How do you deal with rust?

Mike Carter

Well-Known Member
The article I am currently writing for Blade Magazine deals with knife rust and how to prevent it.

I would like your input on your experiences on what has worked best for you in preventing rust or dealing with it if your knife has rusted.

Any input would be appreciated.

Mike
 
I had some bad problems with rust in my 1095 blades and tried everything people told me with no avail. Carnuba wax, WD40, Renaissance wax, ect.... I finally found something that worked great. I would remove the rust then spray it with WD40. Let it sit then spray it with silicon spray from Lowes. I would leave it on for a while and then gently wipe it off leaving a thin layer. I have not had a problem since.
 
one thing I do with the non stainless steels is to make sure I ALWAYS have baking soda in my cooling water along with the soap. This stops the flash rust while grinding and helps prevent the start of it after it is finished down the line.
 
I put Johnson's paste wax on everything.
Before the wax I clean the whole blade and fittings with acetone or alchohol,hic not the drinking kind hic, and try not to touch those areas again. With a torn up t-shirt, I rub on the wax and rub it off maybe a half hour later. Been doing it for many years.

Caution on the acetone and alchohol hic......Keep it off wood or some laminates. It either eats them or turns them white.

Rudy
 
I had some Carbon V blades that loved to rust if you looked at them with moist eyes. I started wiping everything down with Rem Oil and have not had a problem.
 
CLP; best oil I can find. I put it on all my carbon knives, I like to clean my knives from time to time depending on how much use they get. After cleaning they always get a thin coat of CLP.

Sean
 
rust revention??

first thing is I keep mine dry as a bone if possible...For my outdoors knives I have kydex sheaths with a drain hole just for this reason

for the blade itself, I have a large supply of mineral oil laying around and I just wipe it on and wipe off the excess if i am using the blade

or

As Rudy said..Johnston paste wax or bri wax...little bit on a rag and you are set for your large camp knives
 
Mike I think you saw the knife that was in a house fire I just restored? .....it was rusted from the water from firefighters. To prevent knife rust I have a secret.........I finish all my knives in Turtle Wax Car Protection UV products etc. Just like a car I throw one or a couple coats a year if I use the knife a lot and let them sit in the warm sun. Here is the Turtle Wax Shine Center.... quetion answers.
LOL Then the oils I wipe my knives down with and store away are only "TWO" mineral oil and WD-40 which is basic fish oil. I don't use any petroleum based products. Grease....3 in 1. etc. I learned this from my uncle whom won Muscle Car Grand National Championship in the 90's with a 68 GTO. He can restore any metal known especially antiques and he knows his metals. The last metal work he did was rims on an Enzo Ferrari, polishing the rims down to there natural finish.


Knives that have been rusted severely I can bring back from the dead.......I soak the rusted knife in a zip lock bag, squeeze out air and let it soak in mineral oil or WD for about three weeks depending on the rust....then I start with no harder than 1000 grit wet and dry sand paper and just gently scrub/wipe while wet until I can wash the knife, replace the mineral oil and keep wiping. Anywhooo this is my .02 cents. I love killing rust....here are a few pics. Congrats on the article, would love to see it posted!!!- Kris if you need more detail write me..


Ps I left divets in Kabar for a reason story on my site! African burnt knife before zip lock bag and WD me holding after one month in bag and then finished product?
Kabar-1209-martinelli.jpg PB107670.jpgKnife and Sheath Shot Burnt.jpgP1018476.jpg
 
Thanks everbody for your input. Please keep it coming. How do you deal with rust that may be present or prevent it from forming in the first place?

Kris, thank you for the detailed explanation and photos. I hate to put you on the spot but I have to point out one error. WD-40 does not contain fish oil and it does contain 50% mineral sprits (a petroleum distillate) along with other petroleum based ingredients. The fish oil story is a myth that has been around for years. If you look at WD-40s website you can get the facts along with the Material Safety Data Sheet at http://www.wd40.com/about-us/myths-legends-fun-facts/
 
I use plain (unscented) mineral oil to prevent rust. The reason is, it's food-safe. You can get it in the health/beauty dept at your local store; it's cheap and a pint lasts a LONG time.

