Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

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TripleF
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Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by TripleF »

I've had a number of requests on what I do.....so before I post this to my blog (with pics) I'll post it here.....

How To Remove Rust, Clean, Polish Old Knives


SHARPEN LAST!!!!!!! (I’ve broken this rule too many times - lol)

NEVER….EVER…...EVER…….us hand-held power tools to grind…….if a slip occurs you’ll possibly hurt yourself but more importantly (because you’ll heal - lol) you can put a brutal grind scratch/mark in the blade, and there is no resurrecting that knife then!



What you’ll need:
WD-40
Fine Steel Wool
Flitz Metal Polish
Varying grits of sandpaper from 100 to 2500
Quick Release Oil
Magic Eraser ( kinda like a mild sandpaper in a block form - most of the time I forgot to use it).
HULK LOAD ELBOW GREASE


Assess the discoloration…..Try and avoid using sandpaper if at all possible to make an old knife shiny again.




BASIC 15 MINUTE KNIFE CLEAN/POLISH

The knife originally had light rust appearing. I rubbed with fine steel wool. Touched certain areas with #2 pencil lead, then hit with steel wool, then finished with a Flitz Metal Polish rub down on the knife’s blades and bolsters.

This process leaves the patina (stained steel) pretty much intact and helps the knife maintain its “aged” look. Took me all of 15 minutes to accomplish this 3-step polishing/cleaning process.

In addition I force a rag between the liners to clean the inner parts of the knife, then add a drop of Quick Release Oil to each blade tang.

DONE. Not shiny, but restored to solid working condition. (Most knife collectors who use their knives prefer patina.)


SHINY SELLS!! (If you resell, shiny always drives a better price)

SHINY RESTORED KNIFE - HOW TO

If the knife cleaning/polishing/restoring is ok with what’s above, then read no more…...if not however, you’ll need some sandpaper (wet or dry) and Hulk loads of elbow grease to bring your vintage knife to an epic shine!

Couple things to remember before you get too deep in the restoring process….

1). Sand tang areas first. Why? Because, if you’ve finished polishing the blade then still have to polish the tang, you’ll end up with scratch marks on the blade you just finished.

2). Work on a flat surface (That way you can see the imperfections in the blade as you sand - I was amazed how many knife blades are not perfectly even).


SHINING THE POCKET KNIFE:
Clean inner with cloth and Dawn soap. If rust and stains remain use light grit (200 or 300) to clean the liners and springs. I take a pair of tweezers
and manipulate the sandpaper back and forth till all rust is removed.

POLISHING KNIFE BLADES:
Start at heavy grit 100 and work your way up to 2500. Each time you move to another sandpaper grit try and obtain a reflection in the blade so you can see yourself…..kind of hard to do with 100 grit.

This the the ELBOW GREASE SECTION!!!

Using the sandpaper remember- Up, down. Left, Right. Mostly I go left, right strokes a few dozen times, then up/down strokes a few dozen times. What you want to try and avoid is making deep groves by stroking the knife blade ONLY left and right vigorously on the sand paper. Mix it up. Left right…...up, down. Do each way 20 times, then repeat until you're beginning to see a shine! :-)


After you begin to see a reflection, move to the next grit. From 100 grit to 200, then to 300, 400, 600, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500. Repeat the above sanding steps until you can see what color your eyeballs are!

BOLSTERS:
Same process as polishing the blades, but usually (not always) the bolsters are not as bad, but if they are…...just repeat above.
SPRINGS, LINERS:
Same process as above.

FINALLY:
When polishing/restoring shine to your old vintage knife, polish with Flitz Metal Polish and a polishing cloth. Then oil your blades with mineral oil, and drop a drop of Quick Release Oil into each blade at the joint (tang/bolser area).

Keep in mind, this is not thee “:WORD” on obtaining a perfect mirror finish. Practice on a crap knife….and get a feel for what you’re into. Experiment.
I’m just sharing what I’ve done.

P.S. - I am trying rouge as a polishing step at the end and it seems to work well on the bolsters especially. (I have a green rouge and a burgundy).

NOW, Sharpen your knife. Trust me, I’ve sharpened too many blades early only to cut myself while polishing!!
SCOTT
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by XX Case XX »

Thanks Scott!!!! Man, this is what a lot of us guys were waiting for. Appreciate the time you took to share this information with us. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying we are forever grateful. ::nod::

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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by SteelMyHeart85420 »

Nice to have a logical sequence to follow, thanks, Scott
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by rea1eye »

Thanks for the post! Will be putting it to the test in about 4 days when I

get my used Case knife in the mail. Will be sure to post before and after pics.


Bob
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by TripleF »

I should post a couple pics I guess......we do ::ds:: like our pics here :mrgreen:
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by garddogg56 »

thanx for posting Scott ::tu::
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by MrBlister »

WOW Scott...
ima send you some knives to DO for me.. K ????

HET.... Dave
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by TripleF »

MrBlister wrote:WOW Scott...
ima send you some knives to DO for me.. K ????

HET.... Dave
Absolutely :shock: :shock: jk ::paranoid::


EDIT: I just posted an updated version to my blog (has more pics). See link below!

http://pocketknivesblog.com/?p=4439
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by btrwtr »

Good informative post Scott!

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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by TripleF »

Thanks again fellas! ::nod::
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by jerryd6818 »

Scott -- Would you mind copying the original post into the "For Folks Who Are New To Pocket Knives" thread -- http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/kni ... 28#p495728

or at least a link to this thread, and/or a link to your blog explaining what it's for.

