Blued Blades

[Kallisti]

Hi All.

I have some questions on blued blades. As I got a blued WWIII with some rust spots I was wondering, is blueing primarily a rust preventative, or something to make the blade less reflective?

I figure I can't rub rust too hard off a blued blade or it will take the coating off. Also, I'm thinking of blueing some other blades, but may re-think if it doesn't inhibit rust much.

Any ideas?

Thanks -

Kallisti

 

[DeathDancer]

Actually, bluing is a rust preventative, but is actually a form of rusting. Since the blue causes the surface of the metal to oxidize, it prevents further oxidation or "rusting".

However, while it prevents catistrophic rusting, if care isn't taken, the blued object can still form surface oxidation, which can lead to very even worse rusting.

In fact, one of the first types of finishes for firearms was called "browning", since it involved allowing the part to develop surface corrosion, then polishing it to remove flakes and get that nice brown patina.

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Watakushi Wa Shinajin Desu
DeathDancer

 

[ArchAngel]

I have found that an easy way to remove rust from a blued object,is as follows.
Get some OO steel wool , and some OOOO steel wool. Get some WD-40 or equal.
Oil up the blade and the steel wool. Rub firmly. The oily steel wool will remove rust but not bluing. Start with the OOOO first, as it's finer, if that doesn't work, move to the OO. After the rust is removed, clean it all off with alcohol and use car paste wax or equal to keep the bluing protected from rust. Renecance Wax (sp) is even better for protecting your metal goods. But car wax works for me and is cheap. Good Luck.

 

[Kallisti]

Thanks all! I shall go in search of steely wool

Cheers again -

Kallisti