Suggestions to remove rust from blade

M

maximus83

Joined
Nov 7, 2011
Messages
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I have an older s30v blade that's in good shape but has a little rust right around the thumb stud.

Is there a safe effective way to remove that rust without buying fancy rust removers?

Here's what I've tried:
  • Soaked in CorrosionX for about 2 days. That got about 50% of it.
  • Soaked in lemon juice overnight. That got about half of what was left. But now what's there seems pretty stubborn.
 
If the rust is in a tight area I use pipe cleaners and Barkeepers Friend and that works well for me.
 
It's right around the thumb stud, only on one side of blade, but it looks like it is UNDER the stud and therefore, perhaps in the stud hole in the blade as well. This is a Benchmade.

Should I just remove the thumb stud entirely and completely clean out the hole? That'll probably be the way to go, but I've been trying not to go there as I assume the stud is probably secured with something strong like red loctite.
 
Bar Keepers Friend powder, mixed to a paste with a little bit of water. Apply the paste to the rust spots with a Q-tip or similar device, wait ~30 seconds or so, then wipe & rinse off. Works real well to remove isolated rust this way. Don't leave it on the steel longer than ~60 seconds or so, as it can etch the steel (even stainless steel) if left on too long. It uses oxalic acid to dissolve oxides of iron (rust), which is what works the 'magic' in this case.


David
 
Silver polish might help. S30V is highly corrosion resistant, but if you're concerned about rust under the stud, remove it and clean underneath, too.
 
Thanks for the tips. It's all cleaned up, the CorrosionX did the job by the time I got home from work. Total of about 36 hours soaking; lemon juice can work too but I don't think it added anything unique to the equation here. Removed the BM stud with a 5.5 size torx to make sure; the stud hole was clean inside and was able to just wipe the rest off by hand as the CorrosionX had done its work.
 
Two lessons I learned from this episode, for future reference:
1. Bar Keepers friend is good for quick removal of blade rust. Honestly, I don't know why I didn't think of this application before :p, I have BKF sitting under my sink and have used it for years for other things like cleaning stainless pans, cleaning my diamond sharpening stones, etc. But it turned out I didn't need it in this case.
2. CorrosionX is an awesome penetrant, corrosion inhibitor, and corrosion removal product, but the key is time: you've gotta give it some time to work. Sometimes a couple of days on a tough rust or cleaning problem. I've seen it clean up unbelievable dirty gun parts, like an AR15 bolt, merely by extended soaking in a little parts bath I created in a rubbermaid container. For those who haven't tried it, I HIGHLY recommend corrosionx for all kinds of things where you need an all-purpose combined corrosion protection, lube, and cleaner type of application. Still like WD40, but prefer CorrosionX now for all uses EXCEPT cases where I need a stronger solvent/cleaning type of action, in those cases, WD40 is better as it has more solvent in it.
 
One of the cool things about BKF, since you mentioned having it for kitchen uses, is that it's really good at removing those ugly rust stains on china & stoneware plates, etc., that might've sat in a wet sink too long, with kitchen flatware laying atop them. Also the same types of stains that come from the rusty tips of older & well-worn dishwasher racks, as they contact plates or dishes resting against them in the dishwasher. I had a couple of stoneware plates with rust stains on them (for years), and just assumed they'd never come out. I used the BKF in the manner I described earlier (paste applied w/Q-tip, wait 30-60 seconds & wipe off), and the stains came right off as if they were never there in the first place. No scrubbing at all, and 'fixed' in about a minute's time. That opened my eyes. :)


David
 
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