USA-made Schrade 340OT: Pitting Question

crom

crom

Joined
Mar 29, 2007
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I met a guy holding a garage sale and he sold it to me for $3. It's in overall terrific shape, factory edges almost untouched except for a few dings on clip blade that I was able to sharpen out. One question, how can I remove the minor pitting here and there? I'm aware of the corrosive properties on 1095 and have many carbon steel knives but I've never let any of them get pitted. It definitely looks like surface corrosion but my fingernail won't remove it etc. Any replies will be greatly appreciated. I always wanted one of these!
thanks,
k
 
Can you post a pic of how badly pitted it is? Try a rag with WD-40 to scrub it first, if it doesn't work try steel wool.
 
I would be careful with steel wool, unless it is the finest grade you can find. I use Flitz, and it removes rust well. Flitz metal polish may be hard to find, I seem to get lucky by going into the mom and pop hardware stores where the big box retail hardware warehouses have not killed them. Ace and True Value are 2 examples of where I find it. Great score on the $3 Schrade. I am woohooing for you.
 
Flitz - :thumbup:

Wash the knife with warm soapy water, scrub it in & out with a plastic wire brush, blow it out with canned air, then if the blades need it, I'll polish with Flitz.

thx - cpr
 
Thanks everybody. if i get around to it soon i'll post a pic to my flickr site and link this thread. I love the knife, but it's a tad too small for me. The Sodbuster Jr. is the limit for me on little knives and this one is even smaller. I love it nonetheless, probably just be part of my collection and used rarely.
 
Do not discount that USA Schrade steel. It is terribly addicting.
 
fine steel wool will take care of it....and some very fine sandpaper.
I had a rough looking schrade that was in my tool box for years...slight pitting rust crud....cleaned right up and gets amazingly sharp.
Haven't had any further issues once I got it cleaned up. Keep it oiled...
Schrade carbon steel gets really sharp.
 
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There is no way to remove or fill in the pits, of course. The best you will do is clean away any corrosion byproducts and smooth the edges of the pits to make them less noticeable. I would take extra care to oil the blade if you intend to store it. Once pitting has started it can leave the steel open to further corrosion.
 
Use 600-800 grit wet-or-dry paper (the black stuff) or emery paper/cloth ... just spritz it with WD-40, and using it on a flat, hard surface, work the flats of the blades in smooth, continuous strokes perpendicular to the length of the blade (OK, some people like to go parallel to the blade, but I like perpendicular better, and it makes it easier to get the same finish right up to the ricasso.) Depending on how deep the pits are it may take a good bit of work, but refurbing a knife like this can be a lot of fun -- in fact, one of my favorite refurbs was an old Case Sodbuster Jr.

Of course you could start out with coarser paper, makes the job go faster, and you can finish with as fine a grit paper as you like. 600-800 grit seems to produce a nice satin finish for me.
 
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