Pitting on new 3V knife

B

burns

Joined
Jul 31, 2012
Messages
64
Hi folks,

I got a great new knife several months ago in 3V (uncoated) and took it out on a camping trip. I'm sure it got a little wet while fishing, though I thought I had properly dried and reoiled it. Having just taken the micarta scales off, there appear to be tiny black spots which might be very small pitting. Is it of any concern in the sense of spreading over time and causing a problem?

I'm also wondering if I did an ok job of wiping the blade down but perhaps the micarta stayed moist and held the moisture against the steel. Most importantly I want to know if this will hurt the knife over time in any way.

Thanks!

Burns
 
light pitting is harmless.

people take pocket knives out of the bottom of lakes, which have sat for years, clean them up and they are perfectly usable.

just make sure you've cleaned and dried it. the knife isn't some organic being that will spontaneously grow rust. rust forms for very specific reasons.
 
I don't think the pitting will be a problem. But 3V can be very rust prone. I'd make sure to wipe it down after use and keep a lil oiled or wiped down with some sort of lubricant cloth.
 
Did you keep it in a sheath while it was sitting around? If a kydex or other plastic sheath, it's possible that some moisture got in the sheath and onto the blade. If it's a leather sheath, the tannic acids used to treat the leather can cause staining and corrosion on the steel.
 
Micarta will hold moisture so that is probably where the problem came from. You can oil the handle scales so they are less likely to hold moisture when the knife is stored or not in use. I would try and at least clean it off with a scotch pad as once it starts it's hard to stop it, it won't spread or eat up the whole knife though so don't worry. :p
 
That's why I like it when they put a gasket in between the micarta and scales.

Like Fehrman does with his blades. They get a waterproof seal, with the added benefit of absorbing shock. If chopping with a larger blade.
 
It is the feature of 3V it does resist to rust but when it rusts it tends to pit.
 
Get yourself some.....

Aegis Solutions EDC

Stuff works amazing, just spray it on, wipe it into the blade softly, then wipe excess off.

Under normal conditions one coating will last like 2 months.

If its around water or sweat it will wear off slightly quicker, but will prevent all rust while the product is working.

You can check out their stuff on YouTube if your curious, but HIGHLY recommended stuff.

Just my .02
 
I have seen pitting on 3V from (I guess) sweat after a day of carrying in a sheath in my pocket. D2 I have more than once unintentionally exposed to a day of riding on my belt while wade fishing in water up to my chest and the knife on my belt. It did have some black spots on it when I got home but they were easily removable with toothpaste, flitz, rust eraser or any other very slightly abrasive substance. The 3v pits, while tiny, if viewed through a 16X loupe do go beyond just the surface and to remove them would require removing about 1mm of steel which to me seems more disfiguring than the tiny pits. Viewed through the loupe they look like little pot holes but being so tiny I can't think of how to access the bottom to remove the rust without enlarging the hole.
 
My advice would be to oil the tang and the scales prior to reassembling the knife.
 
Can you post any pics? This is one of the reasons I have avoided 3v blades, since were I am some rust is inevitable in users. All my carbon steel blades have develoed some in use, i just prefer it to be of the surface variety which is easily scrubbed off.
 
burns said:
I'm also wondering if I did an ok job of wiping the blade down but perhaps the micarta stayed moist and held the moisture against the steel.
Click to expand...

I agree with you and the others, there was likely some moisture trapped under the scales. That's precisely why I don't like removable scales. As mentioned above, you could fashion gaskets for them.

burns said:
Most importantly I want to know if this will hurt the knife over time in any way.
Click to expand...
Well, yeah... but we're talking in terms of decades, not weeks or months, and even then, only if you never clean the knife. The one good thing about remo scales is that you can remove them :) Clean/dry the tang and spray/wipe the protectant of your choice on it before bolting them back on.

ridnovir said:
It is the feature of 3V it does resist to rust but when it rusts it tends to pit.
Click to expand...

Big Mike said:
I have seen this same phenomena with D2.
Click to expand...

I concur. With reasonable maintenance/cleaning, both 3V and D2 are actually pretty corrosion resistant. The tiny pitting you may see really isn't a big problem. I have seen purposely-abused/neglected 3V get actual orange surface rust on it, but it scrubbed right off.
 
Good comments - I'll get some pics up. I'm out of town but can prob get them up tomorrow or the following day.
 
Haze said:
Micarta will hold moisture so that is probably where the problem came from...
Click to expand...

Micarta will NOT hold moisture any more than G10 or other phenolic-resin laminates of similar finish.

The only observation of moisture absorption with micarta occurs on rough-finish surface fibers.

On the otherhand, ANY material pressed against the surface of a blade tang can draw/hold moisture by capillary action.

Again, micarta does NOT hold moisture. It is cloth-based plastic.
 
Recently i used my 3V Barong for trail blazing and rain was pissing down the whole session.

By the time i got back home and undo the sheath, the surface on the blade was just as described by OP but with larger blackened dots.
I wiped it clean and used a 1500 grit sandpaper to rub it off and re-apply mineral oil. The blade was left in the open air for a day just to see if the pit gone any deeper and now it's covered with rolled newspaper as i dry up the wet kydex.

It's good as before.
 
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