Seeking basic instruction for cleaning/restoring rusty knife blades

R

RKneck

Joined
Aug 5, 2013
Messages
4
Hi. Noob here, first post. I assume you're tired of the question, and I did try find the answer myself, but I've had no luck, and I need a push in the right direction.

Can someone direct me to a resource - an old thread, website, whatever - where I can find basic instruction on how to PROPERLY clean up rusty old knife blades? I've experimented with a belt sander; a grinder with wire, sisal and denim wheels; steel wool; sandpaper; some abrasive sponge thingy that was probably for furniture refinishing; a pink eraser; and ordinary metal polish. I'm sure some of what I did was was very wrong, which is why I call it experimenting.

I'm most interested in fixed blade knives. I'm cleaning up old hatchets, axes and hammers, too.

Be gentle.

Thanks.
 
How much clean up do you want to do, and what - specifically - are you cleaning up?

When it comes to a basic tool like an axe or hammer head, the bench grinder with a wire wheel is the proper and most common method to remove rust. It'll scratch up the tool a bunch, but if you do it evenly you can then just hand sand it with fine sand paper to polish it up, and it'll look good as knew again. Some of us around here might then choose to hit it with a few coats of gun blue, to help keep it from re-rusting. If the axe/hammer/hatchet has a wood handle that needs help, you can also sand that down fairly rough, stain it a bunch, lightly sand it to polish it, stain it more, lightly sand a bit more, and then wax it to seal the stain in.

For a knife, what you do depends on how rusted it is, and what the knife is. A 50+ year old slipjoint, for example, you would want to lightly restore. The patina left under the rust adds character, so you generally don't want to just sand it down. A bit of very fine steel wool to remove brown rust, followed by a scrubbing with a toothbrush and some toothpast over the whole knife would probably be all it needs. If it's a kitchen knife, I'd treat it the same as an axe head. Strip it down to the base shiny metal layer with the wire wheel, then polish it back up and put a new edge on it.

If it's a general purpose fixed blade like a Mora or something, just use the steel wool to get the dark rust off, and then oil it every now and then to keep it from re-rusting. Or, you can let it sit in vinegar over night to give it a nice dark grey patina that will also resist rust.

If it's a newer folding knife, you may very well have a warranty that you can call upon to fix it up - a spa treatment, as most call it. Barring that, you could try to take it apart and clean it up with steel wool or a fine sand paper, oil it a bit, then put it back together yourself.
 
Thank you. Seems I may have been trying too hard. Most of the knives I've worked on are fixed blade and they're generally very rough. You know how Realtors say that for investment, you want to buy the worst house on the best block? I've kinda started out with that approach eBay bidding on Western knives. I bid a set, maximum price (no bidding wars for me) and I generally end up winning auctions for the ugliest knives. It is hugely satisfying, though, to get a rusty knife with a corroded guard and discolored handle, and shine it up to look, not new, but at least maintained and dignified.

Again, thank you.
 
Heh, yeah, you've got your work cut out for you there. I will agree that finishing a job like that is very satisfying.

I'd be intrigued to see some before and after pictures, if you have any.
 
RKneck said:
Thank you. Seems I may have been trying too hard. Most of the knives I've worked on are fixed blade and they're generally very rough. You know how Realtors say that for investment, you want to buy the worst house on the best block? I've kinda started out with that approach eBay bidding on Western knives. I bid a set, maximum price (no bidding wars for me) and I generally end up winning auctions for the ugliest knives. It is hugely satisfying, though, to get a rusty knife with a corroded guard and discolored handle, and shine it up to look, not new, but at least maintained and dignified.

Again, thank you.
Click to expand...

a picture of the knife that you are talking about might help people see and offer Suggestions on how to help you out.
 
I found this one stuck in the ground, not sure if you can see the rust and pitting,. also someone did some nice grinding
on the blade, nice deep grind marks in the blade.

fighting_knife.jpg




This is what it looks like today
fknife2.jpg


I used a belt sander then some sand paper, still some pits and scratches from the other owner that was overly handy with a grinder.
Nice old Western L66, it will make a good fish box knife.
 
Last edited:
http://s1273.photobucket.com/user/Tlaquache/media/DSC_0169_zpsd97c8d0a.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

Okay. Apologize for the delay. I had to set up a photo hosting account to get this picture in place.

NDtreehugger, that's exactly what this knife blade looked like before I started...maybe a bit worse. The handle and butt definitely looked worse. What I'm stuck on now, I guess, is how to get that last bit of dark spotting out of the tiny pits in the blade.

Well, I managed to get the URL live - click on it and you can see my photo - but I don't know how to make it appear here.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for asking the question. My grandmother has allowed me to access my grandfathers old tools and I have found some hatchets, axes, and knives that are in serious need of repair. And I was looking for quality suggestions as well. Id like to restore them for usefulness but it's truly just a labor of love for these antiques not to disintegrate in time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top