MacTech's H-1 steel Corrosion resistance test

[MacTech]

over on the Spyderco forums, both smcfalls13 and I have started corrosion tests on Spyderco's H-1 steel Salt series knives

Here's smcfalls13's thread with his test, and my thread will be posted below

As of 2:20 PM 3/25/06 MacTech's corrosion test has started....

testing chamber consists of a 2.5 gallon tank with glass lid (closed to contain salt spray)
testing fluid is 52 Oz. of fresh Atlantic Ocean seawater, collected from York Harbor Beach, Maine
spray creator is a Second Nature Whisper1 air pump and a Penn-Plax bubble-wall wand, water covers just far enough over the wand to create salt mist (and salt *foam* as well....)

testing chamber filled and sealed 2:20 PM 3/25/06

knives tested;
Buck Metro (420-J2 steel)
Sheffield Hawkbill (Generic "Stainless Steel", probably 400 series)
CCC Balisong (unknown "Rostfrei" steel, again, probably 400-series)
Spyderco Pacific Salt (H-1)

knives are leaning against the glass resting on the handles, to maximize exposure of the blades to salt spray

Questions i have....
How long will it take for the knives to show oxidation
which will be the first to rust?
will putting a *Pacific* salt in *Atlantic water cause a rift in the space-time continum and destroy the universe as we know it?....
only one way to find out....

pictures of the testing chamber and it's victim.....errr...subjects

Edit; it is now 2:50 PM, and the salt foam is getting *very* agressive, this is going to be a better test than i thought....

Observe....;

Edit #2;
3:35 PM, and i have my *first* victim......

the Sheffield hawkbill is showing signs of rust spotting around the "Sheffield Mfg" logo on the blade

a little over an hour in salt spray/foam claims the first victim
the CCC balisong is still unaffected, as are the Buck Metro and Pacific Salt

First victim fell in an *HOUR*, and just as i expected, it was the crappy Sheffield Hawkbill....

 

[FlyingMuskrat]

Quote "testing chamber filled and sealed 2:20 PM 3/25/05" quote

So you started this about one year ago or is that a typo?

 

[MacTech]

d'oh! typo....

 

[Sword and Shield]

Who was next? Have a second victim yet?

 

[MacTech]

there's now faint rust spotting on the CCC Balisong, Buck Metro and Pacific Salt remain unaffected

 

[DGG]

If you want a good test call several of the dive shops in the Florida Keys and see what dive knives are being used and how they hold up day-after-day in the salt water environment. The higher end are all H-1 steel, used by dive masters and others. That's a good test.

 

[FlyingMuskrat]

Its been 4 days....any new developments?

 

[Stormdrane]

It would be interesting to see this test done with different lube/protectants like Tuf-Glide, Militec, WD-40, and others.

 

[MacTech]

Its been 4 days....any new developments?

I've been keeping it updated on the Spyderco website, but long story short;

Sheffield Hawkbill; first spots in an hour, failure after 6 hours
CCC balisong; 24 hours to failure
Buck Metro; slight dulling of finish, salt crystal buildup on the edges of the scales, but no rust, *mostly* unaffected
Spyderco Pacific Salt; unaffected

test ended at 36 hour mark due to rust contamination of the test water

final test on Sheffield, resting the tip of the blade in Coca-Cola for 3 hours to see if it could remove rust.....

it did, Coke-treated blade area nice and shiny again