All About Pocket Knives

I just got some of the collection out of the bank vault for their semi annual cleaning, and upon inspection I found (3) of my Bulldog (3) Blade anglo saxon whittlers have developed a slight rust problem at the joints, my collection contains around 60 anglos and what is kinda strange here, it was only found in the ivory scaled knives, of the four I have (2) Elephant's prototypes and (2) Mastodon's, both ele's and one of the masto's have the problem, any idea on a repair before it gets the best of these?????.....The ele's I am fairly sure are one of a kinds, I would like to keep them factory, but I am afraid they need to be torned down and then put back together......it that is what needs to be done any links on who we know does that??
Thanks All STRAY

Well, that is a shame, for sure.

I'll suggest that, if the rust is light...you might use the little tube on the WD40 and spray some in the pivot area. Let it sit about 8-10 minutes, then work the blades a bit, and see if it floats the rust out. Blow it out with compressed air...and hope for the best. You could also use Break Free CLP, if you have it...but most everyone has some WD40. It's not a good lubricant, but it works pretty well on light rust, without the damage some other products might do to polished blades...or ivory.

What type of lubrication, if any, were you using?

Good luck,

Bill

Well when I first bought these knives, I noticed a slight discolaration on one of the ele's tangs, I used tuff glide on the joints, upon seeing that, the othres had no problem at the time that was seen...............and thank you for your response.

I have not used it on rust but, for lubrication and storeage I used KEL Prue Silicone. In talking with various collectors in a couple of different froums it seems to work well and last.

Thank you for that suggestion, gonna try the wd with canned air real soon, we'll let ya know

I like to use a silicon base light spray lube. There is also a product I keep in my safe that I buy from Cabela's that will wick moisture from the air. It is Hydrosorbent Silica Gel. The stuff removes moisture from the air. I have never seen a problem with any of my knives after many years, but I have noticed wood will shrink sometimes, such as the grips on a pistol, does it once and I tightened the screws and that was that. I have seen no other problems and it was on just one pistol. They sell electric dehumidifiers also, but the gel works where there is no electricity. If you see that the gel turns pink every 3-4 weeks, find a new place to store your knives. Here is a link:
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... hasJS=true
Good Luck!

Ya'll are talking about lubricants...

The question was about removing rust.
There are about a gazillion products that folks have used to lubricate and prevent rust...most of which are really good. But...that wasn't the question.
I have a lot of knives to protect...and I agree that there are lots of products that help prevent rust, and such.
But...this is after the fact, and is about removing rust.

Bill

I guess I should have written that Stray had emailed me at home, there is some question about where he stores his knives and he has spoken with the manger there and I emailed him back.
I subscribe to the theory that an ounce of prevention is better than having to deal with it later. If you can prevent it in the first place, don't have to clean it up later on. Some, you may purchase and find a hidden and unmentioned rust problem.
The solution for one part of the country will not necessarily be the solution for all due to differing humidity’s, aridity, and coastal fogs. Stray mentioned fog and I live in an inland area with inland coastal fog. What I do has worked for years, in my area, similar to straybulletbmc's. The use of this product or one similar should tell him if there is excess moisture at the Bank in which he keeps his knives. Come to think of it, if the gel turns from blue to pink in a couple of months with a 33, get them out. If he is uses one for 3, 3-4 weeks should tell him. Just filling in the Blanks. Far better to be proactive than reactive.

OK then counselor, let me rephrase my question.....

I should've asked...
"What do you do if you get rust on a collectable???... or have you never been that unfortunate because of your advanced preparations?" Heck Hukk, where you live, you're probably so lucky that Merlot forms on your knives...

I agree about preventing it from the get go... ...but what if it happens? What methods are used to remove it...short of Naval Jelly ( ) or the buffing wheel ( ).


Bill

Yep, that's where the silicon based light oils come in and the canned air or a compressor with a filter and a dryer. The best is nitrogen as it is inert. I used to have access to nitrogen when I was in the electronics industry, 100% dry. They never used air because of moisture and the build up of and electrostatic charges, not that the last one is a problem with knives. Please note not all canned air is created equal, some if used in a continuous spray will leave water/moisture spots and since it does contain oxygen, it is not inert. It needs to be used in quick blasts to avoid a build up of moisture. The only time I used naval jelly was on parts as long as I did an acetone or Isopropyl soak afterwards. I used to have some canned nitrogen around here from work, but it is only available from industrial sources. I need to research on that, it would be very expensive. I would look on the internet on find one with "Dry Air", an important consideration is the kind of propellant used. I just finished cleaning several hundred knives and I don't have ANY rust - knock on wood. Realistically, I will come across some that will have rust no matter what I do.
Oh, if the wine God Bacchus should happen to smile upon me with Merlot, or better yet, Cab.
Let me take a peek at what's available on the net, I am somewhat picky about what I use, guess it's all that stuff that got drilled into me by Hewlett Packard and Agilent Technologies. By default I was exposed to physics, material sciences, and chemistry, not that I'm an expert on any (maybe anal retentive). Eventually, I will cross that rust problem, I should find a product and order it.

I would stay away from any compressed air that uses difluoroethane, which is used in the most common and cheapest compressed airs.
I see a product I like, but of course it is 4x as expensive as most. Beseler Dustgun 100 Canned Air Spray 2.5 oz. and it contains no ether, toxic gas, or fluoroethane. I know it's a bit anal butt (pun) my knives get treated well, quite an investment there. I read an MSDS on difluoroethane and personally would like to stay away from it.
The cheapest route is just a compessor with a filter and a dryer.

Well, I mighta shoulda woulda waited, until after this thread had ran awhile, but I decided they needed attention as soon as I got a chance, not easy for me working 12-13 hour days, chances are few and far between, well today at work was the best day for it ,so I found a nice shade tree , that did'nt have a rattler under it, and proceded to get on with the task of trying to save these collectables, the futher I got got into the task, i found the discoloration to be coming off in small tiny crytalized sheets, like some kind of dried out lubricant, all three of the knives reacted the same, I bought these from the same dealer and I did use "tuff-glide" on them before they went to the vault, a very small amount I might add, not real sure if that was the glide on them that had dried and caked or maybe a reaction with what was there to began with, anyhow the three seem to have cleaned up fine, and now will be closely watched for a few months. I might add the next knives purchased will be cleaned up well and polished before they make their way to the bank, Hukk has a great idea with the moisture retarder, those will be a future purchase......Thanks for all the reactions and the tips, sorry if this got anyone in a huff, kinda hard to tell rust from another thing when your eyes are failing ...stray

I just love happy endings.....

Bill

El Lobo wrote:What methods are used to remove it...short of Naval Jelly ( ) or the buffing wheel ( ).

You mean that jelly that forms in my naval can be used to prevent rust? Excellent! I knew showering less than once a week would pay off eventually...

That's what you get for swimmin' in that water around the Queen Mary...

Hold the toast Ma'am...

Bill