Elmax custom rusting and pitting

I can offer that stainless does not like bleach ( chlorine) unfortunately usually the first thing used to clean or disinfect stuff, and also
the grit or finish of the material or blade. Example is for swimming pool handrail the chlorine will cause pitting even on 316 stainless
unless it is polished to a almost mirror finish . I have used 304 high polish without pitting and 316 #4 finish has pitted.
Anyways your blade looks to be quite fine finish in the photos so it is hard to say, I am just offering some general info.
Hope this helps you out.

 

considering elmax has 18% chrome, that really is hard to believe...
http://www.zknives.com/knives/steels/se/elmax.shtml

the high carbon amount means there is less chrome available for rust resistance than other 18% chrome steels, but still that pitting seems a bit extreme
@Larrin will hopefully chime in, but I expect the consensus will be elmax wouldn't do that, even accounting for wide variance in heat treats

 

I would avoid soaking in bleach water with another knife in carbon steel. Let alone soaking any high end knife in bleach water.
You would have to rule out surface contamination from the carbon steel in the bleach water.

Now as a maker, I've had some instances of stainless steels rusting due to metal particles left from other carbon steels left on a wet stainless knife in my shop.

There could be many reasons for why it pitted like that up to even being the HT or being a mix up on the steel from the maker or even the steel mill or distributor but remember, you have to think critically and rule out the easy stuff first.

 

I know bleach remains the "go to" for a lot of disinfecting purposes but should it? It promotes rust and is bad for you.

I use ethanol for most things. Cheap vodka is an excellent household cleaner and has some disinfectant qualities. For more serious disinfecting, higher proof is better. At 70% or more, ethanol can be both a safe and highly effective disinfectant. Unfortunately, it's also heavily regulated and artificially expensive.

Isopropyl alcohol is very cheap and works as both a disinfectant and degreaser. The fumes aren't healthy but they disperse quickly and aren't as bad as some other solvents. Brief contact is probably fine but avoid soaking your scale materials. I've sometimes used a combination of aqueous alcohol and castille soap with a tooth brush for deep cleaning. You can use a bottle with a small hole for flushing away the soap. Alcohol dries very quickly and tends to carry the water away with it.

 

Cereal-killer: "So from the get go I noticed it would get light surface rust pretty much every time I used it."

Soaking in bleach is not something I'd ever do with my knife, but your pre-bleach experience with a blade that rusted so easily has me suspicious. I use Elmax a lot. It has never rusted on me, and I live in a rainforest just upstream from the ocean. I'm skeptical that you got actual Elmax. Even my non-stainless 3V does't rust that easily.

You might try putting a drop of water (rainwater would be good because it is slightly acidic) on this Elmax blade and a drop on another of your Elmax blades, let it set for a while, and see if you notice a clear difference in rust resistance.

 

So-called stainless steels ain't really.

 

“Not willing to name yet”? So why show the maker’s mark?

 

Show us, or tell us how those other elmax / 440c and 80crv2 blades looked after 8 hours in light bleach water?

 

Note to self..... Don't use Bleach water. I've butchered a lot of deer and wild game. I wash my knives off by hand in hot water and and some dish soap. Trying not to get the handles too wet. Rinse in hot water dry them off and oil them. Never had a problem with rust or pitting. Also I know of no one getting sick using my knives for food prep.

 

Nothing wrong with the 200:1 water:bleach solution. I've never had it do any significant damage, although overnight is overkill.
There is however, something wrong with that blade. Possible inclusions?

 

I would not use a bleach soak on any knife I own. Soap and hot water are fine for many, though not all. If you are using the bleach solution I would scrub and rinse with clean water then dry.

I can't comment on the Elmax.

Weird that the pits are only in a few spots, not all over!

 

You showed the makers mark, so I have informed him about this thread, he has the right to know about this, since you didn’t keep him anonymous.

 

If you read back/search in some of the other threads when Elmax came out it was mentioned that it can pickup debris from grinding as is mentioned in this thread but it was also noted that the maker shouldn't mix belts that were used for other steel because of that. If this was a real one off request for the maker they may not have used all brand new belts for this blade.

Maybe regrind would help.

 

You did pose a legit question, no problem there. You only said to keep the maker anonymous, which you clearly didn’t, you showed his makers mark. And in that case I find it decent to inform him, so he can explain the problem and maybe work on a solution.

 

+1 what Bigfish said. In my opinion that's not cool to say you're going to keep the maker anonymous and then clearly show his marking on the blade. He deserves the chance to make the issue right before being smeared on this forum. Just my 2 cents

 

He did contact the maker. Those corrosion pits were not caused by debris left on the maker's belt sander.

Before contacting the maker again, the OP just wants to know if his expectations for stainless Elmax are unfounded. They are not.

We need to be able to talk about knife issues in an honest and sincere way. That's part of the value of this forum.

 

I understand that. And I sympathize with having to deal with that issue with a custom blade. My point was that if you say you're going to leave somebody anonymous and then you out them, that's not leaving them anonymous. I think it's a very good idea to post the problem and get other people's take on the issue.