ZDP questions

[J-siah]

I bought my dad an endura4 in ZDP-189 and the thing rusts like crazy. I was just wondering what I can do to stop this, What would be a protector to put on it. I thought that zdp was a sainless steel, it has 20% chromium in it. it should be extremely stainless.

I have tried johnsons wax but it only works for a few days. I have considerd bluing the blade, Im a knife maker and have the resources to do most things. This is getting on my nerves, any input would be great.

 

[So-Lo]

I have had ZDP stain a little, but never rust. Does he wipe the blade off after use? That's about all I do with my ZDP. Maybe its a defect some how?

 

[THG]

I think although it might have Cr, it has a lot of C. That's why it's more prone to rust (and why it's harder).

I wipe my knives after every use, especially if I cut something that gets liquid of any sort on the blade.

 

[Wandering_About]

If he wipes it off after use and doesn't keep it wet for long periods of time, it shouldn't rust that badly. I've been EDCing my E4 for over a year now and have had only a few spots of corrosion appear, and they were buffed out easily. If you let ZDP stay wet, it will rust, but otherwise it does very well.

 

[Blades]

Some people seem to be able to rust knives. Maybe blueing it would be a good idea.

 

[The Deacon]

Some people seem to be able to rust knives.

Definitely. Climate can be a factor too, but MI seems unlikely to have either high humidity or "salt air" issues. Won't claim my experiences with ZDP-189 are typical either, but my Stretch II cuts food, gets rinsed anywhere from a minute to an hour later, shaken dry more often than toweled down, then stuck back in my pocket. Occasional dark blue/grey stains, but no signs of rust.

Bluing may work, if you have the facilities to blue stainless steel. Otherwise, your dad might be better off with a Pacific Salt.

Paul

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[J-siah]

I know he takes good care of it. It dosn't seen to take a great edge either, so I might have the RC tested. It might just be a HT defect as rare as it might be.

 

[Haze]

Iv not had any rusting problems with ZDP, just some tiny spots that just wipe off.
I live in Taiwan so its really humid here most of the time and im constantly sweating so i was expecting some problems but alas not.
Iv had absolute night mares with S30V though.

 

[shangchi108]

All my ZDP knives are scary sharp, get used daily and no sign of rust. I've heard the rust thing about ZDP but haven't seen it yet. I wonder if there's a problem in production with consistency.

 

[p220c]

My ZDP doesn't rust easily. It's is not as carefree as say and Aus-8, S30V or V-10, but wiping it off after cutting a lemon for instance was enough to keep mine from rusting or staining.

I tend to wipe the blade and loack mechanism down every several days with some CLP or silicone spray.

Since you're a knife builder, you should be able to get that sucker scary sharp. After a quick touch-up on the sharpmaker mine will whittle a hair easily.

I have shaved a small portion of my face as a test (it words, but I don't recommed dry shaving it as a parlor trick with any regularity-arm hair is quite impressive.)

If it's not taking and edge, and if it is rusting, and if you are sure it is the genuine article and not a counterfeit, i would send it up to Golden and let them take a look at it, and see what they say about the steel. The properties of the steel you are describing are not those I know to be fact about the ZDP. As unlikely and improbable as it is, something can go wrong with manufactured good. I'm going to say this is a maintenance issue, nothing more nothing less, but I am just guessing since I can't see the blade for myself.