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A number of years ago my dad had a health issue, so I spent a few weeks with him. He had a full shop so while he was resting I had some projects I wanted to do. I was looking for a tool and found a knife that had a leather sheath that was dried out, it wasn't a kabar but it was a copy of one.
I knew dad had fought in WW2, so I went into the house and asked him about the knife and he confirmed he carried it. He didn't say anything more, and got a little quite. I told him that when I was in uniform I carried a randall and told him had save me once. He replied in a small voice yeah me too on D day.
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I'd be wary of using steel wool.
My recommendation would be oil and one of the white versions of the "greenie" pads.
I found my father in laws July 1943 KABAR's from his Navy days wasting away on a shelf in his garage. He's no longer with us so I took them home and provided some TLC to the knives, the edges and the leather sheaths. It didn't take a lot to get the surface rust off, I started with oil and a toothbrush, then moved on to use the white pads. They're not perfect, but they're a heck of a lot better now than they were when I found them.
Both of them turned out great, but you can see one is in far better shape than the other.
https://hkguns.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-...86419086-5.jpg
https://hkguns.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-...86419108-5.jpg