rust keeps appearing on my mora heavy duty mg (carbon)

[hillm]

hiya guys,
i recently invested in a mora heavy duty carbon steel knife and it came in the post a bit rusted( might be my own fault for not going for anything better than the cheapest postage i could get)
however i grabbed some wet and dry and took of all the rust, them stabbed it through a couple limes and left it until I got a nice patina.
finally i oiled it and have been quite diligent about putting it back dry.
however i was surprised to pull it out of its sheath to do some carving after school to find what looks like a very light layer of "rust" :confused: keep in mind i have a reasonable limited experience with rust on knives so what could be rust could also be just a stain of some sort? have i done something wrong?
any ideas would be great
thanks
max hill
happy bushcrafting!!!:camping:T^:happy-clapping:

[Chiseller]

Can't really comment as I'm no authority ....but limes are acidic and IMHO would encourage rust if the blade isn't kept Tiptop?

[MadZ]

i find if i have touched my carbon blade with my bare hands and put it away i'll have rusted finger prints on the blades, keeping it oiled will help prevent this but you dont really want to be rubbing it down with wet and dry all the time either, what oil are you using as i have had different experiences/results with different oils, finding a light gun oil worked the best, or what the japs use to oil there tools i cant remember what its called at the moment, could have been some moister content left from the juice of the lime.

if you own a strop and stropping compound use that instead of sand paper as it will polish rather than remove material, then oil it with some gun oils, its only a suggestion though and might not work for various reasons.

i know there are a few smiths on the forum with many more hours of knowledge working with and caring for metals, maybe drop one of them a pm or hope they see your thread and comment, i'm sure if you dropped Dave budd, Adam savage (sorry used these guys as i know they work metal off the top of my head) or one of the other smiths a pm they would be able to point you in the right direction if what i have said does not work for you Max.

also if you search the forum there was a thread about putting a patina on a blade, http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?6193-Patina-Advice-needed&highlight=patina

hope its of some use to you Max

cheers Madz

[Andy Sherwood]

hiya guys,
i recently invested in a mora heavy duty carbon steel knife and it came in the post a bit rusted( might be my own fault for not going for anything better than the cheapest postage i could get)
however i grabbed some wet and dry and took of all the rust, them stabbed it through a couple limes and left it until I got a nice patina.
finally i oiled it and have been quite diligent about putting it back dry.
however i was surprised to pull it out of its sheath to do some carving after school to find what looks like a very light layer of "rust" :confused: keep in mind i have a reasonable limited experience with rust on knives so what could be rust could also be just a stain of some sort? have i done something wrong?
any ideas would be great
thanks
max hill
happy bushcrafting!!!:camping:T^:happy-clapping:

Keeping the blade dry is so important! Even the slightest moisture will cause rust to start to build. Ensure the knife is totally dry before putting it back in the sheath. If that means taking five minutes or longer to dry it after use, then do so, your knife is your most important tool so keep it in the best condition you can.

I also agree with Madz, there are plenty of great knife makers on here with more experience that may be able to help you.

[Silverback]

dont forget the inside of the sheath when it comes to your drying regime......also if where its kept is damp than that can cause issues, as others have said plenty of oil and be careful when it comes to drying

[rossbird]

You could try cleaning the blade with outosol, much finer grit than wet and dry.
Then perhaps oil the knife with camelia oil.
Some people naturally cause a rusting reaction with steel, I work with someone who's tools are almost perpetually rusted:rolleyes:
And as Sapper says......don't forget the sheath.
Good luck

Tony

[Silverback]

another thought would be to put it in a box with some of those silica gel sachets that you get inside shoe boxes or electrical devices just to draw out any last moisture

[Chiseller]

Or a handful of rice......an not your Thursday neet leftovas :D;)

[hillm]

Hiya guys
Thanks for all the info
I have noticed that the rusty tint looks sorta like a finger print so i geuss I just have really soggy fingers!
Sometime tommorow I'll try and sort it out
Thanks again
Max
Happy bushcrafting!!!

[Ferrell freddy]

How do chaps?!

Just a quick thought, I use Vaseline on my knives and carry a real small pot of it with me, waterproof, non corrosive, flammable to use on tinder and unlike gun oil non toxic if you're using the knife to prep food!!

[MadZ]

Hiya guys
Thanks for all the info
I have noticed that the rusty tint looks sorta like a finger print so i geuss I just have really soggy fingers!
Sometime tommorow I'll try and sort it out
Thanks again
Max
Happy bushcrafting!!!
Hey Max, does the rusting look anything like this??
10064
10065

i know the metal is going to be different as the plane body and bed will have been cast, but you can see the rusting appearing on the side, this was from about 40 minutes use yesterday evening and i went and looked at it today and thats what happened, with planes i know you should leave them on a rag soaked in linseed oil, i use buffing rubbers that i got from my gramp's old copper smith tools that no longer get used.

Another thing you could use to clean the b;lade before oiling it up before storage would be disk brake cleaner or another strong alcohol, the late being safe as it evaporates leaving no residue, great stuff for removing oils and grease, i used it alot to clean the insides of the suspension on my down hill bike, if you use it wear some gloves as it may dry out your hands pretty bad.

Madz

[David_JAFO]

hello,
Camellia oil is also 'traditionally' used to protect Japanese woodworking tools as per MadZ suggestion, it does work BTW tried & tested & Vaseline very lightly applied if storing for a longer term :wink:
Regards
David

[Blackwing]

You could try and force a patina on to it with mustard or vinegar. Not totally rustproofing it but it will protect the surface a bit.
I have a khukuri which would rust as soon as I looked at it I used some gun blue from a tube I had lying around and that seemed to protect it a bit, it'll still rust if I don't dry it off but it does seem to slow the process down.

In my head, when a blade is new it doesn't have a layer of iron oxide(rust) to protect it from the atmosphere. If you can force a patina of 'rust' on to the surface in a controlled way then that will help against unwanted rust.

Of course I could be talking through my bottom here but it's just what I've observed on my carbon steel blades
'

[blacksmith]

Use Briwax or beeswax build up a layer and this will hold off any rust.

[Tigger004]

How do chaps?!

Just a quick thought, I use Vaseline on my knives and carry a real small pot of it with me, waterproof, non corrosive, flammable to use on tinder and unlike gun oil non toxic if you're using the knife to prep food!!

Nice idea, I have a petroleum based lip balm in the tiniest plastic pot, works for me!

[FishyFolk]

Give the knife a patina. It will not look so pretty anymore, but it will have some more rust protection...

To do so, just wrap some fine rags around it ( used baby wet-wipes) and soak them in vinegar. leave over night. Then rinse off in water, wipe off with oil. The knife will com out almost black and maybe have som rust spots.
But after oiling, problem is gone and the knife should have a grey color with a pattern not far from damaskus steel :-) But that will wear off and it will in timne be almost uniformly grey.

You still need to put the knife away dry, and oil it once in a while, but it will be less prone to rust.