how to remove slight rust on a blade

J

Juramentado

Joined
Aug 23, 2003
Messages
185
I made a mistake and left a kukri in its leather sheath. There's very slight rust on the blade, on a few spots. I'm tempted to rub it out with very fine sandpaper but I don't want to damage the finish on the blade. So what can I do to remove it?
 
If the WD-40 doesn't work, use very fine steel wool instead of sand paper. Sand paper will leave obvious abrasions and fine steel wool will not deeply scratch a hardened steel surface.
 
Juramentado said:
I made a mistake and left a kukri in its leather sheath. There's very slight rust on the blade, on a few spots. I'm tempted to rub it out with very fine sandpaper but I don't want to damage the finish on the blade. So what can I do to remove it?
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with a rust eraser.
 
richard thurman said:
with a rust eraser.
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I wasn't familiar with these, but Google quickly brought up several. Interestingly, the one A.G. Russell sells is not recommended for knives. I guess some are finer grit than others.

Which one do you like and recommend?

Thanks,

Andrew
 
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I have had the one made by united cutlery. I dont see what harm has it done to the knifes and swords that I have used it on.
 
AFAustin said:
I wasn't familiar with these, but Google quickly brought up several. Interestingly, the one A.G. Russell sells is not recommended for knives. I guess some are finer grit than others.

Which one do you like and recommend?

Thanks,

Andrew
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If you don't want scratches, avoid the rust erasers. They work, but are also quite abrasive, and will leave some fine satin-finish scratches. On a satin blade, maybe not a problem. But a polished blade will suffer for it. I've bought these from a couple of different sources, including A.G. Russell. They look and perform identically, so I'm betting vendors are probably all getting them from the same supplier.

(Edited to add: If you do try one, make sure to try it out on something 'expendable' first, such as polished metal. If it scratches, they won't be able to hide.)

For light rust, I'd start with WD-40 alone. Maybe use a toothbrush, or a brass-bristled wire brush (brass won't scratch steel). OR, as suggested, some very fine steel wool (#0000) would do as well, with the WD-40.
 
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try some "naval jelly". I used some white vinegar on my BM 913D2 and cleaned some rust spots right off
 
Has anyone tried EvapoRust?
http://www.evaporust.com/

It might be a bit harsh, chemically, but maybe OK for use as a one-time removal of rust? (And be sure to clean it off afterwards?)
If anyone has tried EvapoRust, what was your experience?
 
hickman1 said:
try some "naval jelly". I used some white vinegar on my BM 913D2 and cleaned some rust spots right off
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I found out today that the blade is coated, and that the vinegar has damaged the coating and turned it kinda gummy... removing the remainder with MEK tonight and forcing a patina tomorrow with luck.
 
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