Greetings,

Here is a cable damascus knife I just picked up on eBay. It was made by Michael Bell of Dragonfly Forge, apparently in the 1980's. I do not know if he still makes knives, but he does make some very expensive Japanese style swords these days.

After I received the knife I discovered that there are some dark marks on the blade. They look like fingerprints, so I am assuming that someone did not wipe the blade down after it was handled. Is there any way to remove these marks without damaging the etch? I suspect that the whole blade would have to be re-etched to get rid of them, but I don't really want to do that.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f24/hephaestus61/knives/Bell-Cable-Damascus-Bowie1.jpg

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f24/hephaestus61/knives/BellMichael-CableDamascusBowie7.jpg

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f24/hephaestus61/knives/Bell-Cable-Damascus-Bowie2.jpg

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f24/hephaestus61/knives/Bell-Cable-Damascus-Bowie3-1.jpg

I could be wrong but that looks like cable damaskus. Very nice!

If they are fingerprints, sometimes #oo steel wool will take them out without doing much to the original patena. If it leaves a shiney spot, which I doubt, if you don't over do it. You might be able to make some repairs with a light acid like vinager. Here is a link that talks some on the subject.
vinager patena (http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30152&highlight=hickory)

Here is a patena repair I did on an old hickory sticker. The white spots show where the patena had been worn down to the metal.
https://home.comcast.net/~tattooroc/old_hickory_dagger2.jpg

CAREFUL! The vinager will shine the bolsters.

Thanks, I may try the vinegar.