Le Sigh.
I got a Fort Turner tomahawk a while back and took it camping a week or so ago. It got plenty wet, but I thought I got it dried off and oiled promptly. You can see where this is going.
I checked it today, and the rougher parts of the unfinished steel had a few blooms of fresh rust. Nothing major, but I want to make sure it doesn't get any worse, and rust just plain annoys me.
This is what I did:
1. Hit the whole thing with Rem Oil to make sure it was all oiled up.
2. Attacked the visible rust with steel wool and more Rem Oil (RO was what I had on hand when I found it), until I got a nice brown flow of oil dripping off of the steel and the rust seemed to be mostly gone.
3. Wiped down and re-oiled.
I noticed two things. First, the blackened appearance of the steel was lightened a bit by the polishing action of the wool. Second, it was not possible to get all of the rust out of every nook and cranny. Will either of these cause any long term problems, assuming I keep it oiled?
I assume this isn't an issue (plenty of axes, hatchets and 'hawks have gotten wet and been slightly rusted throughout history), but I figured I should check since this is the first time I've owned something with a 'blacksmith finish'.
Thanks,
Mike
I got a Fort Turner tomahawk a while back and took it camping a week or so ago. It got plenty wet, but I thought I got it dried off and oiled promptly. You can see where this is going.
I checked it today, and the rougher parts of the unfinished steel had a few blooms of fresh rust. Nothing major, but I want to make sure it doesn't get any worse, and rust just plain annoys me.
This is what I did:
1. Hit the whole thing with Rem Oil to make sure it was all oiled up.
2. Attacked the visible rust with steel wool and more Rem Oil (RO was what I had on hand when I found it), until I got a nice brown flow of oil dripping off of the steel and the rust seemed to be mostly gone.
3. Wiped down and re-oiled.
I noticed two things. First, the blackened appearance of the steel was lightened a bit by the polishing action of the wool. Second, it was not possible to get all of the rust out of every nook and cranny. Will either of these cause any long term problems, assuming I keep it oiled?
I assume this isn't an issue (plenty of axes, hatchets and 'hawks have gotten wet and been slightly rusted throughout history), but I figured I should check since this is the first time I've owned something with a 'blacksmith finish'.
Thanks,
Mike