1095 - Rust magnet? šŸ˜

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West Å enkovec

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Jan 19, 2013
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48
Not too long ago I got a ESSE Junglas in 1095.
After taking it out of the factory sealed plastic bag, I immediately coated it with Ballistol oil.
I even stropped the edge with diamond paste to refine the edge and polish it so it's more resistant to rust.

I took it on a three day trip. I cut some branches and weeds around the area where I decided to camp. I had no oil with me. When I came home I wiped it with Ballistol. The edge was pristine, without patina.

Yesterday I went for a walk into the woods. I coated the blade with Ballistol before I went.
I chopped some weeds in which a bird was tangled in to set if free. At the end I sprayed the blade with silicone oil to the point it was dripping down and I chopped a small tree, 2-3" in diameter.

Came home, ate, showered and took the blade out to clean and lubricate it. From the first weed whacking to me oiling it no more than one and half hours have passed.

When I took it out of the sheath I almost had a stroke. The edge had a nasty orange rust like untreated steel that has been sitting outside in the rain and I couldn't get it off.

Soaked it in Ballistol 24 hours and took these pictures. Much better than yesterday but still bad. Never had a blade that's this bad. Stropping did virtually nothing.

Is 1095 really that bad? I have a carbon Opinel that I used for food and it has grey patina and zero rust. How could this rust so fast?

Should I resharpen it to stop the rust?


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Just dry it off after use and don't worry about a little surface rust. Wipe it down with Vaseline or BreakFree CLP or Ballistol if you're going to store it for a while (not in the sheath -- leather absorbs moisture unless it's sealed with SnowSeal or something similar).
 
Well that's the point. The knife wasn't wet and I cleaned it after use. I didn't let it sit for days and yet it rusted like crazy.

I guess I'll need to polish the edge and carry a cloth soaked with oil so I can wipe it down immediately after use.
 
Thanks for the hires photos! wiki states that as a carbon steel it is susceptible to corrosion yes. interestingly @Spyderco_Inc has not a single knife in 1095.

A steel which can rust will rust much later with a mirror polished finish but it will still do so because our diy mirror polishes are based on abrasives and these leave macro scratches, micro scratches and nano scratches behind, I saw it on my sickles (see the wdyst thread), and on test blades: one should do a timelap youtube video of it: leave a blob of tomato ketchup on a Stanley utility blade (e.g. in an air-tight glass container) and literally watch: one wouldn't understand what/who is growing there out of that combo from hour to hour, like an alien šŸ˜±, and the growing doesn't stop after 3 weeks!

If the knife gets used a lot during a day out (camping, bushcraft, ..), then the constant thought and care against rust doesn't sound like much fun.
 
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I was honing several straight razors at the same time. And by the time I was done one of the blades got a water mark. It wasn't long. But that's carbon steel for you. I have a Spyderco in maxamet that discolored from me sweating with it in my pocket. Either go with a stainless or get used to discoloration because that's what you will get and quickly. I rather not be a slave to my tools. My opinels are all discolored. It doesn't bother me anymore. But it used to.
 
Juice from plants, weeds and trees will produce surface discoloration quickly. I donā€™t fight it. I just let it happen and deal with it when sharpening. All my 1095 carbon steel knives have discoloration, it what they do.
 
Most of my knives are uncoated 1095 and Iā€™ve had very little trouble with surface rust. I donā€™t oil the blades, I just use them. If I cut vegetation or food I rinse them in a timely fashion and wipe them down. Acids from different fruits and things will cause different types of oxidation, one of which is a grey color that helps protect the steel

to remove that orange/red rust, simply strop the edge with a leather strop. In fact, I canā€™t prove this, but I believe that a mirror finish is less prone to collecting moister, so go ahead and put a real fine edge on that.

no need to keep oiling it like that, either- for the most part oil gets wiped off during use.

hereā€™s a picture of one of my 1095 knives in all of its Patinaā€™ed glory. Notice how the edge is pristine from stropping- a great way to help maintain a good edge.


VPT11na.jpg
 
If the steel isn't absolutely, completely clean & dry before it's oiled, there's a good chance the oil is trapping some moisture and other corrosive stuff against the steel. Stuff like sap & such from plants can cling to the blade and also will hold other stuff, like dirt, which holds it's own moisture. So, while using the blade during the day, it's likely better just to keep the blade as clean & dry as you can, without oiling it. Then, at the end of the day when at home, that might be the time to completely clean the blade to remove everything. Then a little bit of oil applied before storage could be more effective while the blade is stashed away.
 
