. Increase the roughness of the cloth carefully if the dirt continues to stick to the handle. Sometimes, a toothpick or dental pick can be used to access the crevices.

If you have wood on the handle, use a wood sealant or boiled linseed oil to restore it. Varnishes, stains, and other dyes will change the wood’s color. Avoid these if you want to keep the wood’s original color.

Future Knife Care

Knowing how to clean old pocket knives doesn’t matter if you store them in a way that is only going to require you to clean them again. If you have a carbon steel knife, use a light layer of oil designed for steel. This will prevent the knife from rusting in storage. 

Stainless steel knives typically require minimal maintenance, making them a great choice for long-term use. It's a good idea to check on them periodically, especially if you live in a humid area or one with a high concentration of saltwater.

Ensure your organic handles are clean and keep them out of direct sunlight and humidity. These will cause warping, fading, and corrosion depending on how long the knife is exposed to it.

Non-organic materials may experience rust or corrosion around the pins that hold them in place. This makes them lower maintenance, but they still require occasional attention.

If the knife isn’t being used regularly, get it a special box to keep it in. This ensures it’s properly stored and isn’t just left lying around in a drawer somewhere.