Can you post any pictures?
This knife is an all-metal knife - which means that there are things that 'can' be done more easily.
The conundrum is this: It's your Dad's knife - 'he' put the dings and such there - do you really want to restore this to new or merely clean it and make it a working knife once more.
I have my Grandfather's Marble's 'Woodcraft' sheath knife, and after great thought, I cleaned it and left all of the 'character' it possessed.
Vaya,
Scouts Out!