Bill3152 said:
I was honing several straight razors at the same time. And by the time I was done one of the blades got a water mark. It wasn't long. But that's carbon steel for you. I have a Spyderco in maxamet that discolored from me sweating with it in my pocket. Either go with a stainless or get used to discoloration because that's what you will get and quickly. I rather not be a slave to my tools. My opinels are all discolored. It doesn't bother me anymore. But it used to.
Click to expand...
I have tool steel knives that I EDC and they have no discoloration. My Opinel has a gray patina bit no discoloration. I'm fine with that but I didn't expect this aggressive rust that develops so quickly and it's hard to get off.


115Italian said:
Juice from plants, weeds and trees will produce surface discoloration quickly. I donā€™t fight it. I just let it happen and deal with it when sharpening. All my 1095 carbon steel knives have discoloration, it what they do.
Click to expand...
I did some research.
I was chopping stinging nettle. It has formic acid that has a pH of 2-3 which is slightly a stronger acid than vinegar so one of the common remedies for a nettle sting is to apply a paste of baking soda to neutralize the acid. This might be the reason why it rusted so abruptly. Quite surprising.

EngrSorenson said:
Most of my knives are uncoated 1095 and Iā€™ve had very little trouble with surface rust. I donā€™t oil the blades, I just use them. If I cut vegetation or food I rinse them in a timely fashion and wipe them down. Acids from different fruits and things will cause different types of oxidation, one of which is a grey color that helps protect the steel

to remove that orange/red rust, simply strop the edge with a leather strop. In fact, I canā€™t prove this, but I believe that a mirror finish is less prone to collecting moister, so go ahead and put a real fine edge on that.

no need to keep oiling it like that, either- for the most part oil gets wiped off during use.

hereā€™s a picture of one of my 1095 knives in all of its Patinaā€™ed glory. Notice how the edge is pristine from stropping- a great way to help maintain a good edge.


VPT11na.jpg
Click to expand...
Like I mentioned before, I stropped it on diamond paste and it didn't remove it.
 
West Å enkovec said:
Is 1095 really that bad? I have a carbon Opinel that I used for food and it has grey patina and zero rust. How could this rust so fast?

Should I resharpen it to stop the rust?
Click to expand...

Perhaps I'll take a different tact and just answer your questions.

1) No, 1095 isn't "that bad". I suspect you're not used the care and maintenance of Carbon Steel.
2) Rust is a function of many things, but always due to care and handling. It rusts no faster or slower than chemistry preordained.
3) yes, remove red/orange rust by sharpening. IMHO, a mirror edge will help protect the bevel from collecting moisture by reducing surface area by which H2O can adhere.
 
EngrSorenson said:
Perhaps I'll take a different tact and just answer your questions.

1) No, 1095 isn't "that bad". I suspect you're not used the care and maintenance of Carbon Steel.
2) Rust is a function of many things, but always due to care and handling. It rusts no faster or slower than chemistry preordained.
3) yes, remove red/orange rust by sharpening. IMHO, a mirror edge will help protect the bevel from collecting moisture by reducing surface area by which H2O can adhere.
Click to expand...

As mentioned before, it was probably the acid in stinging nettles that caused this abrupt rust.

I wasn't sure if I should sharpen it since the edge is very good. I didn't want the rust to eat deeper through the steel like on cars, especially when you consider that it's thinner, carbon steel.

I think I'll do some testing with stinging nettle to see if it's really so acidic.
 
I would try cleaning off the rust with BKF BAR KEEPERS FRIEND first (on a Q-tip). BKF dissolves metal, hence it dissolves rust too. if BKF doesn't fix it, then šŸ˜ž
 
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Was your strop loaded with abrasive like Aluminum oxide?


I would not worry about the dark spots.


Just means those spots are oxidized now, and less reactive.

Yes...1095 is pretty rust aggressive.

I don't carry any coated 1095, but do carry uncoated 1095 all day, every day... including camping and fishing.

I let the steel patina. Any red rust gets rubbed off.... and back in the pocket it goes.

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