EASIEST rusting steel?

S

SBaker34

Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Messages
793
What carbon steel, or steels would you guys say rust the easiest :p. Also do you guys find there is a difference between a lower carbon steel like 1055 and 1095?
 
Loooong ago I remember reading a thread here that compared different steels using salt water. They were comparing different rust proof oils I believe.
Wish I could find it.

In my experience, living in a desert (Ca), i dont experience too much rust, even on my carbon knives.

My kukri is bright orange right now, accidently left it outside haha.
 
williamisthe1 said:
[video=youtube;P4RqKnOYmgo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4RqKnOYmgo[/video]
Click to expand...

Only carbon steel in that test was 1095 :p


I aim to do similar, either buy a few cheap carbon steel knives, or cut plates out of cold rolled steel, and see how they hold up in dank conditions.

Reason I ask is I am not sure if mild steel would rust near as easily as 1095, or if there are steels that corrode easier than 1095 even.
 
L6 is often considered to be more susceptible to corrosion than 1095, though the information is anecdotal.
 
I would say based on comparing my Svords to my Moras, that L6 seems to rust easier.

I also see on steel charts that S7 is even "rustier" than L6, but have no experience with it personally.

The only thing I have in 1055 is a Cold Steel 'hawk, which has rusted, but I can't quite tell if its any better/worse than 1095 (which most knives I own are made out of).
 
ocnLogan said:
I would say based on comparing my Svords to my Moras, that L6 seems to rust easier.

I also see on steel charts that S7 is even "rustier" than L6, but have no experience with it personally.

The only thing I have in 1055 is a Cold Steel 'hawk, which has rusted, but I can't quite tell if its any better/worse than 1095 (which most knives I own are made out of).
Click to expand...



Ive been doing a little reading, and some folks have suggested mild steel is actually more rust prone than carbon steel interestingly enough.
 
Increased carbon content is one contributor to increased susceptibility to corrosion, so mild steel should actually be less prone to rusting, in general. Regarding Mora vs. Svord rusting rates, that's partly affected by surface finish. The high polish of Moras reduces their susceptibility to corrosion. The opposite is also true, in that a surface finish with increased area is more prone to rusting, which is why many bead blasted knives rust like the dickens even when made out of stainless steels.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Increased carbon content is one contributor to increased susceptibility to corrosion, so mild steel should actually be less prone to rusting, in general. Regarding Mora vs. Svord rusting rates, that's partly affected by surface finish. The high polish of Moras reduces their susceptibility to corrosion. The opposite is also true, in that a surface finish with increased area is more prone to rusting, which is why many bead blasted knives rust like the dickens even when made out of stainless steels.
Click to expand...

Yep, I'm aware of the surface finishing differences. And while I've not been scientific about it at all, I'd say that after the various use/sharpenings/cleanings/etc that the finish on mine are approaching similar. But because of that my statement that L6 appears to rust more quickly is purely anecdotal.

And out of curiosity OP, any reason you're wanting to know this? Most people ask the reverse of the question, so you've got me wondering :p.
 
Hey baker, one thing that would be interesting to see is how some steels like 3v, m4 and cruwear compare to both stainless and carbon steels. They will obviously fall somewhere in the middle but it would be interesting to see how corrosion resistant they are compared to other steels on the outer ends of the scale.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
.....that's partly affected by surface finish. The high polish of Moras reduces their susceptibility to corrosion. The opposite is also true, in that a surface finish with increased area is more prone to rusting, which is why many bead blasted knives rust like the dickens even when made out of stainless steels.
Click to expand...

True 'dat !!!! :thumbup:
 
I'm curious because I want to see what conditions it takes to actually make rust an issue with carbon steel
 
Aside from the finish question I've found lower carbon steel without much carbides rusts through faster than higher carbon steels that we are familiar with. I recall storing some 1095 with some A36 structural steel outside in a shed one time. The A36 was crumbling a few years later while the 1095 just had orange surface stuff that came off easily. Not a real scientific test but that is how it went in my case of long term testing.
 
No matter what I do I have rust issues with my Esee Izula, its still a great knife that I use all the time...

[video=youtube;56H6g5a_Lqw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56H6g5a_Lqw[/video]
 
01 has been the easiest steel for me to rust. Which is too bad as my GEC Bullnose is by far one of my favorite knives too.
 
I only had one knife rust on me astonishingly fast. It was a Spyderco Resilience several years back. I left it clipped to the inner top of my winter boot. The humid/salty conditions left rust patches by the evening. Never saw a knife rust like that, no idea of the steel, don't really care.
 
O1 for sure, although I don't fully understand why. My "data" is strictly anecdotal, but I swear I can dang near actually watch it rust while I'm still working on it... in my experience 1080, 1084, 1095, even 52100 don't blossom nearly as fast or as badly.

I honestly don't care very much about corrosion-resistance. Just keep your knife clean and dry, buy a little tub of FrogLube and don't worry about it.
 
Only folder that rusted badly on me. Never had a folding knife spot and rust so quickly. It is a common problem with this particular knife, as Youtube and Amazon reviews show, even though the steel is 8Cr13MoV and I own a dozen knives in that very same steel which have never shown rust under similar conditions...it's just a damn delicate Spyderco, proven fact.
Sad, cause it's one of my favorite Spydies and I'd EDC it much more in humid months like this!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top