bone-utn-care-msg - 2/4/08 Caring for bone utensils. NOTE: See also the files: horn-utn-care-msg, wood-utn-care-msg, iron-pot-care-msg, iron-pot-srcs-msg, lea-cook-uten-msg, utensils-msg, p-tableware-msg, cooking-pots-art. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2005 11:34:40 -0500 From: "Phlip" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] cleaning bone handled utensils To: "Cooks within the SCA" , Cc: bilowich at earthlink.net > I have some antique bone handled dessert knives and forks and the bone > handles are really dirty. Do you know of any reference works or tips > on cleaning them without destroying them? > > Russ Bilowich Discussed it with Rob, who carves bone, and his suggestions were as follows- note, there's no easy way to do this- most chemicals will simply dissolve the bone. Get a toothbrush and dishwashing liquid, and scrup it down. If that doesn't quite do enough, you can use the Comet type abrasives with the toothbrush, but don't use the colored ones since they stain- you need white. Also, Pearl Drops will work. Once you get them cleaned up, he suggests you seal the bone so it doesn't happen again. Good sealant would be either varnish, which works OK, but tends to be soft, or better, a straight polyurethane. Bone is very porous, so if you want it to maintain its color, you must seal it. I'll also fwd this over to the Knife List, see what other suggestions those guys have. Saint Phlip, CoD Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2005 12:14:51 -0500 From: "Phlip" Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] cleaning bone handled utensils To: "Cooks within the SCA" > Just a thought, would something like a denture cleaning tablet work? > Felicia It could- we've never tried one. Most of them though, are colored, so you'd hafta be careful of that. Saint Phlip, CoD Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2005 13:42:52 -0500 From: "Phlip" Subject: Fw: [kl] Re: [Sca-cooks] cleaning bone handled utensils To: "SCA-Cooks" , From: "Andrew Vida" To: Sent: Sunday, March 27, 2005 1:28 PM Subject: Re: [kl] Re: [Sca-cooks] cleaning bone handled utensils >> Get a toothbrush and dishwashing liquid, and scrub it down. > > I think that's the best solution. Good old water and detergent. > >> Once you get them cleaned up, he suggests you seal the bone so it doesn't >> happen again. Good sealant would be either varnish, which works OK, but >> tends to be soft, or better, a straight polyurethane. Bone is very porous, >> so if you want it to maintain its color, you must seal it. > > I'm not a big fan of complex manufactured sealers for these > applications. How about bees wax? Edited by Mark S. Harris horn-utn-care-msg 2 of 2