I'm not crazy about petroleum oils or waxes because all my knives are users and I wouldn't want to eat that stuff if I go to peel an apple or cut up a steak, and there was some residue on my blade. Granted mineral oil doesn't taste great either but it's pretty easy to wipe off and won't make you sick.

When storing a blade in a leather sheath, I clean it, dry it, wipe it down with the mineral oil, then wrap it in saran wrap and place in the sheath. I feel the wrap protects the oil from wiping off, and keeps the oil from gunking up the leather.

To remove mild rust and stains, I just re-handsand like I normally would, starting with a high grit. I haven't had to restore a really bad piece yet. Maybe I'm just lucky but even my old Ka-Bar kit knife (not parkerized) that languished for 20 years in its leather sheath wasn't too bad to clean up. The sheath itself was kinda moldy though.
 
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I don't use carbon steel, but on steel like CPM 3V I etch the blade is ferric chloride to help oxidized the surface carbon. 3V doesn't really rust, but it pits and stains. When working on 3V blades, I keep them sprayed with WD-40 to prevent rust from the moisture in the air.
-John
 
I put plain old vegetable oil on my carbon kitchen knives. I wash them, hand dry them and then let them air dry. I wipe them down with veg. oil before I put them back on my magnetic knife rack.
 
Balistol I have been using it maybe 6 months and it has cut down on the rust I was getting on blades sitting around in the shop as well as finished blades.
 
I would have to agree with James about the mineral oil and it’s the ONLY thing that I would put on my custom cutting boards and my users. Why anybody can find it very easily, very inexpensive, and is food safe. After using the par together they get cleaned dried and a little oil.

Now for my EDC, Boker trapper with 1095 blades, this had to be done every other day during the summer. So I forced a patina and have not had to worry since. You can use many things to force a patina but I used a spaghetti squash, it was split and not big enough to cook. So I stuck each blade in for 4-5 hours until I got the color I wanted washed with warm water and soap. Done no more trying to rust in my pocket. The wife even run it in the washing machine for me and it just needed the joints oiled again.

Todd
 
Both my ideas were already mentioned, but I have a bread knife that my grandfather made out of a hi-speed saw blade and it will rust in about 20 minutes if not dried and oiled. I wipe a light coat of vegetable oil on it, and just put it away as normal.

For anything that doesn't see food, I use Rem-Oil.
 
Thanks everbody for your input. Please keep it coming. How do you deal with rust that may be present or prevent it from forming in the first place?

Kris, thank you for the detailed explanation and photos. I hate to put you on the spot but I have to point out one error. WD-40 does not contain fish oil and it does contain 50% mineral sprits (a petroleum distillate) along with other petroleum based ingredients. The fish oil story is a myth that has been around for years. If you look at WD-40s website you can get the facts along with the Material Safety Data Sheet at http:

//www.wd40.com/about-us/myths-legends-fun-facts/

Mike thanks for the compliments and the fish oil story!!! I learned in Para-medicine from a teacher, "You'd better know what you don't know and know what you don't!!!" Gosh and if you knew more of my background on MSDS and stuff I would be more embarrassed, lol. Thank you for taking the time to learn me!!! LOL I am now edumacated....have fun writing that article..I want to see it then have you sign it!!!! Thanks again - Kris
 
A word on veggie or olive oil... I wouldn't use it for long-term protection or on cutting boards because it can get rancid. For kitchen blades that get used often, I'm sure it's just fine :thumbup:

Todd's right to mention patinas (or even cold blue), it looks cool and helps a lot on carbon steels.
 
Thank you all very much for your input. It is interesting to hear what everybody uses. I think I have what I need and my deadline is approching. I don't know when it will appear in the magazine.
 
This is funny, you and I spoke about this about a month ago. WD works great for me keeping off rust and removing it as well. It also is excellent for removing nasty pine pitch from the stainless knives.
 
I like WD-40. Not on small moving parts or in extreme cold with moving parts.
I have a friend who puts Balistol on everything, we accuse him of brushing his teeth with it.
I asked a friend, who owns a boatyard' that I asked what the best thing for rust was? "dry air" was his reply. I can give you his name if you need to quote him?
WD-40 is great for cleaning grease off your hands too, as is simple green, and I dont' know what is in either one.
Look forward to seeing the article.
Dozier
 
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