Blade restoration help please

[jackknifeh]

I'd appreciate any help on removing rust from old blades and restoring them to beauty. Specifically this is for two old straight razors I just ordered on ebay. But the same info should apply to knife blades as well I hope. I have polished knife blades that are new but never dealt with rust removal or anything like that. What do you guys use? I've heard people praise Flitz.


Jack

[yablanowitz]

Red rust can be scaped off with a nickel (harder than rust but softer than steel). After that,it depends on the condition of the steel. You may be able to polish it up with Flitz, or you may have to start with 80 grit sandpaper and work your way down.

[OldHoosier62]

I have restored several knives and straight razors (many actually), a soak in a mixture of 50/50 white vinegar and water works well to remove rust. I soak an hour or two at a time and scrape the rust loose with a nickle after each soak until the desired cleanliness is achieved.

If you decide to do this as a hobby or in quantity then an electrolysis tank may be in order. Google is your friend for setting one up. I tend to only fire mine up for bigger museum contract jobs these days.

Good luck.

[jackknifeh]

I have restored several knives and straight razors (many actually), a soak in a mixture of 50/50 white vinegar and water works well to remove rust. I soak an hour or two at a time and scrape the rust loose with a nickle after each soak until the desired cleanliness is achieved.

If you decide to do this as a hobby or in quantity then an electrolysis tank may be in order. Google is your friend for setting one up. I tend to only fire mine up for bigger museum contract jobs these days.

Good luck.

I'm curious. What do you mean by "bigger museum contract jobs"?

I'll try the vinegar/water. Won't know what I'm in for until the razors I got on ebay arrive. The pictures look pretty good compared to a lot I've seen. The seller claims the edges are in good shape and I only see small amounts of rust. Actually, I have one razor I bought that has some spots on it. I may work on it. My favorite razor (out of two) is a Boker a forum dude here gave me without a handle. I have a kirinite handle on it now and it doesn't look too bad. Oh yeah, shaves good to. Some people think that's important. :)

Jack

[OldHoosier62]

I have restored several knives and straight razors (many actually), a soak in a mixture of 50/50 white vinegar and water works well to remove rust. I soak an hour or two at a time and scrape the rust loose with a nickle after each soak until the desired cleanliness is achieved.

If you decide to do this as a hobby or in quantity then an electrolysis tank may be in order. Google is your friend for setting one up. I tend to only fire mine up for bigger museum contract jobs these days.

Good luck.

I'm curious. What do you mean by "bigger museum contract jobs"?

Jack

Jack, I am a retired gunsmith and act as an appraiser and restoration/stabilization agent for auction houses and museums. I have restored/preserved everything from a Revolutionary War pocket knife to an M110A2 8-in. Self Propelled Howitzer....and yes, I love my work. I do a lot of work for smaller operations that cannot afford a large staff of preservationists and for individual collectors. I tend to do the work the old fashioned way, without harsh chemicals...hence the vinegar soaks and E-tanks....no damage/minimal damage is the name of the game.

[jackknifeh]

I have restored several knives and straight razors (many actually), a soak in a mixture of 50/50 white vinegar and water works well to remove rust. I soak an hour or two at a time and scrape the rust loose with a nickle after each soak until the desired cleanliness is achieved.

If you decide to do this as a hobby or in quantity then an electrolysis tank may be in order. Google is your friend for setting one up. I tend to only fire mine up for bigger museum contract jobs these days.

Good luck.

I'm curious. What do you mean by "bigger museum contract jobs"?

Jack

Jack, I am a retired gunsmith and act as an appraiser and restoration/stabilization agent for auction houses and museums. I have restored/preserved everything from a Revolutionary War pocket knife to an M110A2 8-in. Self Propelled Howitzer....and yes, I love my work. I do a lot of work for smaller operations that cannot afford a large staff of preservationists and for individual collectors. I tend to do the work the old fashioned way, without harsh chemicals...hence the vinegar soaks and E-tanks....no damage/minimal damage is the name of the game.

