Recommendation? What are these black spots on my hatchet

[Souleaterblaze]

I'm wanting to sharpen and clean up this hatchet my cousin have me and I cleaned it up a bit (handle used to be black from how dirty it was) and well there are these black spots everywhere on the metal. Any idea what it is and how I could clean that shit off? (Also it looks like rust in the second photo but as you can see from the first it's not rust. Just the way the photo looks)

 

[KiwiBloke]

It's a type of rust, black rust, It won't damage your tool it is just a coating over the top of the steel - the red rust is the stuff you wanna get rid off. Leave it, forget about it and use the tool or if you want it to be a looker take a wire cup brush and attach it to an angle grinder or power drill, what ever you have, and blast it off with that. I don't believe it is of any concern.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Souleaterblaze]

Thank you for the info

 

[Moonw]

Spots where you won't get the ugly red oxide (as it's protected already).