Rusty kitchen knives

[Phydeaux]

One of my friends (chef/cook/foodie) lost pretty much everything in house in a fire. Some of his kitchen knives were recovered, but very rusty and handles will need replacing. What is the best way to remove the rust from the blades before starting to restore them?

I'm sending him a couple of kitchen knives, because there are things he needs with a higher priority. I just thought he'd like a couple of decent knives to tide him over for a while.

Thanks,

Ric

 

[kreisler]

barkeepers friend is pretty unique in its ability to chemically clean up kitchenware metals. that will get you somewhere for sure

 

[sickpuppy1]

If the handles were messed up,I'd be more worried about the heat messing up the heat treat of the steel.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

For starters, you might just scrub the knives with a gritty paste of baking soda & water. Much of the red rust will probably come off that way. Any red/brown rust remaining would likely come off with the BKF treatment as previously mentioned. Treat isolated spots with a Q-tip, applying a paste of BKF powder & water. Let it sit for maybe 30 seconds, then thoroughly rinse it off.

It may be that the blades' temper could be heat-damaged, if the handles were ruined in the fire. But that will reveal itself in time, if it happened. For now, clean up the knives and sharpen/use them. If they seem to hold a decent edge in use over the next few weeks/months, I wouldn't worry too much more about heat damage.