One of the great things is enjoying your work. And at the same time earning a living? :) Can't beat that. Do you have any pictures of what you've done?

Jack

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I am so glad this question was asked. I was going to post a related one, and here is why. I recently received two old pocket/pen/jack knives, a barlow, and a smaller one with two blades, that are encrusted with thick rust on the blades. The blades barely open, except with alot of force. I was considering using WD40 but I want to try the white vinegar and water mix that was mentioned. Should I also use steel wool or should I keep away from that? And what about a tooth brush on the blades?

[jackknifeh]

I am so glad this question was asked. I was going to post a related one, and here is why. I recently received two old pocket/pen/jack knives, a barlow, and a smaller one with two blades, that are encrusted with thick rust on the blades. The blades barely open, except with alot of force. I was considering using WD40 but I want to try the white vinegar and water mix that was mentioned. Should I also use steel wool or should I keep away from that? And what about a tooth brush on the blades?

Are you planning or wanting to disassemble the knives or try to get them in working condition without any disassembly? I'd like to learn about working on traditional knives but haven't tried yet. I did buy a book on it a couple of years ago. I read the book that that's as far as I got into it. :o

I'm interested in the vinegar also. Let us know how it works. I've used WD40 for rusted tools and it has worked after soaking it overnight. I used Nano-oil 5w to break rusted bolts/nuts free. It broke the bolt free in a matter of seconds where other products I've used would have taken hours of soaking by the look of the bolt. I don't know if it's good for surface rust. Can you post some pictures? You know if you don't let us see pictures you don't really have the knives. :)

[SpyderEdgeForever]

Haha Jack that is a good post, thank you =) Yes, actually what I want to do is this: My plan is to post some pics of these two knives, I want you all to see the degree of rust they have. Maybe someone on here can also help me identify the handle scales: one looks like mother of pearl or celluloid, and the other some form of bone or celluloid mimicking bone. Then I want to take some pics of the knives after I treat them with the vinegar/water mix. I asked about the tooth brush because I'd like to know if that is a good tool to clean the rust or grime off. And so, should I start with the vinegar/water mix, or the WD40, or what? Regarding the Nano Oil, I have read good reviews of it.

This person, Chris Arnold, claims his nano diamond oil is the best for all applications, including knives:

http://www.diamondlube.com/" target="_blank

Text from his website:

" DiamondLube™ Performance Products are based on new and extremely novel, spherical nanodiamond invented by Christopher Arnold\ - our products are pioneering in the market. Many others are falsely claiming to have identical material, yet they continue to use crushed diamond powder or detonation nanodiamond which are abrasive. If it is not from NanoLube, Inc of Illinois – it is not based on our ground breaking discovery. Licensed product can be ordered http://www.diamondlube.com" target="_blank (the Manufacturer) & http://www.diamondlube.net" target="_blank our NC Dealer) ALL OTHERS ARE Simply FAKE or wannabe imitators. Detonation Nanodiamond is old technology and is commonly available from many countries, and each particle has dozens of razor sharp edges that abrade. Our particles are smooth, spherical and were unavailable prior to Christopher Arnold creating them, and they prevent wear as proven in DoE testing. To put our particles into perspective, it would take about 80,000 Non Detonation Nanodiamond™ lined end to end just to span the width of a human hair, and hundreds of trillions to replace the volume of a single, one millimeter section of hair.



DiamondLube™ provides real diamond coatings at a cost of pennies per drop to treat friction surfaces. Compare this to the cost of chemical vapor deposition coatings at hundreds to thousands of dollars per unit."

[OldHoosier62]

I am so glad this question was asked. I was going to post a related one, and here is why. I recently received two old pocket/pen/jack knives, a barlow, and a smaller one with two blades, that are encrusted with thick rust on the blades. The blades barely open, except with alot of force. I was considering using WD40 but I want to try the white vinegar and water mix that was mentioned. Should I also use steel wool or should I keep away from that? And what about a tooth brush on the blades?

