permanent rust removal

[Jared Stenoien]

ok so I finally got my knife disassembled and figure this would be as good a time as any to inqure as to what I should do about some rust spots that keep appearing? About two years ago I went on a camping trip where it pretty much rained non-stop for 5 days, all my clothes got soaked and I didnt even think about my knife being in my pocket during that time. Well to make a long story short it has a couple of small rust splotches that keep reappearing, everytime they come back I sand and steel wool it back down a little past the metal to try and get rid of it but after a month or so it's back. Is there anything I could do to permanently keep my knife from not rusting, in a way that I could still use it for food as I've had occasion to do?

 

[rebeltf]

Hmm... I think if you used some rough steel wool or a wire wheel (gently) and removed every spec of rust , and then cured pits with something akin to Breakfree CLP for a day or two, that might solve your rust problem.
What sort of knife is it ? Is it high carbon steel ? Some steels rust much more readily than others, rust also seems to thrive more on these steels.

I have an old Argentine field knife that is high carbon steel , bought it used and pretty trashed , but with some work and some gun bluing liquid , it is as sharp as new and has a pretty dark ( if not rustic) looking blade now , from what I hear gun bluing will stop rust in its tracks , although gun bluing is a form of rust , if I recall.

 

[Daniel Moore]

Do you happen to know the model knife or what type of steel it is? If it is a higher carbon knife, the spots that were sanded could be trouble spots because their protective finish is gone (if there was one). Keeping the knife oiled and using a lubricant (such as Militec 1) and a protectant such as Tuf Cloth would help a lot.

 

[Jared Stenoien]

It's a Gerber Gator that my dad bought in '92 and gave to me when he got out of the marines, I've never been able to find out what kind of steel it is, even emailed gerber and never got a response, it says Gerber 650 on one size but that's all i have to go by. Since it's never rusted before, never had any oil or anything put on it by either me or my dad, i'd say it's a stainless. It doesnt have any pits on it, just these splotches. Would breakfree be ok with food?

 

[Buck268]

I've had horrible luck with gerbers and rust, I have to keep them fairly well oiled up to keep the rust off.

 

[Retread]

I've had horrible luck with gerbers and rust, I have to keep them fairly well oiled up to keep the rust off.

I just pulled a new in the box Gerber multi-tool off the shelf its been setting on for the last 6 months. Its got spots of rust on it. Now I have to figure out if I want to sell it off cheap, or keep it as a user.