Khukuri Rust Removal

C

Craig Gottlieb

Joined
Mar 8, 1999
Messages
1,760
After reading Cliff's excellent essay on blade maintenance, I thought I'd pose another maintenance question - rust removal.

My personal khukuri happens to be a WWII with a crooked tang that I pulled from one of the old shipments. It's developed a bit of rust. Now, in the past, I use my electric polishing wheel to remove rust. I usually start with a coarse wheel and then move to the cloth wheel with some rouge applied. USUALLY, this works to remove all the rust, but does nothing to remove graying or pitting - which seems to be too deep - even on the small spots - to remove without sanding a divot into the blade!

What are your experiences with rust (of course, the obvious being that prevention is the best cure)?

------------------
Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
 
Craig, I just recently experimented with "Naval Jelly" which is a rust-dissolving liquid that you can get at any hardware store. It worked well, but you have to make sure to protect the handle. So far, I've seen no ill affects from using the stuff, but I've only tried it on a small area.
 
Flitz metal polish is my first choice. Steel wool or scotch brite would be the next.
And if all else fails, I would glassbead the blade.

I really wouldn't worry too much about pitting, as you would have to remove too much metal to completly remove the pits.

I havn't tried naval jelly yet, but I have heard of good results using this product.

p1445
 
Hey Craig,
I just had a thought, after you remove the rust, why not finish the blade in a matte finish using scotchbrite then cold blue it.

If you polish the blade the pits will be obvious, but a matte blue will help camoflage the pitting. A polished blue would look just as bad as a polished blade would.

p1445
 
I had some minor rusting on my khukuri, and used the green scotch bright pads as was recommended to me by Cliff Stamp (I think).

You can't even tell that the blade had rusted at all.

Dave.
 
Dave and P1445: you know, I think I am going to do that. But instead of scotch brite, I'm going to use the rough wheel on my buffer. I'll post pics when I am done.

Craig.

------------------
Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
 
Just found this post.

I just bought a large Pakistani knife from an antique store for $30 (great deal!!). It had some rust on it, but I took it off with steel wool. Now, all that is left is black tarnish scattered across the blade. I can't get it off at all with steel wool.

Would Navel Jelly or Flitz metal polish work for this? It does not need to be perfectly shiny, but I would like the majority of the black crap off my knife
smile.gif


Any other suggestions?

Warthog
 
I clamp my big Ang Khola to my workbench and use a drill mounted buffing wheel to polish it.

(using quick grip clamps with rubber booties to keep from marring the handle.)

It doesn't sound adequately safe to hold the sharp object against a bench mounted wheel, I've caught myself a few times with the buffing wheel, almost no pain, and zero blood.
smile.gif

 
There is a chemical that chemically converts rust. It used to be a specialty item, but it now appears at Home Depot. It is usually blue in color and called something like Rust Away????. I beleive it is based on phosphoric acid. I have used it for various things with some success, but never yet on a knife, so use at your own risk. It is not too strong, I have gotten it on my hand, when using it on a cotton ball and had no problems. Of course if you are the one in 1,000 people it might bother.....

I believe the idea is to knock off loose rust, apply this stuff, brush off any excess powder, and then paint over it...or in the case of a knife, apply some rust preventative.

Perhaps the more enlighted among us can comment on this product.
 
Rust is bad. Conversion of steel to iron oxide creates rust pitting. Pits are the evidence of lost material. Unfortunately, you do not get that material back . The reflection in a new blade is due to a nice flat surface. Pit that surface and the only way to get that reflection back is to grind away material, to the bottom of the pits, and polish. But then, when you grind off material, the blade becomes thinner. I think the best you can do with pitting is to try to remove light rust with an abrasive or a chemical, and then polish the best you can. It will never look as good as the original. If you want to protect your blade from rust, you must protect it from the elements that cause rust. If you get rust pits you should try to protect the surface from further pitting. Primers are effective rust barriers. Unfortunately the better primers contain chromates, and they are opaque. So you cannot see your shiny blade anymore. I have been spray painting some of my blades with clear paint, which provides a limited barrier against rust. Not as good a barrier as a rust primer with a top coat, nor is paint as durable as parkerization or powdered metal, but it still allows you to see bright blade. If the blade is used in chopping, I spray paint after the chopping. But by and large, once you get rust, it will never be the same again. SlamFire
 
I just got a WWIII which arrived with rust spots on the back of the tang (between handle slabs). The knife is blued. I beleive this is supposed to inhibit rust; is that correct?
Also, can anyone recommend a way of removing the rust that will not remove the blue?

Thanks in advance

Kallisti.
 
Hey guys,

I still haven't done anything yet with this knife (procrastinator)
smile.gif


BUT I just got a Dremel
smile.gif
smile.gif


Having no experience with this, if I get a buffing wheel for the Dremel, will it alone[/i] take off the tarnish or do I need to use a polishing compound of some sort?

Thanks!

Warthog
 
Warthog and Kallisti: It seems there are as many ways of dealing with rust as there are stars in the sky. Rather than just listing my own homeboy method (and there are probably many better), you've got me curious enough to consult the master (Peter J. Frye) and see if we can get a real pro's opinion.

I put in a call just now and left a phone message, inquiring about his experience with rust, and also working with it on a blued surface. Besides being backlogged on his own creations (doesn't even advertise on the 'net or own a computer), he knows khukuris and the WW3 very well.

It might take me a while, but I'm all over it (like a fat lady on a BB), and will report back to you, even if I've failed miserably. If nothing else, I'll see him at the knife show in early April, a g-- show, or will stop by his place in the Massanutten Mtns on a camping trip next month.

Warthog, those little Dremel tools are fun, and I like using the red buffing compound for superficial stuff....Dan
 
Warthog and Kallisti: Sorry for taking so long, but I finally caught up to Peter by phone. He reminded me (as you may know) that blued steel is a form of oxidation in itself, and that he doesn't blue his knives. His suggestion was that since you want to keep the blade blue, not to mess with it, but to keep it oiled to prevent further rusting. Trying to remove the rust will likely also take off some blue. However, if you must try, then use 0000 copper or brass wool. If using 0000 steel wool (it's important to use this finest grade) apply Rem oil (has teflon) to the surface and use gentle strokes. The idea is to do as little as necessary to minimize blue removal.

With so many shades of blue, it's hard to touch up and get an exact match. I've used the Birchwood Casey pen on (previously owned) guns with good results, but you've got to go easily on the edges to blend well. And I'm too chicken to use any 0000 steel wool in blending like the directions suggest. I wonder what would happen if the pen was applied directly to the rust after prep. (note: these pens aren't blue, but apply a chemical that oxidizes the steel to turn blue)

As life goes on I'm less concerned with a little rust, and the stains give it some character. I've come to prefer old stringed instruments that have lots of finish checking, crazing, and dings (take a look at Bill Monroe's famous c. 1923 Gibson F-5 mandolin before headstock restoration). Often times, the best tools are the ones that get used the most, and it's natural to see some good wear. Frequent use can sometimes make a tool better. If they could only talk.

Also, isn't there a difference between superficial rust and actual functional damage? For example, quite often a little rust (once cleaned properly) in a gun bore will have minimal or no discernable effect on accuracy. The proof's in the puddin'.

Good tips in the above posts. Thanks for confirming and teaching me some things.

I wonder how collectors like Berk and John Powell feel about rust, cracks, and wear on khukuris.



[This message has been edited by Lt. Dan (edited 03-04-2001).]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top