What is happening to this knife?

coaltrain

coaltrain

Joined
Jul 11, 2013
Messages
482
Just noticed this afternoon. I've had this one for about a month - bought new. It has never been carried - just laying in a plastic tray on a table along side my chair. Never had any chance of any liquid or other foreign matter come anywhere close to it. What is happening here?

Image is clickable for a larger view:



 
Looks like rust to me, probably from sweat while handling.
I'd polish it off before they deepen and pit, then apply either wax or wipe down with mineral oil for prevention.
 
If I'm not mistaken, bolsters on the Charlows are carbon steel as well...so that's oxydation.
Or rust, if you prefer the word.
Even if you haven't carried it, it might have been exposed to humidity somehow.
Clean it up and oil or wax it :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
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Would appear to be rust specs. I believe the bolsters are carbon steel on those and will rust if not carried and used or protected with a light coat of oil.
Humidity in the air likes to collect on things that sit around and rust them.
Should be easy enough to polish off and prevent.
My Barlow has a bit of patina on the bolsters that protects its some, but if I leave it sitting around too long without carry it will do the same thing yours did.
 
OK - I have some mineral oil for maintenance - just haven't applied any yet. What would be the procedure to polish it?

I've obviously got to get with it and get this done over the weekend for all my knives.
 
Yeah... looks like rust freckles. Mask off the handle scale area with some of that blue type masking tape (not the cream color tape that may stick too well and cause probs)... then maybe a tiny bit of Flitz metal polish on a clean soft cloth to polish it off, voila! Then oil it clean, wipe off with a silicone cloth, and viola again, you're done! :-)
 
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As PKJimmy said, or alternatively, Mother's polish works great too.
 
quattromori said:
If I'm not mistaken, bolsters on the Charlows are carbon steel as well...so that's oxydation.
Or rust, if you prefer the word.
Even if you haven't carried it, it might have been exposed to humidity somehow.
Clean it up and oil or wax it :)

Fausto
:cool:
Click to expand...

Agreed. I wiped the bolsters down with a Tuf-cloth when I first received mine for that reason.
 
OK - thanks guys - I feel a little better now. My heart dropped a bit when I first noticed this.

I need some help with materials for this. Luckily I am making my monthly grocery run to the "city" this coming week.

Polish - where can I find Flitz polish? I have lots of car detailing supplies here - the only real polish I have is Turtle Wax Chrome & Metal polish.

Mineral oil I have.

Silicone cloth - where would I find something like that?

Wax was mentioned - I have good liquid car wax - would that be OK?
 
coaltrain said:
OK - thanks guys - I feel a little better now. My heart dropped a bit when I first noticed this.

I need some help with materials for this. Luckily I am making my monthly grocery run to the "city" this coming week.

Polish - where can I find Flitz polish? I have lots of car detailing supplies here - the only real polish I have is Turtle Wax Chrome & Metal polish.

Mineral oil I have.

Silicone cloth - where would I find something like that?

Wax was mentioned - I have good liquid car wax - would that be OK?
Click to expand...

This stuff is fantastic for light rust:

http://www.bladehq.com/item--Super-Premium-Polishing-Paste-1-oz--10014
 
The silicon cloth is easy... any place that sells guns should have it... even the Wally marts of the world... sporting goods dept. FLITZ... AHH, that may be a tough one. Maybe a hardware store... comes in little tubes like tooth paste :-) It is great, and never too agressive... just right for most jobs :-)
 
The Turtle wax metal polish will be fine for removing the oxidation, and just wipe down with a light coat of mineral oil afterwards. No need to buy anything more, what you have will work fine :)
 
That's light rust forming on the carbon steel bolster. I bought flitz from a large online retailer who isn't a paid dealer here. It was about $20 for a huge tube (that will last for many, many years). All you need to do is squeeze a very, very small amount (less than a kernal of corn) onto a rag and rub the flitz into the bolster. Be careful not to get it on wood or bone. After that go ahead and do a light coating of mineral oil. Flitz is not food safe so if you use it on the blade you'll want to wash it thoroughly afterward.
 
black mamba said:
For wax you'd want paste wax, not liquid, like J&J Paste Wax, or clear shoe wax.
Click to expand...


+1 on that, good old Johnson's or some Minwax paste is hard to beat, and Kiwi clear will certainly work in a pinch. I've been using the minwax for the last couple years because I couldn't find Johnson's when I was buying it. Looks like I'll be using it for few more years, because a little goes a looooong way ;)
 
Thank you all very much - potential disaster averted!

I did a small area with the metal polish on hand, and it took care of it - my Chalow is OK now!

I think the polish I have may be a little aggressive, so I plan to get some Flitz - found it an an on-line vendor I use and can put it with some other items. I have lots of micro-fiber cloths around from my camera equipment.

One question remains - I like the idea of using the mineral oil on the entire knife, but makes it sticky handling afterward. Is this where I would use a wax instead of the oil?
 
I could see where the waxes would protect knives you are carrying... but for an end of the day wipe down, or for knives stored away, that silicone cloth, (hoppes makes a good one), is a good thing to have around... imo. I keep siicone clothes around for both my knives and my handguns/rifles ;-)
 
I think wax is stickier than the mineral oil. Use a very small amount and just wipe it down good.
It leaves a coating even when it feels pretty dry.
 
> makes it sticky handling afterward.

I think you may be thinking of vegetable oil. afaik Mineral oil does not get sticky. Just wipe off the excess. It is not a food oil, it is a petroleum oil. Food oil can get sticky and rancid smelling, but not Mineral oil. Thats why people like it.

yes wax is more dry than oil. Tuff cloth uses a petroleum wax. But I agree Mineral oil is sufficient, plus it works on the blade pivot.. If you have never flooded your pivot with Mineral Oil, you will find it releases some black color into the excess oil when you work the blade open and closed to flush the polish residue out. Dont be afraid to get your whole Charlow soaked in Mineral Oil, then just wipe it all off. It wont feel sticky, I promise.

Youve got a very nice Charlow, show us another pic or two.. glad you solved the rust problem

my favorite

3BB7AEF3-DE42-413F-AE41-8B7ADEAC8922-6441-000006C590158641_zps856f72b1.jpg
 
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