The most useful genre of thread on r/knives is the restoration question, and this weekend's is a good one: a user bought a rusted Western fixed blade at a local outdoor thrift shop, posted photos, and asked "is this Western too far gone or can I clean this up?" The answer, in unison, was no — it is not too far gone, and the thread laid out exactly how to bring it back.
The recommended method was conventional and correct: steel wool to start, then polishing compound on a buffing wheel, or a Dremel with a buffing bit for the tight spots. The critical caveat that experienced restorers added is that a buffer will remove metal, and on a vintage blade you want to remove rust and oxidation, not the original grind lines. Hand polishing with fine abrasive paper backed by a hard block is slower but far less destructive than a bench buffer running at speed.
The original poster noted something that surprised him: eBay prices on these knives are "wild." That is true and worth understanding. Western Cutlery knives — the Boulder, Colorado brand that made the L66 and the Bowie-pattern hunters — have a genuine collector base, and mint examples with original sheaths sell for far more than a rusty example ever will. A knife restored with a buffer is a user, not a collectible, and the restoration can halve the value even as it improves the appearance.
A commenter raised the engineering question that matters most: can the pommel be replaced? On stacked-leather and pinned-pommel construction, replacing a pommel is a job for someone with a drill press and the right rivets, not a first restoration project. On a Western with a cracked pommel, the honest answer is that the knife becomes a shop project rather than a quick cleanup.
Verdict: clean it, but clean it gently. Steel wool and oil first, evaluate the pitting, and only escalate to polishing compounds on the flat of the blade. Keep the original sheath, do not sand the handle, and accept that a user-grade vintage hunter is a fine thing to own even if it is not worth restoring to showroom condition.