Help With Rust On Ontario ASEK

W

Wallbright

Joined
Jan 1, 2012
Messages
197
A military buddy of mine heard I was into knives and sent me his old Ontario ASEK. He had since upgraded his knife and said he had no use for this one. I believe he carried this knife with him in Afghanistan though as there is sand all in the handle and sheath haha. I just received the knife today and I plan on at least cleaning it up a little with some warm water, dish soap, and then a rub down with some mineral oil but it has some rust spots.

My question is should I worry about the rust spots? This will be a user and I plan on taking it on hikes etc. so it doesn't have to be perfect. I just don't like the thought of the rust spots growing. Maybe I can take some steel wool to it and get the rust off for now.

Also, is the knife designed to be slanted or is that just from use?

Thanks fellas.

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use some 0000 steel wool and some wd 40 to clean off the rust. then oil it down with some good oil.

what part of the knife are you talking about being slanted?
 
it was probably designed like that. i have a sog bowie knife that was like that when i opened the box.
 
I'm wondering if the 'slant' in it might just be some distortion in the molded handle or the guard itself (guard looks slightly canted). Don't have one of these, but the description I'm reading of them says it's got an aluminum handle & guard, with an 'insulated' over-mold on it (rubber?). I assume the blade itself has a thru tang of steel, all the way back to the pommel. Might just be a bend/shift in the aluminum guard, or the over-mold has shifted a little bit. I'd be surprised if the blade or tang itself was bent (don't think it is). If not, looks purely cosmetic to me; don't think it would be a problem with safety or functionality.

As for the rust, the suggestion of WD-40 & fine steel wool is a good one. Beyond that, some light oil on the blade, after cleaning & drying it thoroughly, should work fine.
 
The knife cleaned up very well. Thanks for the advice everyone. How would you suggest cleaning the sheath?

Picture of the knife cleaned up:
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Wallbright said:
Would it be possible to clean the sheath with soap and water?
Click to expand...

I don't see why not. Presumably, this sheath was designed & made to withstand the elements under hard use. Soap & water is probably the safest bet. Whatever you do, just make sure it's completely dry before storing the knife in it again. Almost looks like there's a hard insert for the blade (plastic/metal?). If so, and if it's removable, you might even be able to put the sheath in the washing machine. I'd probably let it air-dry after that (don't use the dryer).
 
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