Rusty blades

S

Steven F

Joined
Oct 12, 1999
Messages
1,237
To clean a blade that has rusted beyond just surface rust and has some light pitting, I was thinking of using one of the commercial rust dissolvers that supposedly eats away all existing rust and creates a surface that prevents further rusting. Is there any reason why this kind of stuff can't be used? Does it have any adverse affect on the metal?
 
Huh? Rusty, please excuse my ignorance, but I have absolutely no idea what your're referring to. One of us needs to double up on our medication -- and I'll be the first to admit that it might be me.

Incidentally, the pix of your toys on the other thread are great, thanx for sharing. Also, I would still like an answer to my original question about the rust.



[This message has been edited by Steven F (edited 05 November 1999).]
 
OK Steven, I was refering to the topic's title. I log onto the HI forum, scroll down the list of topics, and see one that says "Rusty......." with my name properly capitalized. Then I find out it's about oxidation and has nothing to do with me. Besides which, I was poking fun at my ego.
 
Now I get it! Duh! I've never been real bright to begin with, Rusty, then you factor in a stressful Friday and I become real intellectually challenged! Thank you for clearing it up and for not using big words and for typing slowly.

 
Try Navel jel. It is fairly easy to find in hardware or I believe I've seen it in autoparts store. Just follow the directions. I would make sure not to get it on the handle. Pretty nasty stuff, no telling what it might so to horn. I would put tape around the handle and brass just to be safe. It will pull the rust out of the pits then ou will need to polish the steel up with something as the jel will usualy turn the steel grayish blue.
 
Steven,
I received a khukuri which UPS had decided to ship Underwater Express, meaning it spent three days wrapped in wet newspaper
frown.gif
. One side of the blade was covered with orange rust and pitting had begun. About an hour's vigorous polishing with Flitz and a soft cloth removed all the rust, including the rust in the pits. Routine maintenance with {olive oil, peanut oil, food grade silicone lube, AG Russell Rust-Free, WD-40, or insert your favorite lube, I've tried 'em all and they all work) has prevented any recurrence of the rust. YMMV.
Berk
 
Thanks for tips.

Berk, I know the story. During monsoon some fellow carried a bunch of our khukuris to the shipping office in the rain -- had them in a cloth sack on his back. By the time they got here every khukuri had suffered rust damage.

------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
 
Unless it is a weapon,it is a spade.Don`t worry about a little rust.Brown the thing,if you see a problem.Then you will have arrested rust;no worrys mate.
 
None of us will live to see a current khukukri rusted beyond use.

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Earlier form of blueing. Look at black powder firearms and you'll see some. Birchwood Casey makes a "Plum Brown" solution. When you hear of a weapon having a "patina" it refers to metal that has rusted slightly, been wiped down with oil, rusted again, so on til the whole thing, or much of it, has a thin coat of rust carded ( carding refers to knocking most of the rust off - by steel wool, sandpaper, hand rubbing etc. ) off and oiled til the thickness of the rust is sufficient to soak up enough oil to prevent further rusting. The difference between patina and browning is that patina just happened in the course of using the thing. Browning was done evenly and on purpose. It's kind of funny that just the right amount of rust holds enough oil to prevent further rust given reasonably regular maintenance, like parkerizing.

Hey, who do you think knows more about the oxidation process than a guy named Rusty?

[This message has been edited by Rusty (edited 09 November 1999).]
 
From old experience as a grass-cutter - silk & mirror shining blade surface always hides fold lines ... but ... rust unfolds the secret of any fold lines!

Most of village blades are brown except at the bevel of the sharp edges.
 
I just wanted to report that I tried the green scotch-bright pads on my khukuri as had been recommended and there are no longer any signs of rust. Of course, the rusting on my khukuri was very minor surface rust.

It was gone in no time too.

Thanks to everyone!!

Dave.

P.S. My khukuri now has a liberal coat of veg. oil until I get a hold of some Marine Tuff Cloth. You'd think the odds of every knife, gun and sporting goods store in town being out of TC at the same time would be slim to none.
 
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