Rust on Knives

[quatin]

I just bought a Cold Steel Voyager folding knife at a gun show 3 days ago. It already has developed brown rust like spots. It's not like a rusty nail that you can sand off, it looks like the steel has just discolored. I know stainless steel doesn't mean it will remain stainless and these spots are just impurities in the steel, but is there a way for me to get rid of these spots short of taking a whetting stone to the whole blade?

 

[musick]

3 days and the steel is rusting!!?? Stainless should not rust in 3 days, unless you are living in the bayou or something.

But Ill bite....

2 methods Ill put out there:

- Soak it in a can of Coke. Believe it or not, the acid in Coke will remove minor surface rust. If the rust is as bad as you say try:

- 0000 grade steel wool and oil (motor oil, 3-in-1 oil...it doesnt matter a lot) - use the oil as a lube and wipe the blade down w/ the wool. Coat it with some kind of wax, like Chapstick to keep the metal protected/coated.

 

[Valkman]

Putting aside what I feel about CS knives , I'd rub it with some Simichrome or Flitz polish.

 

[arcticap]

See Post #17
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=450932&highlight=steel+stains

...Now for a solution... I think. For some years now I've been using a cleaning powder for stainless steel sinks and pots called Bar Keepers Friend. It's amazing at removing stains and burned on grease. One day I used the same scouring pad on a kitchen knife that is laminated high carbon with stainless on each side. Typically the high carbon core that is exposed has always had some corrosion stains on it. You know, the black spots. Usually the only time I get rid of these is during sharpening but it would come back from exposure to food even with quick washings.

So when I hit the blade with the Bar Keeper's Friend soaked pad I was amazed that it not only made the side look good but it cleaned the corrosion stains off the core as well as removing the stains from the laminate line that I had NEVER been able to get rid of.

Further testing on a slick little paring knife in high carbon that has always been a bit discoloured followed along with some other tests. THIS STUFF IS AMAZING! ! ! ! Everything with the slightest rust discolouration was suddenly turned to brilliant metal with very little work.

So I would suggest you just give 'er a good cleaning with this BKF and then lightly oil it with a rag where as you put it to rest for storage the last thing to touch the steel is the lightly oily rag. With this treatment it should stay super bright for years from what I've seen.

Heck, I've got all sorts of jigs and custom tools made from all sorts of different steels around my shop. With a bit of oil and any sort of reasonable care there is no reason at all to end up corrosion on a bright finished barrel. And if a spot does appear where an errant finger print went then a bit of a light scrub with some BKF and it will be right as rain again.

At least this is my story and I'm sticking to it....

If you want proof I'll expose my knife to some tomatoe and leave it for 10 minutes. Then I'll remove the black spots for you so see how well it works. BBKF (Before Bar Keeper's Friend) I would NOT have made such an offer since the resulting stain would require some time at the water stones to remove.

And for the best protection, see all of the facts about Eezox knife and gun care products:

http://www.eezox.com/knife-care.html

EEZOX® weighs 10.42 pounds per gallon - squirt or spray EEZOX® into a container of water and it will sink to the bottom. This density prevents water from penetrating the thin layer of EEZOX® and from reacting with the metal to form rust. Because of the hydrocarbon oil content of other products, they will "float" on water. Therefore, water penetrates this oil layer and rests on the metal surface. The water then reacts with oxygen and the metal surface to form rust.

Our research clearly shows over 75% of gun owners are not satisfied with gun care products presently being used. Compare this to the 98.7% of EEZOX® users who are greatly satisfied

http://www.eezox.com/gun-care.html

http://www.eezox.info/truth.html

 

[brandonc]

It sounds like its only developing a Minor Patina, which is common and harmless. It is only the reddish rust that harms blades and causes pitting. In fact a patina can even protect the blade from developing the bad kind of rust. But if you don't like these imperfections fine sand paper or steel wool can remove it.

 

[CWL]

Soak it in a oil or penetrant for a few hours and scrub with 000 or 0000 steel wool.

 

[KBT1911]

Naval Jelly. You can get it at a hardware store. I like the stuff. Not good for your navel but it does remove rust, though.

 

[quatin]

These are some good suggestions. I bought some metal polish and rubbed out most of it with a cotton cloth. However, there's definitely some pitting that won't rub out. I think at this point, some metal has to be removed to get the blade smooth...either that or I'll just leave it. Is there some type of coating I can apply to the metal to prevent future tarnishing? I'm skeptical of gun oil, because wouldn't it just rub off as I'm using the knife?

 

[hso]

White Lightning, Ren Wax, Eezox, Butchers Wax, etc.

 

[sm]

...cut an apple, cantaloupe, slice ham... then give these foods to your mother-in-law.

We can't have mil's having an iron deficiency now can we?

*whut*

 

[KBT1911]

AHAHAHA! Not too fond of the MIL?

 

[quatin]

Sorry to bring back an old subject, but I've noticed that after I've polished off the initial tarnishing, the blade has remained clean despite some abuse. Could it just be the surface impurities has now been removed and all that's left is more pure stainless steel? Has anyone else observed this? I've not had much experience with high carbon steels so I'm being wary of how it reacts.

 

[7X57chilmau]

Rust feeds rust. It provides crevices and "shelter", if you will, where moisture, salts etc. can hide out and eat at the blade. Polishing removes all the "hide-outs", making it very easy to wipe off the salts and moisture. A freshly polished blade will always resist corrosion longer than one that has meerly been "cleaned".

Caring for carbon steel blades is not difficult. They won't rust up in a few minutes, but, once used for some time will develop a greyish coloured coating (described as patina). That coating is somewhat protective, and can be forced with any acidic food product (vinegar, onion, orange, lemon).

What rusts carbon steel blades is being left wet, or left in a damp sheath. They will rust badly in a day or 2 this way. Luckily, it cleans up with a scotchbrite pad in a few minutes, reverting to the mottled grey patina.

I forge knives from spring steel. I use a trio of them in my kitchen EVERY DAY. They get tossed in the drawer with everything else. I'm careful to clean'em immediatly after use, with HOT water, dry them immediately (the hot blade finish dries itself in short order) and I lay them in the drawer edge down so that no drops will sit on the face of the blade....

With simple, proper care, carbon blades give great service. Only the careless and unkempt find them troublesome.

J