Cruwear Military Patina

[spketch]

I'll start by saying I've been carrying a cruwear military since they were first released, and I'm very happy with it.

I realize this is not a stainless steel, but I just want to give you guys a heads up that you might want to keep the blade oiled or coated. I had an extra that I had agreed to trade and when I checked it on Friday it was flawless. Opened the box to give it a final inspection before packing today and I found a staining near the tip on one side and a bluish patina started on both sides. It's never been used and was stored in the factory box which was inside another box in my garage. It's been raining here the past couple days and the humidity must have gotten to the blade.

I'm not complaining about it and I really appreciate spyderco taking risks on new blade steels like this. It's the main reason I'm such a fan. Just want to put it out there in case anyone is on the fence about treating your blade with rust inhibitor.

 

[gooeytek]

Flitz will clean that up.

 

[Clanton]

Mine came with a little card to let you know that.

View attachment 395418

 

[salmonkiller]

Froglube is working well for me so far and time will tell how much character this knife will eventually have.

 

[spketch]

Its pretty light staining, I think you're right about the flitz gooeytek but I'll leave that up to the guy who's getting it.

Clanton mine came with that card too.
I've had non-stainless knives before, but never had them patina so quickly without being used. I should have taken the card more seriously I guess.

Honestly this experience leaves me very tempted to cut up some fruit or something with my user cruwear. The hints of color coming through really look quite nice! I have some eezox but I think I'll hold off for now.

 

[The Mastiff]

Vascowear and Cruwear ( original ingot versions) have a reputation of not rusting as quickly as some steels ( Hitachi white, blue, W2, O-1, etc) however when they do rust, if left for a time, will pit more than other more common cutlery steels.

I have seen the results of this on Vascowear with my own eyes and it is true. Pits can go deep. Always remove salts, acids, blood etc. before waxing, oiling, silicone, whatever you choose is applied before storage. Also don't store in leather sheaths due to the acids used in tanning leather. If cared for this is an easy to keep shiny and clean steel. Not as much care as some steels too.

Some light surface rust is easy to deal with if you mess up and let a knife rust. No. 2 pencil lead tip sized pits are impossible to rub off with compound or metal polish and steel has to be removed to get rid of the pits. Not really a possibility in most cases as you would need to essentially remake the blade so much grinding has to be done.

I have also seen this effect on Rex 20 ( M62), and some high speed steels.

It's not as rusty as 1095 usually, so it's easy to get complacent. It can go 3-4 days easier than O-1 or 1095 but 3-4 months is a different story. It's easy to get fooled by steels with this level of chrome ( 8%) as to corrosion resistance. It will appear as a tiny spot of rust. Easy to overlook as it does not make it apparent that spot is deepening, not getting wider. The surface layer of rust covers up the hole.

yes, 3V can pit too. It's Cruwear's cousin after all.

 

[nccole]

I am just getting into non-stainless steels, but compared to M4 (Bradley) and Super Blue (Delica), this knife has the best corrosion resistance.

 

[spketch]

Thanks for the information Mastiff. I've got a tuff on the way so I'll stay on top of that one too. I've had no staining on the cruwear military that's been my edc and I haven't been babying it. That's why this came as such a surprise.

 

[Krav]

I put ballistol on my military, I don't use it for food prep.

 

[The Mastiff]

Thanks for the information Mastiff. I've got a tuff on the way so I'll stay on top of that one too. I've had no staining on the cruwear military that's been my edc and I haven't been babying it. That's why this came as such a surprise.

Spketch, you wouldn't be the first person to have been taken by surprise. It's not even close to being one of the worst steels for corrosion. When it goes, it goes though, and the longer it's left alone the worse it gets. A few months left in a sheath in the trunk of the car will show for a fact if it had blood or salt on the blade when it was put way.

Because of the pitting Ive seen I always passivate the blade then coat it with A.G.Russell's pure silicone liquid. No problems since I've done it.

By the way, Steels with lesser corrosion resistance when used on sanders, grinders, even freehand stones can deposit small amounts of steel powder on the next blade in line. That can cause corrosion in even steels extremely corrosion resistant like H1. Professional metal workers use either separate gear for working non stainless steels, or clean the steel after grinding

 

[Jens Schuetz]

How does passivating work?
Thank you.

 

[78LilRed]

Thanks for the information Mastiff. I've got a tuff on the way so I'll stay on top of that one too. I've had no staining on the cruwear military that's been my edc and I haven't been babying it. That's why this came as such a surprise.

Let us know how the Tuff works for you, I thought mine would be patina'ing by now but its not. I've used it on animals/steak/onions/etc haven't even had a faint patina start over the last month. While my m4/d2 blades usually take a week to start showing something or less.

 

[spketch]

Interesting that the swarf can affect other knives so much. I wonder if this happens with paper sharpening wheels too.

I don't think I'll have any patina on my tuff. After reading about the deep pits that can develop, I coated it and my user military with eezox. I'd rather not take any chances.

 

[The Mastiff]

How does passivating work?

In our use it just is a fancy word for stripping the blade down to bare metal free of all contaminants. It'll mean something different in a lab no doubt. As I stated if there is some 1095 particles on a sharpener or strop it can get on a stainless blade and then oxidize, starting the stainless doing the same.

Not something noticeable in daily use but if I had a really nice blade going into storage for a few months I'd clean the thing very well before coating it with my chosen wax, lube, silicone or whatever.

Joe

 

[Jens Schuetz]

Cool. Thank you for your help.
Would rubbing the blade with alcohol suffice or does is need to be more aggressive like acetone for example?

 

[The Mastiff]

In most cases it should be adequate.

 

[Jens Schuetz]

Nice.Thank you

 

[spketch]

Just a quick follow-up:

I never used any flitz or other polish on my blade. I tried like crazy to rub the stains off before and during application of eezox. They showed no signs of fading. Coated the blade and stuck it back in the box until a few days ago. I didn't think eezox is able to remove patina, but when I pulled it out the stains were completely gone.

Score one for cruwear or eezox! I don't know how it happened but I'm sure not upset about it.
Sorry for the reflections on the blade, it looks brand new.

 

[wire edge]

I've used mine for numerous things, and purposely didnt clean off the blade. No staining yet!

 

[91bravo]

Me too, no staining yet. I've cut meat, fruit and veggies with mine in the kitchen, but I always wipe my blade off with a towel before sticking it back in my pocket.