To try and clean or not???

[juoneen]

Its the blade that is important....as long as it isn't cleaned any more than coating it with petroleum jelly and left wrapped in tissue for a few weeks..then us oil to gently remove the stuff that will come off on its own...(sideways..which is perpendicular to the blade...in direction you would wipe like grains on wood....that would not hurt it....it when you try and remove finger prints or blems off the blade that ruins the value ...oils is no problem...it rubbing lengthwise against the blade ever replace it youll grindings hard that's the enemy.......and when wiping off the old vaseline with a soft oiled tea shirt...from center of blade to edge gently with no rubbing till both sides have been oiled...it should be fine...scabbards...depending on the blade length...can easily be replaced if it bothers you too much....how long is the blade, as like swords, they are purchased to fit the man by height...kinda like helmet shells that cover sizes .I still like this dagger...very nice...look forward to seeing what the blade looks like.

[Tom B]

IMO it should be left as is

[Rancid66]

What I do not understand is,
How does letting an item rust or rot away to nothing honor the purpose of it's existence or the item itself?
Ralph.

Rust does not work if there is no component of moisture.
And after cleaning, the subject remains full of holes, which reduces the value of the same subject.

Regards
Rancid66

[Stu W]

I think one needs to differentiate between levels of cleaning. To suggest that any cleaning of an item will automatically reduce the value is, in my view, blindly adhering to dogma from days gone by. You pull a dagger out of a scabbard and find it covered in grease. You wipe off the grease. Have you cleaned it? Yes. Have you devalued it? No, of course not. If you then proceed to buff the piece till it shines like the noon day sun and in doing so strip all patina off then yes you have gone too far and likely have devalued the piece.

While it's true that rust won't start without moisture it's also true that active rust needs very little moisture to continues it's damaging effects and there is enough moisture in the air in many parts of the world for this to happen. Advising someone to leave it as is without knowing the conditions under which it will be stored could very well lead to further destruction of the item.

Last but not least ... The belief that most collectors want untouched items is often stated but I've yet to see anything concrete to support that statement. Just look at any sale venue. Does the untouched filthy dirty relic get the attention and command the high price or does a well preserved nicely conditioned item take top spot? Seems to me it's the nice piece. If any of you believe that the vast majority of items in collections and available for sale at any given time are untouched then you are deluding yourselves. We've all wiped down daggers, brushed lint off uniforms, taken a soft cotton cloth to that favourite award or medal before it's put into the display case to make sure no residue from our hands remains on the surface. That's cleaning and is perfectly appropriate and does not devalue an item. If cleaning becomes destructive then that's a different story. It's all a matter of degrees.

Regards,
Stu

[steve h]

i`m in the "clean it" camp on this. without having the dagger in hand it`s difficult to know exactly what i`d do, but i could not sit and know that the dagger is still deteriorating whilst in my care.

a difficult one.

[nickn]

This must be the only area of collecting where dirt verdigris and rust is considered valuable patina even
Imagine if fine art cars coins japanese sword ,i could go on ,collectors took this attitude there would be nothing left
Cleaning is all part of preserving these items
Not buffing or polishing ,apart from blades where a gentle polish is fine recomended if oil rust or fingerprints are present, but preserving and stopping further damage
I nice clean ,but not over cleaned or buffed, dagger will always fetch more money and sell better then a dirty rusty one

[Lampwick]

What I do not understand is,
How does letting an item rust or rot away to nothing honor the purpose of it's existence or the item itself?
Ralph.

My sentiments echoed!

[james m]

Clean it? What exactly would "cleaning" this Luger do to it's value or condition?
Yes it's in my own collection and I get asked more questions about this one than the pristine examples in my collection.
Jim

[CWP]

Corrosion is not some biological cancer. It is a chemical reaction that needs moisture. If this dagger is carefully stored in a dry place, the corrosion will not get any worse. Proper storage will keep this dagger in its original condition indefinitely. I like it the way it is, it is an antique and it shows its age. Plenty of mint ones around for people who like those.

[nickn]

Clean it? What exactly would "cleaning" this Luger do to it's value or condition?
Yes it's in my own collection and I get asked more questions about this one than the pristine examples in my collection.
Jim

Jim
It's not dirty it's rusty cleaning it will make no difference to the rust pits
I had a very rusty 3 digit colt saa which I sent to tommy haas for a full restoration
Well worth the cost but unless a rare model it would not be worth spending money on your luger
Nick

[james m]

Nick:
All I've done or plan to do to this Luger was to soak it in penetrating oil so it could be disassembled. As you can see in the picture the take down lever is broken probably by some oaf who tried to disassemble the pistol and didn't know how. The only other change I made was to put in a new magazine release to keep the mag from falling out of the pistol.
BTW: I did get the pistol field stripped and it's in decent condition internally. It will also still go "bang" as I tested it with a primed only cartridge.
Jim

[Edelweisse]

Clean it or not

BACK ON POINT: Show us the blade!

At this point....give it back to the person you got it from and let it continue on it's road to rust and corrosion. "SET IT FREE!"

[Rancid66]

Corrosion is not some biological cancer. It is a chemical reaction that needs moisture. If this dagger is carefully stored in a dry place, the corrosion will not get any worse. Proper storage will keep this dagger in its original condition indefinitely. I like it the way it is, it is an antique and it shows its age. Plenty of mint ones around for people who like those.

Great post, I agree completely.

Regards
Rancid66

[Stu W]

I suggest that those who have not taken the time to research the definition of the word corrosion, and it's many forms, just one of which is rust, do so.

Now, let's see that blade.

Regards,
Stu

[BobI]

I like to see the most minimal work done to our antiques. In this case if you want to preserve history you will need to intervene. The active rust or oxidation needs to be stopped, if you do not it will be a pile of dust in the years to come.
Best Wishes,
Bob