Rust on a new CRKT M-16?

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Hi, I just (as in 10 minutes ago) received my brand new M16-14 from 1SKS, and there are brown specks on one side of the blade. Is this rust? I coated it with oil, but what else should I do? Will I be able to keep it from spreading on this type of metal (assuming it is rust)?

mini-review...
I love the knife. Out of the 4 dozen folders I have, it's the most reassuring feeling knife I have. The aluminuim handle is light and very solid feeling. The pocket clip and blade are a very nice subdued gray. Nothing shiny/cheap/tacky on this knife. The blade is not nearly as sharp as my Spyderco's & CS's out of the box. I don't know if that is on purpose (because it is intended for self-defense, not skinning) or not. The feature that really makes this knife "tactical" (whatever that means) is the Carson flipper. It makes opening the blade even easier and faster than with a thumbstud. I lost the tip of my thumb in Korea, and this flipper really helps me more comfortably open the knife quickly. It would also help you open the knife in a hurry with your nondominate (clumsy) hand if you ever had to. What might be the most important benefit of the flipper is that it helps to keep your hand from sliding up the handle when stabbing. My new daily carry.

 

[Walt Welch]

Send it back and have it replaced. If it looks like rust, it probably is.

Coating a blade with oil will not stop rusting; it will not even keep the blade from rusting if there is no rust to begin with. Col. Charles Askins covered this in the 1920's in an article entitled 'Rust Under Oil Films.'

Using a product with more affinity for the metal will provide more rust protection. Tuf-Cloth or other thin film corrosion inhibitors have been discussed in depth on this forum many times. Do a search (the button is near the post reply button) on 'rust' and you will find 200 threads to peruse.

I recently put into storage some multi-tools I had bought from Mike Turber, only to find that the files on the tools had light surface rust. I used a phosphoric acid based rust remover, which worked very well. Rinsing with water and then applying a rust preventative resulted in new looking files.

Hope this helps, and welcome to the forums.

Walt