oxidation or reaction knife EVAPO Rust Western L39 Pictures! HELP?

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donelan07

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Feb 8, 2014
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I have begun buying western knives for a hobby and something to keep myself busy after work. I bought this Western L39 in bad shape with heavy rusting and did some research. I first used an ultrasonic cleaner, than submerged the knife in evapo-rust, then I used flitz polish and dremel buffing discs and some 1500 grit wet and dry sand paper. The knife came out with strange markings and I am wondering what caused it.. I blame Evapo-Rust... and is there a cure?






 
Well, this isn't really a reply to your question, but I have a small collection of knives that my grandfather gave me quite a few years ago, including a number of Western's and such. I had these stored in my closet and having recently picked up the knife collecting hobby, I have been re-examining these. Some have a bit of rust, but mostly I find black stains on the blades (oxidation?). I have worked at removing this, using Flitz, Nevr-Dull, Miracle Cloth and a Super Eraser Block... none seems to be able to remove it all. I do tend to find some pitting underneath the 'oxidation', but nothing as bad as your knife shows. I've never personally heard of evapo-rust, so I can't comment on that.

I am FAR from the person with the knowledge to say if there is a cure for your knife, but since it appears to me to actual pitting in the blade, I can't imagine there would be a cure for it other than grinding the whole blade down below the pitting, which I would think would weaken the knife too much, but if there is a cure for this, I'd love to hear it too!
 
There is allot of pitting from the rust and I thought that part actually came out nicely considering how bad the knife was. This is picture is more what I am asking about. These spots have no rhyme or reason and they are not raised. They showed up after being in the evapo-rust.

 
Evaporust did no do that. It's a rust pattern. The other inconsistencies are from the dremel.
The knife should be sanded with varying grits of wet/dry sandpaper from 320-1500 grits. Use sanding blocks. Leave the Dremel alone.
 
An hour of hand sanding and i managed to take off just a little bit of this spot. Would a 1x30 belt sander be the way to go? What inconsistencies have I made with buffing wheels on a dremel? Thanks Bill DeShivs
 
All of the slurred pits! I don't recommend using a belt sander unless you are an expert. Actually, I don't recommend it at all.
You can file the pitting away if it's on a flat surface, or use stones or diamond hones. I use files, diamond paddles, and cheap waterstones for work like this.
A Dremel simply can not polish a large area, as the surface area of the wheels is so small.
You should be using wet/dry silicon carbide automotive sandpaper, by the way.
Blade refinishing is a lot of hard work!
 
I believed the slurred pits to be from the rusting and removing the rust not pollishing.? I am going to pick some stones and hones up. Here is what I have got done today. Got them weird markings out finally, I didn't plan to sand out the pitting because its so deep.


Thanks for the help!
 
You need to use sanding blocks. See how you have blurred the lines of the blade grind? Notice how the remaining pits are now dished?
 
Can't comment on the etch pattern -- a lot of variables could cause that, including chemical cleanings performed before you acquired the knife.

However, I use Evapo-Rust at work on delicate parts. It is water-based and safe on steel, much safer than vinegar bath for removing rust.
 
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