Rusty Knife

A

arpinj

Joined
May 4, 2008
Messages
4
My girlfriends stepdad gave me a knife he found, and i really like the knife but the blade is very rusty and in poor condition. what is a good way to remove the rust easily so i can use the knife?
 
0000 steel wool and most any type of oil. You might try some Flitz paste after you get most of it off.
 
Welcome to the forum!

Pics would be a big help here. Are you sure its rust and not a dark patina? A patina is generally considered to be a good thing except to those who have gotten too used to using stainless steel and can't stand a non-shiny blade. If it's really rust then some combination of sandpaper and scotch bright and maybe some wd-40 or something similar is probably in order. I have never attempted to clean up a knife that's in really bad shape, so someone else can probably give some better advice on that front than I can. I'd recommend avoiding power tools. Doing it by hand may take longer but there is much less chance of slipping and doing irreparable damage to the knife. Is it a fixed blade or a folder? Each one will have its own special problems to watch out for. If it's a folder does it still open and close okay? Sorry I'm answering your question with a bunch of other questions but it's kind of hard to give a good answer without some more details.

Depending on how far gone it is you may just want to take steps to prevent further corrosion on it and keep as a conversation piece rather than a user.
 
its a folding knife, and yes it still opens and closes. and the blade itself is very dark but there is some rusting. i will try to get some pics on here but that may take a while. if i do use sandpaper should i use coarse or fine grit? or a combination of both. it isnt important that i have this knife refurbished but i think it would be a nice workin knife.

i understand the need for more information and i am more than happy to ansewer your questions
 
You can find 0000 steel wool in the paint department at Walmart.
Spray the blade with WD 40 and let it soak for a day. Then spray it again and wipe it off until the blade is dry. Then scrub the rust with the steel wool, dry. WD 40 again and wipe. If there is still rust, scrub with the steel wool saturated with WD 40.
Don't use sandpaper!
Let me know how this works. If you can't remove all the rust, more drastic measures may be necessary.
Don't use any product that is a "rust remover," as this can damage the steel.
 
thank you very much i will try this in the next few days and i will let you know howwell it works. there are places on the blade where the rust is worse i dont know if that will make it harder or if there is something special i need to do.
 
You can use sandpaper. Well, I do use sandpaper - specifically wet sandpaper. But I also finish the blade later. As for results, here is something I restored recently:



That Case Peanut was badly rusted and under the rust - as expected - was bad pitting. I started with 320 wetsanding - auto sandpaper and WD40 - moved to using a dremel in conjunction with 3M Radial Bristle Discs of 400 level grit. Finally alternating between the dremel/3M RBDs and 400 grit paper wetsanding. Once the pitting was removed, I dropped the knife into a vibratory tumbler loaded with walnut media treated with Turtle Wax liquid rubbing compound. It tumbled in that media for 3 days, and then was moved to another bowl of media - corncob media treated with Flitz tumbler media liquid and Turtle Wax liquid polish - for another 3 days.

The slight smudges in the photo are from my father's fingers as he took the photograph of the results (his knife.)
 
Byron
Certainly sandpaper can be used, but it should not be used by just anyone.
My advise was to use the least abrasive removal method. More aggressive methods can be used if the first suggestions don't work.
I have restored "a few" knives, but don't recommend sanding unless absolutely necessary.
Bill DeShivs
www.billdeshivs.com
 
I like to try non-destructive methods first, and if they don't work, I can always bring out the big guns.

You'd be amazed what you can accomplish with some WD-40, a bristle sponge and some elbow grease.

If that doesn't work, go for the harder stuff.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Byron
Certainly sandpaper can be used, but it should not be used by just anyone.
My advise was to use the least abrasive removal method. More aggressive methods can be used if the first suggestions don't work.
I have restored "a few" knives, but don't recommend sanding unless absolutely necessary.
Bill DeShivs
www.billdeshivs.com
Click to expand...

I will certainly agree with that sentiment. Once you start sanding, you may end up spending more time removing the sandpaper grit lines than time spent removing rust.

I have read over at StraightRazorPlace.com about taking some aluminum foil and wadding it up and rubbing it around and over the affected areas as a way to remove rust. I have not had a chance to test that though.
 
I've found that brass-wool is very good for cleaning rusty blades, doesn't scratch the metal as much as steel-wool.
 
WD-40 contains solvents that evaporate and leave a silicone type residue. This solvent could damage the handle scales depending on what they are made of. I'd suggest the least damaging method first.--Mineral or vegetable oil and 0000 steel wool. A pencil eraser will gently remove rust. A nickel--5c.-- is softer than blade steel and can be used as a scraper.Nix the sandpaper. You want to remove rust, not steel.Good luck--KV
 
I have used aluminum foil before. I found that it doesn't remove the rust, but it just coats it so it won't "look as bad." Not meaning to hi-jack the thread, but as for oiling and removing rust, how do yall feel about Penetro 90?
 
It can stain some old white colored plastics that have dried out and become porous or crazed, but that's about it.
 
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