What's wrong with this blade?

P

ProGod

Joined
Jan 19, 2016
Messages
3
hello, so first of all i would just like to say this is my first post and that english is not my main language, so please bare with me ;) ( im not even sure if this is the correct place to post this)

so, i recently acquired this knife made by a portuguese knife maker and it was decently cheap at the time, however the blade had some "darker" spots, but i didnt really care at the time since i only bought it for display, however i recently got more curious as to what it is, and since i didnt really find a lot of info on google ( its possible i was using the wrong keywords) , i decided to ask you guys :P

here is an image where the spots are easily seen: (i think its to big, i dont know how to fix it tough, sorry)

kJ9Ygp8.jpg
 
Are you talking about the dark gray (almost black) areas vs. the silver gray steel areas on the blade itself?
 
Welcome to Bladeforums! You found the right place for the question.

Carbon steel, as opposed to stainless, will darken, developing a patina when exposed to certain materials. It will even oxidize or corrode or rust, all variants of the same process. Oiling the blade will keep the process from becoming destructive.
 
Those guys are correct about oxidizing. You're lucky that it's oxidizing black instead of red, as the black is a nicer look.

One thing to add. You can see how the blade has really rough grind lines. This happens when the maker uses a rough grit abrasive, and doesn't polish it out with higher grits to create a smooth finish. A rough finish like this will rust MUCH quicker... which you're seeing.
 
Thank you for all the answers, i learned a lot about the knife, and i will be sure to oil it as suggested to try and make it last as much as possible :)
 
You might see if you can get some of that off with steel wool or a rust eraser, although it looks to me as if the staining is permanent---which doesn't hurt a thing.

As long as there is no deep pitting or similar non-desirable things occurring, don't worry about it. Waxing or keeping a light coat of oil on the blade is the key to stop further corrosion. It shouldn't harm the knife in any way. To me it just gives the knife some character. Actually looks pretty good overall.

The ultimate answer is to send it to a bladesmith and have it polished or reground. Up to you, but, IMO, nothing wrong with it as it is.
 
thank you for the answers :)

i also have to agree that it does give it some "character". Good to know it doesnt affect the quality of the steel tough.
 
Get high grit sand paper or emry paper and you can polish it nicely. Then put whatever oil is recommended. You could probably get it really shiny if you wanted
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top