Cold Steel VG-1 Stainless is Stained!

cziv

cziv

Joined
Nov 24, 2005
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This is my second Cold Steel knife I've messed up the satin finish o (new knives) by using them to pare an apple or prepare food. The first a large Voyager in VG-1 and the latest a little neck knife in VG-1.

All I did was use it to prepare a couple of apples - quarter and peel them and it has huge blemishes in the finish just like the old one did years ago.

What am I missing here? They claim that they're stainless steel but they stain and really fast too?

They still work but shoot, right out of the box and carve an apple and it looks crappy.
 
Yup, that's what I said, two VG-1 CS knives - both brand new. They have a "mottled" look for lack of a better description. "Blotches."
 
"Stainless steel" is such a misguiding phrase. No steel in the world is stainless. Every steel will rust at some point in time if exposed to the elements often.
 
Rat 1 said:
"Stainless steel" is such a misguiding phrase. No steel in the world is stainless. Every steel will rust at some point in time if exposed to the elements often.
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Normally stainless means exactly that, stain less. However, H1 will not rust. Never. So not every steel will rust, but almost every steel is capable of some type of oxidation.
 
The patina won't hurt your knife and if it stains that easily you might just want to force a patina on the whole blade. Some people think it adds character.
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
Normally stainless means exactly that, stain less. However, H1 will not rust. Never. So not every steel will rust, but almost every steel is capable of some type of oxidation.
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I second this statement :thumbup:
 
The knife only cost $24 and isn't worth my time to photograph, load into my online photo album and then display it.

Yes, of course, I washed it with dish soap immediately and dried it.

Oh well, it works and that's what matters right? :)
 
Thanks but it's not worth it on this one. Probably the acid in the apples and some huge grapes that I diced up for a fruit cocktail.

It still works :thumbup:
 
FlaMtnBkr said:
Normally stainless means exactly that, stain less. However, H1 will not rust. Never. So not every steel will rust, but almost every steel is capable of some type of oxidation.
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I wouldn't trust Spyderco on that. I still believe H1 steel will eventually rust if used in corrosive environments for long periods of time.
 
Rat 1 said:
I wouldn't trust Spyderco on that. I still believe H1 steel will eventually rust if used in corrosive environments for long periods of time.
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People have tried and were unable to get it to rust under any normal conditions. The only way they were able to get it to rust was keep it submersed in some sort of pool detergent (I can't remember exactly what it was), for over a day.

Did a quick search to try to find the post about this, couldn't find it :\
 
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slicing an orange with my cold steel triple action screwed up the blade something nasty, and i cleaned it pretty well right after
 
VG1 is a cutlery steel that is often used for food-machine blades as it's supposedly a bit tougher than VG10. Both steels may get a bit of surface reaction with certain foods, which is one reason why they are sometimes clad with another staining-less steel. As long as they still cut the way they're supposed to I'm not fussed but if it bothers you that much then take out the Meguires.
 
A little metal polish goes a long way. I have had to polish every one of my stainless knives at one point or another for some reason, except for H1. Fruit acids are pretty nasty when it comes to blades - so much in fact that I use them to patina my carbon paring knives.
 
imagine that, someone using a knife and finding it used afterward...citric acid always leaves a mark, stay away from fruits and sodas and the blade will live. : )
 
The K-5 knife I use often is a Cold Steel VG-1 blade and it stains from meat, fruit, citrus, just like a carbon knife. No worries. As far as rust though I haven't had any issues.
 
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