I'd go to your local gunshop and get some gun cleaning brushes, about the size of a toothbrush, get a nylon, a bronze and a stainless bristle one. Those three should get you through most knife and gun cleaning chores. WD-40 is okay for cleaning but I prefer ATF (automatic transmission fluid) due to it's detergent additives and it is a real lubricant, unlike WD-40.

[OldHoosier62]

I have restored several knives and straight razors (many actually), a soak in a mixture of 50/50 white vinegar and water works well to remove rust. I soak an hour or two at a time and scrape the rust loose with a nickle after each soak until the desired cleanliness is achieved.

If you decide to do this as a hobby or in quantity then an electrolysis tank may be in order. Google is your friend for setting one up. I tend to only fire mine up for bigger museum contract jobs these days.

Good luck.

I'm curious. What do you mean by "bigger museum contract jobs"?

Jack

Jack, I am a retired gunsmith and act as an appraiser and restoration/stabilization agent for auction houses and museums. I have restored/preserved everything from a Revolutionary War pocket knife to an M110A2 8-in. Self Propelled Howitzer....and yes, I love my work. I do a lot of work for smaller operations that cannot afford a large staff of preservationists and for individual collectors. I tend to do the work the old fashioned way, without harsh chemicals...hence the vinegar soaks and E-tanks....no damage/minimal damage is the name of the game.

One of the great things is enjoying your work. And at the same time earning a living? :) Can't beat that. Do you have any pictures of what you've done?

Jack

I'll see what I have laying around Jack.

[OldHoosier62]

Haha Jack that is a good post, thank you =) Yes, actually what I want to do is this: My plan is to post some pics of these two knives, I want you all to see the degree of rust they have. Maybe someone on here can also help me identify the handle scales: one looks like mother of pearl or celluloid, and the other some form of bone or celluloid mimicking bone. Then I want to take some pics of the knives after I treat them with the vinegar/water mix. I asked about the tooth brush because I'd like to know if that is a good tool to clean the rust or grime off. And so, should I start with the vinegar/water mix, or the WD40, or what? Regarding the Nano Oil, I have read good reviews of it.

This person, Chris Arnold, claims his nano diamond oil is the best for all applications, including knives:

http://www.diamondlube.com/" target="_blank

Text from his website:

" DiamondLube™ Performance Products are based on new and extremely novel, spherical nanodiamond invented by Christopher Arnold\ - our products are pioneering in the market. Many others are falsely claiming to have identical material, yet they continue to use crushed diamond powder or detonation nanodiamond which are abrasive. If it is not from NanoLube, Inc of Illinois – it is not based on our ground breaking discovery. Licensed product can be ordered http://www.diamondlube.com" target="_blank (the Manufacturer) & http://www.diamondlube.net" target="_blank our NC Dealer) ALL OTHERS ARE Simply FAKE or wannabe imitators. Detonation Nanodiamond is old technology and is commonly available from many countries, and each particle has dozens of razor sharp edges that abrade. Our particles are smooth, spherical and were unavailable prior to Christopher Arnold creating them, and they prevent wear as proven in DoE testing. To put our particles into perspective, it would take about 80,000 Non Detonation Nanodiamond™ lined end to end just to span the width of a human hair, and hundreds of trillions to replace the volume of a single, one millimeter section of hair.



DiamondLube™ provides real diamond coatings at a cost of pennies per drop to treat friction surfaces. Compare this to the cost of chemical vapor deposition coatings at hundreds to thousands of dollars per unit."

Test the scales on your rusty knives with the vinegar solution first, I have had it attack and soften old celluloid stuff. Always test first...cheap insurance.

As to oil, I don't use any of the so-called specialty super oils. I clean with ATF, break loose stuck bolts with Kroil or "Ed's Red" (google it) and lube with Mobil synthetic engine oil or mineral oil if used in the kitchen. Cheap,simple and all extremely effective.

Add a heated sonic cleaning tank and an electrolysis tank and you could clean up almost anything.