Basic Questions From A New Collector

[Pile Driver]

Should vintage folding knives be cleaned? Does it devalue them? If not, what are good techniques/agents for cleaning vintage folding knives. If there is a chip in the blade, is the knife then worthless?

Thanks in advance, looking forward to collecting

[comis]

Hi, PileDriver02128.

Welcome to MT.O!

I'm not a antique knife restorer myself, but do collect a good number old SAK for fun.  Personally I think it will depends on the condition of the knife and what's your purpose with that knife.  If you are planning to sell it, then you might have to do some research on ebay or 2nd hand dealers to see the value difference.

Personally, I would value a (professionally) well-restored old SAK with original parts higher than a pretty deteriorated one, but I do become a little skeptical if I know for a fact that model has no replacement parts and a really really old model shows up shinny and brand new(possible fakes).

For more about restore knife technique or agents, a 'board' search on Swiss Army Knight forum should yield good results.  Here are a few:

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,50140.msg842180.html#msg842180

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,48412.msg804635.html#msg804635

good luck!

[dks]

I would not think that proper cleaning  lowers their value.  (see the links comis provided)

On a used knife it may be necessary to remove dirt, rust etc. just to see what it is.

On a new/mint knife with little dirt etc. on it, cleaning it may remove blade markings or scale markings and affect the value.

Sharpening should also be avoided on mint knives as the "factory edge" is a bonus.

Also, you need to be careful with the cleaning materials you use, so as not to discolour the blade and scales. Some materials, like wood, carbon steel, older synthetics will need very carefull, cleaning.

Definitely, any damage, that can not be attributed to a historical event/person (e.g. "the knife blade was damaged in the stabbing of Julius Caesar") will lower the value, but a lot will depend on how desirable that knife is and how many better ones are available.

Some older knives with hardly any blade remaining sell for silly money, as they are in very limited supply.
I have bought scratched and damaged knives and SAKs for silly money, a while back, as the mint ones were seriously more expensive or impossible to get.


Also, vintage is a relative term, it may mean 10 years, it may mean 100 years on eBay