Rust on blued blade - help!

N

nutz_about_knives

Joined
Aug 21, 2005
Messages
386
Hey guys,

Recently while looking over one of my knives that has a dark gun-blued finish to it, I notice quite a few rust spots above the sharpened edge.

I am clueless as to what can be done about it. As this knife is a collectible piece, I wouldn't want to do anything without consulting you folks here. So the question is, should I:

- Use 'Brownell's oxpho blue creme' / or other bluing solutions to get rid of the rust spots at that area and put a fresh bluing coat.
- Leave it as it is since it is a collectible piece
- Forget about treating the rust and smear oil all over to prevent the rust from spreading

Help? :confused:
 
Consult the maker or manufacturer if you can. If I had made the knife, I'd take care of that for you just for shipping costs; of course I'm not speaking for anyone else.

Don't just leave it, the rust will likely get worse. If you go to remove it, try the product you mentioned first, and if you need any abrasive, don't use anything coarser than 0000 steel wool. Then clean thoroughly and reapply some bluing solution, if you have the same stuff that was used originally.

In future, oil your blade before this happens. :)
 
No cold blue will remove rust-they create it. If scrubbing with WD 40 doesn't do it, then lightly scrub with 0000 steel wool. Oil the blade afterwards.
 
Try metal polish. Flitz for example. You will have to re-done the blue on the blade though.
 
Thanks a lot for the helpful replies. :thumbup: The folks who made the knife won't re-blue it but can apply another type of finish, which I do not want.

The knife was a second-hand purchase which had the rust already and I was trying to figure out how to get rid of it.

The Brownell's oxpho blue says that it can remove rust by rubbing it in. I've heard of people doing so but I'm willing to use the Flitz method instead. I'm concerned that the finished product would be a splotch of different shaded blue against the original bluing. Will this happen?
 
Trust me- try the WD 40 first, the 0000 steel wool second. Then try more aggressive methods like abrasives. Any abrasive wll remove the bluing.
 
You stated this is a collectible piece, so I assume maintaining its value as a collectible is a foremost concern. (?) If so, I would strongly recommend you not use any abrasive on it, or try to refinish it ... try WD-40 first as Bill suggests, or a penetrating oil/solvent such as Hoppes #9, Break-Free CLP, or even Liquid Wrench to remove some of the rust and prevent further rusting.

Regarding cold blues: there are only two products, Oxpho Blue and Van's Gun Blue, which I would even remotely consider using. These two are formulated differently than any others I know of (Oxpho and Van's are virtually identical) and may actually inhibit further rusting. However IMO they are unlikely to improve the appearance of the blade -- may even make it worse, at least in the eyes of a collector -- and rarely produce a blue that is close in color to hot bluing.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Trust me- try the WD 40 first, the 0000 steel wool second. Then try more aggressive methods like abrasives. Any abrasive wll remove the bluing.
Click to expand...

Actually, try them together!

The WD 40 will reduce any scratching from the steel wool; old gunsmithing trick (from an old gunsmith, of course! :D).

Always keep blued steel coated with oil or another protectant; the bluing looks good but really does not offer any protection against corrosion.
 
I've had good exprience using Evapo-Rust. An easy, non-toxic way to go.
It will remove the red rust, which is the stuff that continues to grow.
Black "rust" is what you get when you blue steel.
Ferrous oxide = red = bad... Ferric Oxide = black = good...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top