I have a set of cheap $10 knives that looked OK when I bought them, but aged rapidly. So I thought I would share how I spruced them up to "better than new".

I first cleaned them up with rubbing alcohol. Get it as clean as you can!

I then put three coats of Glosscote Lacquer on the handles. (If you have never worked with Lacquer you may want to use an Acrylic glossy clear coat. Lacquer needs to be thinned out properly or you will not end up with a smooth finish.)

And for the finishing touches I polished it up with some Novus Plastic polish. (Your favorite car polish should be just fine.)

The result was a set of knives that look better than when I bought them. The finish is durable and easy to clean and polish.

I hope this helps revive some of those old dingy knives you might have laying around.

Jake

ps-If you go the lacquer route beware of the fumes!

Thanks for the tips jake, I might be trying some of these soon, mine are gettin a bit dated!

It's best to just start with the best. Buy yourself some Mogar knives. ANY of his sets will do. I prefer the stag handle set, it almost matches my now-retired Sanders' color changing knives.

Steve Thomas

These are great tips for restoring knives.

I also have to add that the best way to make your knives look new is to take care of them when they are new! I always keep mine in a small, soft cloth bag, wrapped with a rubber band when I am not using them. This ensures that they will not scratch or discolor.

Believe it or not, I have had them for almost 20 years (and used them often)and they still look new. I have been a full-time magician for over five years now and have been a part-time pro for quite a bit longer than I care to admit. I was concerned that the knives would show the wear with the increase in work. They have not.

I have discovered that most of the "wear and tear" on my other props occured in storage or transport. Correcting the storage and transport issues, I protected my investments.

P.S. For the record, my knives are the cheap ones (which were the only ones available when I was younger).