A few questions about kitchen knife maintenance.

[godfrd824]

So I have these;

Which my girl gave me as she doesn't use them. How do I remove the rust without damaging the knife, what can I do about chips on the edge, and how do I restore and oil the handle. There was also a small issue with the smaller knife, it was bent a bit, so I bent it back just using my hands. I was surprised at how soft the metal is, yet the blade is extremely sharp, is it supposed to be like this?

Now, I also have this;

I want to replace the broken handle, all I have on hand is a dremel, so I'm weary of trying to form some scales, I don't think I'd do a good job. I was wondering, could I remove the old handles, and form a handle from resin and then sand it till it has a shape similar to the current handle?

 

[Fanglekai]

Flitz is a fairly gentle metal polish compound that's relatively cheap (and a little goes a long way). It'll remove rust and patina, but I do not believe it's "food safe" so you'd want to thoroughly clean the knives afterwards. You could also use very fine steel wool or very high grit 3M wet/dry sandpaper, 1500 grit or higher would work as it's not very abrasive.

Removing chips in the edge is done with sharpening. You can use stones, 3M wet/dry sand paper, or many other sharpening methods.

I'll let someone else answer your other questions.

 

[pwet]

do you have more pics of the first two blades ? a closer blade pic and one of the engraving ? those two are san mai, probably with wrought iron or very low carbon steel as the outer layer, pretty hard to maintain rust free as it wont really take a patina and is quite reactive to acidic food and even just drops of water.

for those some wet qnd dry sandpaper will do, try at 600 first, i rarely go higher on kitchen knives as i found it will ad stickyness to the blade. just remove the active rust, dont try to remove all the pits from rust yoou'll spend way more time than necessary, its just cosmetic.

 

[godfrd824]

Here's a close up of the blades;

As my girl told me, they're Tojiro.

I was gonna use some steel wool to get the surface rust off, and then force a patina, which it already has for the most part.

 

[Jason B.]

A proper sharpening would do a lot for those blades.

 

[OHALLUM]

Those knives should take a real sharp edge, and be easy to maintain with a Sharpmaker if the edge bevel is of the correct angle. I would use some 0000steel wool to clean them up with, and maybe some product like Flitz to get a shine on them. Don't put them in the dishwasher, only hand wash them and then make sure you get them good and dry. If you are going to store them without using them, then put some wax or mineral oil on them for protection.
Those carbon blades are great users if taken care of. Easy to sharpen and to maintain sharpness. I have some Old Hickory carbon steel kitchen knives that I would not trade for a dozen sets of stainless knives. A little more care required, but when you use them, you will appreciate the sharp edges, and the ease of maintaining them sharp.

Blessings,

Omar

 

[mrdeus]

I have a similar knife. I don't think the chips look that bad actually. I'd thin it and put a new edge on it on water stones. Thinning it might cause it to look a bit ugly if the blade is uneven though (my blade is very uneven). Before sharpening I use a sponge and Ajax powder to clean it. At first I oiled it at times, but now I just let it develop a patina from the food I'm cutting (hand wash + dry directly after use).

For the handle I just used mineral oil that I got at IKEA for my cutting boards.

Perhaps I could hijack this thread a little with my own question. Lately the bolster is loose whenever the handle is dry. Will re-oiling the handle help? I'd prefer not to glue it.

edit: I had a flashback from when I prepared a bamboo shinai for kendo many years ago. I soaked it in water for several hours and then oiled it with linseed oil. I'll try that with the knife handle as well (but with mineral oil/paraffin instead).

Edit2: for future reference it worked, but you don't have to soak the handle much and the oil could be applied moderately. I kinda went over the top and the handle swelled more than I anticipated, but it's fine.