Rust on knife

[Fella]

Went hunting last weekend, apparently one of my knives got wet and I didn't notice until today. Lucky it's not my favourite knife! Anyways, it's not bad just some speckling, but does anyone have a suggestion on how to get rid of em? I rubbed lemon juice and baking soda and it worked pretty well but there's still discolouration where the rust was.

[new hunter]

high git emery paper , sand in the same direction as the grind lines from machining the blade . If the blades mirror polish , alternate directions from along the blade and across as well. I use wet dry auto detailing paper from Lordco on the hand made knives I sell ( only a couple here and there , when I have time at work ) , I use 2000grit for my last polish . If you have a grinder with a felt wheel and some polishing rouge that works really well , just don't let the blade heat up too much .

[Trekker]

left over slurry from sharpening with the wet stone has worked well for me. gives the knife a good shine as well.

[Singleshotneeded]

I polish it with Brasso on a cloth dremel tip...works fast and perfectly.

[Jagermeister]

Just buy a new one!

[goatdancer]

Since it's not your favorite, give it to someone you don't like........

[new hunter]

Ive got a half inch chip in handle of my 119 , gives it a little character and makes it very distinguishable . definitely easier than fixing

[Fred1]

Its a tool... its supposed to get and be used, leave the marks for chatracter!! Keep the pretty, expensive, bone handle knives for the mantle.

[Mountaintop]

Believe it or not molasses is great at getting off rust. I have seen it used by car restorers with great success. Mix about 1 part molasses to about 7 parts water and soak the blade in the mix for a few days to a week. It is a bit slow but gentle on the parts and you don't have to deal with toxic chemicals. Google "molasses rust remover" to see videos and photos.

[Fella]

I ended up making a paste out of baking soda and lemon juice and scrubbing it onto the blade with a kitchen sponge. Worked wonders, still some slight discolouration but the rust is all gone.

[ytlogger]

Believe it or not molasses is great at getting off rust. I have seen it used by car restorers with great success. Mix about 1 part molasses to about 7 parts water and soak the blade in the mix for a few days to a week. It is a bit slow but gentle on the parts and you don't have to deal with toxic chemicals. Google "molasses rust remover" to see videos and photos.

Lick it clean?

[new hunter]

I ended up making a paste out of baking soda and lemon juice and scrubbing it onto the blade with a kitchen sponge. Worked wonders, still some slight discolouration but the rust is all gone.

Neat , did it give you a satin finish ? How much discolouration ?
Ive been experimenting with clay temper lines and acid etching to try and produce a hamon line like the line you see on the blades of high end Katana and I wander if that would give a lighter etch than hot vinnegar ?
Could you post pic of the blade ?

[North Arm Knives]

I know this is an old thread but I just had to reply.

We've done a lot of testing to find a really effective and quick method to remove rust from a knife. We needed a good method to recommend to our customers, in case they experienced rust spots. We tried all of the traditional methods and many others we saw on forums. None of them were 100% satisfactory and some didn't work at all. Except for one.

We found that Autosol (a very popular product among classic car enthusiasts for its ability to clean up chrome parts) worked wonders to remove rust and oxidation from a knife blade. You simply wipe a small amount on to the affected area and after about a minute you can wipe it off and wash with soapy water. We found it most effective if you scrub it in well and then let it sit before scrubbing off in warm soapy water.

A small tube will run you under $10 and last for a long time (only use a little)

-mike

[adriaticum]

Thank you north arm knives!

[gunsight]

Justin Trudeau!!!! Who is she . if he ever gets in you will know .

[mountainman_270]

Try this stuff called Naval Jelly (I know it sounds rude). Got some from a boating store and works very well. Same compound the Navy used to use , maybe still does, to remove rust from ships before painting . At least that's what I've been told. Really good stuff. It will remove blueing so be careful for that. Speaking of blueing, for bare metal type knives, especially the high carbon V or those types, if you blue them it will help fight rust and blood pitting (blueing usually doesn't work for Stainless).
I forgot to add the North Arms Knives Autosol sounds like its the same thing under a different name.

[North Arm Knives]

Naval Jelly certainly will remove rust. It is basically phosphoric acid in a jelly medium. It will also etch the steel if left long enough. Which can result in a dulling of the finish or even significant erosion of the steel if left for long periods. It would probably work fine if you apply it and remove it again quickly. If you had really severe deep rust on say a carbon steel knife it may be the right product (if autosol isn't aggressive enough). The other down side of naval jelly is it can affect plastics and fiberglass (some common handle materials)

I'm not sure exactly what is in autosol but I know it is basic (rather than acidic, like phosporic acid) and it is designed for lighter rust removal which is the most common type of rust on knives (especially stainless steel knives).

By the way the stuff I'm talking about is "autosol metal polish" (they make a lot of different products)

hope that helps,
mike

north arm knives

[eastkoot]

Autosol metal polish and 000 steel wool, will also shine like new. I use a dremel but hand work is good too... Finish with a coat of gun oil or if you're not into that, olive oil to protect from further erosion...

[North Arm Knives]

another good oil to use is mineral oil, as it is food safe (at least the drug store stuff is) and doesn't go rancid like olive oil can. I'm sure gun oil is pretty safe too (I think some gun oil's are mostly mineral oil anyway) but if you are skinning or gutting or cutting up veggies for the camp kitchen, it may be wise to consider something that is definitely food safe.

-mike

[dabber]

Where do you find Autosol? Do they carry it at stores like Lordco? Thanks D

[eastkoot]

Any place like NAPA or Lordco..

[North Arm Knives]

yep like eastkoot said: most auto parts stores carry it, as well as a lot of other places (canadian tire, lee valley tools)

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/search-results.html?searchByTerm=true&q=autosol (http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/search-results.html?searchByTerm=true&q=autosol)