2 day old LG 21 Sebenza blade rusting?

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victorinox

Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Messages
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Hi guys,

My brand new sebenza 21 micarta s35vn blade has some very tiny rust spots on the blade, even though I have not used it yet.
It has just been laying on my desk ever since I got it 2 days ago.

What could be making it rust? I'm able to remove the small rust spots by scratching it with my nail, but it's kind of annoying for a $700AU knife, especially since my other knife a Spyderco PM2 has never rusted just by sitting on a desk.

Should I wipe the blade with some sort of oil or something?

Any help appreciated, thank you very much.
 
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That is very weird indeed; I have never experienced any rust with S35VN where I live, the humidity here hovers around 50 or so percent, maybe even more since I live about two blocks from the ocean; it sounds to me like a residue left on the blade, but if it's brand new that makes no sense. Maybe try wiping it with some light oil after cleaning it with alcohol and see if the rust stops. Did you get it from an authorized dealer?
Man, that sucks if it is an authentic CRK; that is puzzling to me; I have never experienced any rust spots in any metal here, except non stainless.
Perhaps the dealer wiped it with some unknown substance?
I'm sure there is a bunch of much more knowledgable people than me here that can give you some input; it almost sounds like 8CR13mov steel.
And yes, Chris Reeve says it is very rust resistant, And that has been my experience in the short time I have had mine, of course all steel might rust under certain conditions, but I doubt S35 would just sitting there; especially since it is basically the same steel as the PM2 but with niobium, I'm not a metallurgist but that is very strange indeed, maybe send crk an email and see what they say.
This sure is a first for me, good luck man.
 
I would guess that it's an issue that happened in-transit, given the climate differences between Michigan and Australia. Annoying, but if you scrubbed them with your nail and got them off, I'm sure that's the last you'll see. Wipe it down with a light oil and don't sweat it in the future.
 
blade man said:
I would guess that it's an issue that happened in-transit, given the climate differences between Michigan and Australia. Annoying, but if you scrubbed them with your nail and got them off, I'm sure that's the last you'll see. Wipe it down with a light oil and don't sweat it in the future.
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The thing is I wiped it off the day after I received it but it appeared again today so I don't think it was the transit that caused it.

e/I just wiped a thin coat of oil on the blade, will report back tomorrow if the rust still appears.
 
Since you're over the ocean, contact KSF and see what they recommend. They may want it back without you doing anything to it, or they may tell you to see if it comes off before you ship it back.
They're great folks to deal with.
 
Sorry for my camera's bad image quality, tried to capture it as well as I could. The rust is right next to the blade's edge. Again, very tiny spots but still kind of annoying nonetheless.
2dl51t0.png
 
victorinox said:
Yeah it is weird :( I bought it from KnivesShipFree. I'll email them and CRK I guess.
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I use my S35VN knives on the ocean, and have never seen any rust. Are you sure it's not something else stuck to the blade? Highly unusual, though not impossible.
 
kidcongo said:
I use my S35VN knives on the ocean, and have never seen any rust. Are you sure it's not something else stuck to the blade? Highly unusual, though not impossible.
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It sure looks like it, like metal dust or something. Good thing it comes off, so it is just on the surface, not really pitting, right?
 
I really hope it's metal dust and not rust haha. I absolutely love this knife, it's got me longing after more CRKs :P

Anyways, hopefully it's not too bad and I'll update you guys tomorrow or the day after if anything shows up again on the blade.
 
Spray some brake cleaner on a rag and wipe the blade down with it. These knives shouldn't have rust on them and if it is indeed rust, I think either KSF or CRK would take care of you.
 
If it's by the edge it is probably something you cut. Rust doesn't usually come off that easy. There is nothing wrong with your knife.
 
As I said in the Op I haven't cut anything. There was also some near the thumbstud but I wiped it off
 
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Funny you mentioned that, Mine had a reddish brown, almost paste consistency by my thumb stud as well and also on my umnumzaan. I didn't think anything of it until now. Just wiped it off with a little effort and haven't seen it since.
 
Maybe some kind of polishing or stropping compound that didn't get cleaned off and dried on the blade at the shop?
 
I won't say S35VN is completely impervious to rusting. I was carrying one from another maker a couple years ago during summer inside an extremely hot facility and was sweating profusely. I noticed some yellowish brownish spots forming near the pivot at the end of the day. Needless to say I rushed to take the knife apart and it was starting to develop in the pivot area which fortunately all wiped clean. Not sure what to make of yours though.
 
I took my small insingo sailing one weekend a couple summers ago, and left it on a shelf below a porthole all weekend. It got covered in a thin spray of sea water. I just wiped the blade clean with a damp paper towel and any little rust spots wiped clean off with nothing underneath. A couple weeks later I decided to disassemble it and clean the pivot area, there was some rusty residue all over the pivot area of the tang and on the washers, it all wiped off no problem with a damp paper towel and then an alcohol soaked paper towel. Regreased and reassembled and everything was fine.
 
Seems like a thorough clean and coat of oil did the trick. It is very hot in Australia right now, with high humidity too. No more rust showing up as of yet. Hope it stays like that!

Thank you for all the help and suggestions guys, appreciate it.
 
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