I'm not sure if you're still looking for an answer rebhelms, but I have a little experience that you might find helpful. The later Buckmasters with the shinier bead blasted finish are much more forgiving. I find just some dish soap and a good sponge cleans them up nicely. WD-40 and a toothbrush works good for the more stubborn stains and grime such as tree sap. Now the earlier Buckmasters are a different story. They have the duller sand blasted finish which seems to absorb much more. I had one once that was very heavily oiled by the previous owner, and I decided to use some mineral spirits to clean it off. Bad idea, it gave the finish a weird dryed out look. I'd stick to dish soap and a soft sponge on the old ones, that finish even seems to show scratches from scotch bright pads easier than the shinier ones. If it's a knife you are making part of a collection, I guess just be careful. Hope this helps, have a good one all.
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