High Carbon Old knife ( Blade Restoration) question

E

exracr

Joined
Feb 7, 2016
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My Dad sent up a flat of old knives covered in 1/4" of dust/dirt... so I got a few "Barn Find" knives I'm restoring. I love using old knifes that I restore that were junk before I got them. I like hi-carbon knifes as they seem to last forever; heck this one is at least 12 years older than i am... putting it at almost or more than 50+ yrs old :eek: I hear they will take a beating too from older folks?!

One knife I am working on would make an awesome kitchen knife; but it's rusted pretty good due to it being dry for so long... 15yrs?
It's a (ForgeCraft) pre-1968 model hi-carbon steel knife.

How do I rust bust it without ruining the "patina" on it?????? :confused:


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Get down to bare clean steel .Then form a patina .As is there's no patina to save ! In normal use of a carbon steel blade the patina will change over time depending on what you're cutting. You can always start over when necessary !
 
I got some buffing attachments for my electric drill I may try to get the rust off.... I just got done using the stones n green diamond paste strop above on edge.

It can S cut phone book paper now :) without catching... nice n smooth edge. It took me about 30 minutes work to get the edge this sharp... all done FREE HAND! :P
 
Use Simple Green soap instead of the oil. It will float the grit out of the stones and give you a Keener edge!

Try it, You will like it! :)
 
Rhinoknives1 said:
Use Simple Green soap instead of the oil. It will float the grit out of the stones and give you a Keener edge!

Try it, You will like it! :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. I clean my stones out whenever I'm done using them. I don't think I'd want it any sharper; pretty happy with the edge now. I'm heading to get my electric hand drill and try to buff/clean the sides of this knife off now. I'll post pics of results for you guys to critique. :P
 
Keep the buffer away from it.

Is their red rust on it?

I can't tell from the picture.

I'd probably just scrub it lightly with fine steel wool, to knock any rust off, and use it.
 
Trying something new... got some aluminum/mag rim cleaner blue cream.... I tried this stuff with a green scrubbie.. it was coming off slowly.

I slathered it up gonna wait 10 minutes, then hit it with that and the green scrubby again. I think this will work pretty good. Not like I can hurt this blade lol; it's a freebie to boot! :p
 
Bigfattyt said:
Keep the buffer away from it.

I'd probably just scrub it lightly with fine steel wool, to knock any rust off, and use it.
Click to expand...

Fine steel wool won't touch it... way too thick of rust. Owe trust me... It will be a user when I get done with the restore on it! :)
 
Buffer wheel wasn't touching it on the electric hand drill... lol

Here's after the first slather, waiting 10-15 minutes; then hitting it with green scrubby hard. This might just come out really cool?! :)

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Used some 220 sand paper on it. Hand sand it in same direction till it is nice and rust free.
 
I would not recommend any sandpaper, it would be better to use some Scotch Brite and hand rub it.

You can also use products like Work Shop Hero's Metal Rescue or Evapo-rust for a non-abrasive rust removal process. I know the Metal Rescue will re-patina the blade after it removes all the rust.
 
Next time, clean off the gunk before sharpening. It's marginally safer since the edge won't be as sharp, and you don't have to worry so much about messing up the sharp edge with the scotch-brite, etc. FWIW my go-to method for serious rust and grime removal on user tools begins with a wire bristle hand brush and some light oil, like WD40 or Kroil. Any color Scotch-brite besides white will leave scratches, so I evaluate carefully how bad the surface looks before using it. Knife steel is generally harder than wire brush bristles or steel wool, so the risk of scratching is low. Sometimes a bit more time with steel wool leaving a smooth but patinated surface is better than the clean but scratched up surface left by Scotch-brite or sandpaper
 
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