I've got an old knife that I was given by my grandfather. It's only a small 4 inch blade, made in sheffield (my grandad used it for all the years he was in the Boy's Brigade). It's got a decent solid grip on it and appears to be in good working order. However, it does have some dark blackish patina and some brown/red surface rust. How would I go about removing this to return the steel to it's old shiny self?

cheers,

Colin

Sand paper, and WD-40. You could use a belt sander also to be a bit quicker. Start with about 100 grit sandpaper and work up to about 800 grit then use some steel wool always sand in one direction, down the blade lengthwise. After the steel wool buy some metal-glo off the internet and rub it in with a cloth. If its a folding blade and the joints are sticky spray some WD-40 on them.
Cheers.

Do not use sandpaper unless you want to smooth out the shape of the blade. Try gray scotrchbrite first. If that doesn't work, then go to sandpaper. Be patient...it will take a while.