Suggestions

[Glendon Mullins]

Worked on a little project today, restoring a knife i found laying in a Georgia swamp a couple years ago. Had some surface rust, but not too bad. Anyway I got one side back to a mirror finish, but the other side shined up, but still has some black marking on it. Any suggestions on how to remove it?

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[6mm Remington]

Maybe a wire wheel on a grinder to take the main stuff off and then start using finer and finer sandpaper until it cleans up.

 

[Holaday]

Is that just discolouration on the surface or is that pitted out?


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[Glendon Mullins]

Is that just discolouration on the surface or is that pitted out?


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Pretty sure discoloration, it's smooth as can be to the touch, just looks lime a black, I dunno oxidation type thing now, wouldn't scrub off with a steel wool like all the rest of the rust did

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[Holaday]

I would suggest going back to square 1 with sandpaper. Use maybe 220 grit until you get all that oxidation off and then move up. If it isn’t deep oxidation/rust it shouldn’t take a whole lot. If you move up in grit before the whole surface has the same “finish” then you’ll be fighting with scratches and blemishes until the cows come home.


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[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Try tarnx first before polishing more

Live2hunt custom shelters

 

[gudspelr]

I’ve made several knives and there are a few things you can try. One thing I’d ask is how did you get the finish on the other side? You’ll want both sides to match if possible. The degree of the staining is going to determine how agressive you will have to get. If I were you, I’d start with the least abrasive and then work back if needed. When I hand sand a carbon steel blade to a finished 400 or 600 grit, I can use a grey scotchbrite pad with windex to get out smudges and some degree of staining without affecting the visible, finished scratch pattern from my final hand sanding. The red or green scotchbrite pads are a little more aggressive and can help get some out.

If you end up going with sand paper, I’d go with a higher grit to start with since it would leave the least amount of scratches on the blade that would be easily seen. Think of it this way-the more agressive the paper, you’re leaving really small “valleys” in the steel. The only way to get those valleys gone is to get rid of all the steel on the blade that’s higher than the lowest parts of those valleys. That can be a lot of work. And it’s a lot tougher to make look good with a finished knife that has a handle and guard on it already. It’s seriosuly challenging to get into that really tight corner and have a consistent finish and get out scratches that are left down in there.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing how it all turns out.

Jeremy

 

[Glendon Mullins]

I’ve made several knives and there are a few things you can try. One thing I’d ask is how did you get the finish on the other side? You’ll want both sides to match if possible. The degree of the staining is going to determine how agressive you will have to get. If I were you, I’d start with the least abrasive and then work back if needed. When I hand sand a carbon steel blade to a finished 400 or 600 grit, I can use a grey scotchbrite pad with windex to get out smudges and some degree of staining without affecting the visible, finished scratch pattern from my final hand sanding. The red or green scotchbrite pads are a little more aggressive and can help get some out.

If you end up going with sand paper, I’d go with a higher grit to start with since it would leave the least amount of scratches on the blade that would be easily seen. Think of it this way-the more agressive the paper, you’re leaving really small “valleys” in the steel. The only way to get those valleys gone is to get rid of all the steel on the blade that’s higher than the lowest parts of those valleys. That can be a lot of work. And it’s a lot tougher to make look good with a finished knife that has a handle and guard on it already. It’s seriosuly challenging to get into that really tight corner and have a consistent finish and get out scratches that are left down in there.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing how it all turns out.

Jeremy

I just used a brillo pad and soapy warm water. Of course that side wasn't nearly as rusty as the other side, do that helped lol

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[JDeanP]

Vinegar is my go to.

 

[kamkon58]

Suspend the blade in a jar of vinegar for 48 hrs then repolish


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[gudspelr]

Vinegar is pretty impressive stuff. It’s commonly used after forging a knife to remove the forge scale. The scale left on the blade is REALLY hard on files and sanding belts because it’s so hard. Leave the knife blank in some vinegar and it actually eats away the scale so you can take it to your other tools afterwards. A word of caution, though. I used a metal baking pan with a lid for the purpose I just described and forgot to empty the vinegar out of the pan. Over time, it actually ate through the metal pan and leaked all over the garage floor and a few nearby things soaked it up...wasn’t fun.

Jeremy