Rust Problems

[davidgraef]

Hello, I've tried to take care of my carbon steel Mora knife, always drying it and such, but using it in the winter time, it has gained a few small spots of rust. I read that sticking it in a potato overnight, or rubbing the blade with an onion can get rid of small spots of rust. The rust actually formed today when I went out, so its not very deep rust and I was wondering if these methods actually work. I hope so because that would be the easiest and quickest solution for me. Also, if you have other methods, I would love to hear them, including methods for bigger and worse spots of rust, for future reference. Thank you!

David

[TresMon]

Polish the rust off with steel wool then keep it "barricaded"

http://www.google.com/search?client=...w=1276&bih=687


On another note.....
I like my gear to look used. I don't mind rust specs on my weaponry nor dust and grit on my field gear. Just keep the cutting edge free of rust and tell your buds the rust spots on the knife is real world mojo. That your gear is all go, no show.

[lucznik]

Don't know about the potato or the onion trick. Give it a try and let us know how it works.

As to keeping your knife rust free, well... keeping it dry isn't quite enough. There's moisture in the air almost all the time. You need to keep a barrier between the knife and the ambient air as well as direct moisture. Oiling the blade each time you're going to put it away and not storing the blade long term in a sheath are the traditional methods of accomplishing this.

If you are going to use the blade for cooking/eating, make sure you use a food-grade oil.

[crashdive123]

The potato and onion, along with mustard or a variety of other items will put a patina on carbon steel that will slow down the formation of rust. It will not remove existing rust.

[TresMon]

And patina is a neat, timeless finish!

[davidgraef]

P1010031.JPG

So I put the mustard on, and left it for about an hour and a half. the mustard was pretty thin, so the patina ended up being pretty thin too. so, that night, after i cleaned the knife off, i stuck it in the potato for the whole night, and that seemed to come out pretty cool. i'll post some pictures of the finished work soon.

[natertot]

I Usually wipe my everyday knife down every night with a small tad of gun oil. It ain't pretty, but it helps keep it in usuable.

[Rick]

So will petroleum jelly and food grade mineral oil and it won't taint your food if you use it.

[Winter]

Just carve a pork roast with it and wipe it clean instead of cleaning it with hot water and soap.

[Tony uk]

The rust formed on the surface will more than likely wear away with use, failing that coarse sandpaper will make quick work of it, follow that up with a thick oil product wiped on to the blade to protect it. While your doing that, make sure the inside of the plastic sheath is free from any condensation that might of formed there.

[rockriver]

I make my own knives on occasion, all wrapped in their own Kydex sheath. When the finishing touches are done with my blades, I heavily coat them in canola oil or mineral oil then put them in the sheath. This coats the inside of the sheath pretty well to protect the blades during any longer term storage. Also both of these oils are not harmful to consume...if you are using your blades for hunting/skinning purposes. As for removing rust...well baking soda does pretty good. CLR works good too. Pitting from dug in rust is just adding character.

[crashdive123]

Do you have problems with the canola oil going rancid over time?

[rockriver]

Do you have problems with the canola oil going rancid over time?

Interesting question. I actually have not, but I do regularly use my own so the application of it is fairly frequent. Is it prone to going bad? Maybe I better go strictly with mineral oil, as I know it doesn't spoil.

[crashdive123]

Yes, it can go rancid. Mineral oil is a good choice, along with petroleum jelly. Both are food grade.

[rockriver]

And once again, not that I needed it, but I am proven to not know everything. Thanks for the tip crash!