Rust on stainless steel blade?

G

GoblinsBlade

Joined
Aug 29, 2017
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6
I'm not sure if this is the right pace to post this but i just purchased a Sanrenmu 9054 and after my first day of use i noticed that it is starting to rust. Never had a stainless steel blade on me rust before. Is this normal? Whats the best way to get this rust off? Or should i just send it back?
 
I think they claim to use 12c27 on that, which is really more semi-stainless. It's not difficult to prevent rust on it with maintenance, but it certainly can rust.

Just keep it dry, wipe with a bit of mineral oil occasionally and you should be good to go.
 
yep stains less not stains proof. i have all kinds of stainless and most will develop rust spotting where i am over time. chinese steels like 8cr13mov i rust spot very easily. less than a few hours sweating or in the wet swamps.

inuse flitz to remove the rust that wont come off from an oily rag or rubbing with a cloth. i use wax and found it to do a decent job on longer term storage than other products like oils and silicones etc but only if prep is done well.
 
The only 'rust-proof' steel I've ever used is H1. I think there are one or two other steels like that as well, but the vast majority of 'stainless' steels can indeed rust, just not as easily as (and less than) straight carbon steel. Rust resistance of stainless steels is also lessened by a bead-blasted finish, as there are more microscopic pits to hold moisture.

More humid/corrosive environments, as well as some people's more acidic sweat, can also cause easier rusting.

Jim
 
Welcome To BFC !!!!!
Never herd of the brand, do you know who makes the knife and the specs concerning blade steel ?
Most stainless steel doesn't rust after one day of use from my experience. ZDP-189 most definitely will form rust spots, my Spyderco Stretch has a couple of spots on it. But that's after several months of use, same for my A.G. Russell Acies II
 
thanks for all the feedback!

the knife is made by Sanrenmu and is 12C27 Stainless. I've had plenty of other cheap Chinese blades but none of them ever rusted on me before... let alone only after only a few hours. And these are supposed to be rather good knives from a somewhat respectable company. Guess i was wrong.
 
We just had another thread about cleaning off rust over in the maintenance forum, and two good options came up for rust removal:

1. Bar keepers friend. The stuff you use to clean pans. Scrub it on, and rinse it off quick so it doesn't etch your blade.
2. CorrosionX. Works slower, a combination of mineral oil and other magic sauce the company won't reveal, but it's non-toxic, doesn't smell like it'll eat your skin off, and works awesome at both removing surface rust, and as a protectant to prevent more rust.
 
GoblinsBlade said:
thanks for all the feedback!

the knife is made by Sanrenmu and is 12C27 Stainless. I've had plenty of other cheap Chinese blades but none of them ever rusted on me before... let alone only after only a few hours. And these are supposed to be rather good knives from a somewhat respectable company. Guess i was wrong.
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Gotcha, so it's a cheap Chinese made knife. From all the threads I've read, even though it's claimed to be 12C27, it appears to be some mystery steel. A magic eraser or super eraser should take the surface rust off without scratching up the finish, maybe. I have no experience with knives made in China. I'd tell you to pick up about a half dozen each of the erasers, you'll probably need that many.
 
Ajack60 said:
Gotcha, so it's a cheap Chinese made knife. From all the threads I've read, even though it's claimed to be 12C27, it appears to be some mystery steel. A magic eraser or super eraser should take the surface rust off without scratching up the finish, maybe. I have no experience with knives made in China. I'd tell you to pick up about a half dozen each of the erasers, you'll probably need that many.
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I have a bunch of other solid knives. Some made in china even(from American companies though). Some are even superior to a few of my American made blades. I guess ill just carry those on these hot summer days. Im just a little befuddled because i've never had a stainless knife rust on me before. ever. chinese or not.
 
Steels do not fall into two categories, stainless and not stainless. Corrosion resistance is a spectrum and all steels fall somewhere on that spectrum. On top of that the composition of the steel does not tell the whole story. The heat treat of a given steel can also effect the corrosion resistance as can the blade finish.

As far as your knife being a good knife from a reputable company, that is, well, subjective. As far as that knife being 12c27, well, many have their doubts.