Edit: I would suggest for more complete coverage, folks open the blade halfway when polishing the tang.
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by muskrat man »

good post, it should be noted that it is rather important to support the blade while you are sanding it, don't just hold it by the handle or you tend to put side to side play in the blade from all the pressure. I cleaned a good many knives with basically this same method when I first started reworking knives. It works quite well but is time consuming and labor intensive, not a big deal for someone who wants to clean a few up here and there for their collection ::tu::
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by leggo »

Mothers
Blue Magic
SemiChrome
Turtle Wax red and the white compound.
If you've ever used any of those 5 metal polishes...how do they compare to Flitz ?
I've used all three on cars and bikes with good results.
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by TripleF »

muskrat man wrote:good post, it should be noted that it is rather important to support the blade while you are sanding it, don't just hold it by the handle or you tend to put side to side play in the blade from all the pressure. I cleaned a good many knives with basically this same method when I first started reworking knives. It works quite well but is time consuming and labor intensive, not a big deal for someone who wants to clean a few up here and there for their collection ::tu::
True.....good point.
I lay the block ( 2 x 4) or cutting board dfown, then lay the sandpaper on top of it, then move the knife back and fourth, up and down while the sandpaper is on the block.

It is very, very time comsuming, but I have an hour or 2 per day that I smoke cigars.....and it gives me something to do!!

Only used FLITZ and Walker Wax.
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by orvet »

leggo wrote:Mothers
Blue Magic
SemiChrome
Turtle Wax red and the white compound.
If you've ever used any of those 5 metal polishes...how do they compare to Flitz ?
I've used all three on cars and bikes with good results.
In my opinion you can't beat SemiChrome for aluminum. I used it on my CB750 Honda to polish the case, worked great!
I don't like it as well on knives as I like Blue Magic. I think it is my fav of those mentioned here.
That said, California Custom's Purple Metal Polish is my favorite of all metal polishes!
Though it is a bit pricy at $14 for a 12 oz bottle. http://www.californiacustom.com/purple_ ... olish.html
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by leggo »

orvet wrote:
leggo wrote:Mothers
Blue Magic
SemiChrome
Turtle Wax red and the white compound.
If you've ever used any of those 5 metal polishes...how do they compare to Flitz ?
I've used all three on cars and bikes with good results.
In my opinion you can't beat SemiChrome for aluminum. I used it on my CB750 Honda to polish the case, worked great!
I don't like it as well on knives as I like Blue Magic. I think it is my fav of those mentioned here.
That said, California Custom's Purple Metal Polish is my favorite of all metal polishes!
Though it is a bit pricy at $14 for a 12 oz bottle. http://www.californiacustom.com/purple_ ... olish.html
Yea Dale I've wondered about the California Purple ,I'll give it a try .I've seen it and never bought it because of the price...but if it beats the others it's worth it. ::tu::
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by TripleF »

Just finished this CAMCO 772 today
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by jerryd6818 »

Ran on to these videos on rust removal. Don't know if it works or not but thought I'd post 'em up and y'all can decide for yourselves.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAI5SF3NBqg[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlcL_vHODkc[/youtube]
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by deltaboy »

Thanks ::tu:: Good tips.
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust..I Pitting How To

Post by deltaboy »

TripleF wrote:Just finished this CAMCO 772 today

Well done it looks factory New.
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by TripleF »

Thanks deltaboy!!!

Vinegar removes rust from axe heads I know that for a fact! ::nod::
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by Edgewise »

image.jpeg
The tang of my prized Ablett got rusty through my prize neglect. ::dang:: I squirted oil in and worked the blade in a panic, then thought that oil prevents not stops rust. ::doh:: I also saw mention of wd40 on AAPK.
I have Fitz polish but can't disassemble the knife to reach the area around the pivot pin.
Do I degrease and then use wd40? Do I soak in vinegar? Do I bitch slap myself? ::undecided::
Getting to those hidden cracks and places is my problem. The exposed blade now has a liberal coating of ren wax. ::paranoid::
Is there hope for the tang? (is there hope for me?) ::disgust::
I also notice that the fine edge of some of my blades is prone to rust before the rest of the blade. Is ren wax enough to prevent that?
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by TripleF »

I would start by slapping myself, but then you should be ok.

Getting in and down around the pivot pin is near impossible, but you might try some dental floss. Then high pressure water and dawn liquid soap.
Then WD-40. Then compressed air.

Soaking in vinegar will make a patina that'll be tough to remove, BUT.....pouring a little vinegar then adding a little baking powder will create a "fizz" and may do some deeper cleaning.

Wax and polish are the last steps to a cleaned/polished knife.

Keep us posted!
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by stagman »

Just got a old knife (fixed) that needs this process....where do I purchase
all the different sandpaper grits and fine steel wool and what is the cost for this stuff
Really great results and looking forward to trying this out
thanks guys

Will
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Re: Knife Polishing Removing Rust Pitting How To

Post by TripleF »

stagman wrote:Just got a old knife (fixed) that needs this process....where do I purchase
all the different sandpaper grits and fine steel wool and what is the cost for this stuff
Really great results and looking forward to trying this out
thanks guys

Will

Hey Will

I buy my stuff from ebay. Look for assorted sandpaper.
You should be able to begin for less than $40.00.

Keep us posted!
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