Oxidation on S30V

G

gregvisser

Joined
Jan 17, 2004
Messages
283
Guys,

Just came back from 3 weeks holiday and had to unfortunately leave my usual EDC at home (resorted to carrying a very PC Leatherman Squirt P4 while away).

Problem now is that I found my beadblasted S30V blade coated with rust. Gave it a good hit of CRC which did very little in removing the rust. I have some Tuffglide on its way - will this help?

Any advice you guys can give to restore the finish without removing the bead blasting?

Greg
 
Use a chemical polish like Flitz or Simichrome and buff away. These are also semi-abrasive which helps in removing the rust, but it's not so abrasive that it'll give your knife a new finish like sanding it would. The chemical properties basically disolve the rust.

It might take a while, but you should be able to clean it up.
 
Perhaps work the polish in with a toothbrush? Ought to work the polish into the small spaces without damaging the finish.
 
Tuf-Glide will help prevent further rusting, but won't remove the rust that is there. I've used it on my own Benchmade CQC7 which has a bead blasted surface and there has been no rust on the knife since I first got it.

Bead blasting creates micro pores in the steel that help trap moisture. This in turn helps to accelerate the effects of oxidation.
 
m_calingo said:
Bead blasting creates micro pores in the steel that help trap moisture. This in turn helps to accelerate the effects of oxidation.
Click to expand...

Which is why I avoid bead-blasted knives like the plague. And why I'd try to polish the blade to avoid such problems in the future. Because no matter what you do, chances are this problem will occur again at some point in the future, unless you live in a very forgiving climate.

Hans
 
Thanks for some good advice guys. I am not a fan of beadblasted finishes either, but one of those things you have to live with sometimes. Climate in my part of the world is crappy. 80-90% humidity and I live all of 200m from the salty stuff.

Interesting thing is that this knife was lying alongside some knives of 440C, Aus 6A and a satin finished S30V. All these blades came out perfectly fine - beadblast is letting me down I suspect.

I will try the chemical polishes I think. But that gave me an idea - how will toothpaste work? Is this too abrasive and will harm the beadblasted finish?

I am just soooo happy I've got a Stellite/Ti folder on the way....

Greg
 
Another cleaner to try is called Never Dull. It's wadding with a cleaner in it. Works well on knife blades.
Scott
 
I think the bead blasting is a pretty good lead as well as the climate. I just finished testing a chef knife made from S30V and it showed no sign of corrosion at all in wet kitchen use over the 2 week test period. Yes, I treat kitchen knives properly and keep them clean and dry but knives that are going to corrode are going to corrode in kitchen use. I give S30V pretty high marks for corrosion resistance among high tech stainless steels.
 
I often carry my Strider SMF clipped IWB when working out, and I get some mild spotting on the bead blasted sections of the blade after a few days. Normally it just wipes off with some Rem-Oil or similar, however there have been times when I needed a dab of metal-glo to make it right again.
 
Why is everyone talking about "beadblasting" on a Sebenza when the Chris Reeeve website says they are "stonewashed "[tumbled ] ??? Stainless steel that has been beadblasted often has a problem of rusting because the beads were contaminated with carbon steel particles !
 
Mete,

I've read several sources that state the rusting of bead-blasted blades is due to the porous nature of the finished product, as such, the pores tend to hold moisture, etc. Hence the rusting. Never heard\read anything about the beads being contaminated.
 
I've had similar problems, tuf-glide prevents the rust, but won't remove it. Flitz has worked well for me in removing rust and oxidation from knives.
 
Anytime you machine, grind, polish, beadblast, sandblast carbon steel you will pick up on the cutting tools, beads etc bits of the carbon steel. If those same things are used on stainless steel some of those bits of carbon steel will be imbedded into the surface of the stainless. The carbon steel will rust and the rusting continues into the stainless. There is a process to prevent this - passivation - which is an acid treatment of the stainless which removes contaminants and produces a thicker protective oxide layer on the stainless. www.pfonline.com/articles/119806.html In case you don't believe this metallurgist !!
 
I have had corrosion of varying severity on most of my blades of S30V. The bead blasted finish knives develop the worst problems. My AR (smooth finish) has surface corrosion around the thumb stud from steady use.
Now I wipe em down with Breakfree, Triflow or some other quality lube., solved the problem.

Steve
 
mete said:
Why is everyone talking about "beadblasting" on a Sebenza when the Chris Reeeve website says they are "stonewashed "[tumbled ] ??? Stainless steel that has been beadblasted often has a problem of rusting because the beads were contaminated with carbon steel particles !
Click to expand...
The blade of the Sebenza is stonewashed. Its handles are bead blasted.
 
mete said:
Why is everyone talking about "beadblasting" on a Sebenza...
Click to expand...
His post doesn't mention a Sebenza in the origional post and lots of knives are beadblasted. The stonewashed finish on a Sebenza is corrosion prone as it is just really scratched up rough grit finish.

Interesting comment on the non-stainless steel contamination, this is probably why some bead blasts rust so much easier than others, as makers working in all stainless who do their own work would likely not have this problem as much as someone shopping it out.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
His post doesn't mention a Sebenza in the origional post and lots of knives are beadblasted. The stonewashed finish on a Sebenza is corrosion prone as it is just really scratched up rough grit finish.

-Cliff
Click to expand...

Indeed, I'm not talking about a Sebenza. The knife in question is a Strider, but I wanted to keep it fairly general since a few manufacturers bead blast and stonewash (I can imagine this will have similar problems).

I am happy to put some elbow grease into a polished blade to remove rust, but was just a bit hesitant with the bead blasting. But it looks like a lot of good recommendations for a metal polish. I'll try some of this...

Greg
 
In general, after removing rust, if it is significant the finish of the blade tends to look pretty bad in general, especially stainless which tends to pit. I tend to use a scotchbite pad for heavy rust removal as it is abrasive enough to grind off all the orange rust but not the actual steel. This doesn't take off any black oxidization, but that isn't as problematic as the orange in regards to propogation anyway.

-Cliff
 
I went to 2 gun shops, 2 sport shops, 2 grocery stores and a hardware shop in my town and could not find one single product that was recommended by you guys. Welcome to small town New Zealand. :barf:

I got desperate and ended up buying Brasso from the grocery store. Then with a soft cloth and some elbow grease I actually managed to restore the finish as new. The rust obviously wasn't really ingrained deeply since I could remove it all without affecting the bead blasted finish at all.

And I just managed to cut myself once! :eek:

Good old low tech Brasso is your friend! Btw - the guy at the hardware store recommended hydrochloric acid. Technically this will remove the rust.....and then some.

Greg
 
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