Either way, get some flitz or some other polishing compound and rub the rust off. Even toothpaste (not gel) can work sometimes. After that wipe the blade down with some mineral oil and keep it clean. That should help.
 
I said somewhat respectable company. You might disagree, but there are dozens and dozens of threads on this forum that say otherwise. They are probably the most reputable chinese "cutlery" around, if i can even refer to them as that.

I got just about all of the rust off with an eraser(thanks Ajack!) and oiled it up. Good knife overall, not sure its a keeper though.

no-lock-sanrenmu-9054-9054suc-gv-pocket-edc.jpg
 
Welcome to the forum.

Rust chance is increased even more depending on where you live regardless of the stainless steel. I have had S30V, S35VN, M390, S90V, VG10 form rust/stain spots while they remain inside the house and while have a coat of lubricant (specificaly Tuff-Glide). That being said i mean surface rust that is easily wiped off. For me the biggest factor would be the humidity in your area.

Also as mentioned above its stainLESS not stainPROOF/rustPROOF like H1, SM-100, LC200N
 
Nitrogen based steel will not rust or be very rust resistant. H1, LC200N, vannax etc.

Sanremo steel is cheap steel and poor heat treatment. What do you expect for such a low price knaf. You say they are supposed to be good but that is not true. Don't believe everything someone tells you. Lots of shills and novices out there that will say anything.
 
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Thin-Slice said:
Rust chance is increased even more depending on where you live regardless of the stainless steel. I have had S30V, S35VN, M390, S90V, VG10 form rust/stain spots while they remain inside the house and while have a coat of lubricant (specificaly Tuff-Glide). That being said i mean surface rust that is easily wiped off. For me the biggest factor would be the humidity in your area.
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This is absolutely true. I've had the same thing, knives coated with a light surface coat of some corrosion inhibitor, and living in a tightly sealed (with an o-ring) plastic storage container IN MY HOUSE, where the temps should be fairly constant. And yet, after about 1 year of not being opened, a couple of the s30v and a VG10 blade, had developed light surface rust. I live in the Pacific Northwest. So my takeaway is, I needed to go to the next step. Get the knives out every 6 months and re-coat them. Or, store them in a dryer humidity-controlled area. Example: I have a gun safe with one of those heating elements that keeps it dry in the gun safe. Or use silica packs in the storage container (but those have to be replaced or renewed every few months, if you get the renewable kind).
 
Mo2 said:
Sanremo steel is cheap steel and poor heat treatment.
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Sanrenmu, bro. You seem to know a lot about them :rolleyes:

I find it funny that some of you guys are going our of your way to tell me that its a cheap chinese knife after i myself said that it is a cheap chinese knife. I guess elitism exists everywhere.
 
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Thin-Slice Thin-Slice , yes maybe that would help. As I see it, when you are trying to prevent rust there are several factors you can try to compensate for:

  1. The humidity of the environment the knife is in. Like using a dehumidifier in the room, or putting it in a heated gun safe, or adding silica packs to your storage container.
  2. The coatings on the blade.
  3. The container you use. I was using a container that CLAIMED to be water tight, locks up tightly, and has an o-ring. But it's clearly not a Pelican, they are top of the line.
What I'd prefer personally, if I could find such a solution: something that lets me only control for ONE of the above factors to eliminate rust in storage, so I don't have to mess with the others. Example: if I could use a simple low-cost dehumidifier in the room where I store stuff, then I never have to buy fancy containers, coat the knife blades, or mess with silica packs. I'd love to find the optimal storage solution to prevent rust in storage with the least amount of hassle, lazy dude that I am. :) I suspect that controlling the environment with a dehumidifier, or putting them in heated safe, is the best way since you don't have to buy expensive containers and don't have to keep messing with the knives while in storage.
 
Mo2 said:
Nitrogen based steel will not rust or be very rust resistant. H1, LC200N, vannax etc. HUH??

Sanremo steel is cheap steel and poor heat treatment. What do you expect for such a low price knaf. You say they are supposed to be good but that is not true. Don't believe everything someone tells you. Lots of shills and novices out there that will say anything.
Click to expand...
 
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