rusty knife

[Geraint]

I've recently been given what looks like a old khukuri, the knife is in good condition apat from it was kept in a very damp shed. Because of this i nead to know a good way of removing the rust of it, pleae help?

 

[subedarmajor]

WD and wire wool?

 

[bushwacker bob]

various grades of wet & dry and elbow grease

 

[Spark]

Regular vinegar does the trick quite well. It is easier to leave the metal in a pot of vinegar completely covering the metal. If the metal is only partially covered then you will get a bad rust line between the vinegar and the air. Or you could use vinegar and a cleaning pad or coarse wire wool.
However vinegar does leave the metal a dull grey.

 

[DKW]

break-free CLP does the trick very well, or a concept coming from autopaint-industry: saline-acid of some sort. (not sulfuric-acid!)

The Break-free CLP is the same oil the army uses as a multi-purpose gun oil, and it really works. Just needs time and a bit of medium wire-wool.

 

[harryhaller]

This is useful advice - thanks

Guess who just picked up an old rusty K.J.Eriksson "Mora".

 

[DKW]

Just remembered:

Yu could simply soak it in Coke. That'll normally do the trick aswell.

 

[harryhaller]

Thanks DKW - the handle's got woodworm as well!

 

[DKW]

Petroleum/parafine for the woodworms. Thats what we used to use to prevent or fight woodworms on roofings on farms and such.
I'd consider getting the handle stabilized tho. (soaked under pressure in glue or plastic or the like)

 

[harryhaller]

Should I soak the handle in petrol overnight?

EDIT:
(I'll have to replace the handle eventually - this was a working knife and the handle has been beaten a lot.)

 

[DKW]

Should I soak the handle in petrol overnight?

EDIT:
(I'll have to replace the handle eventually - this was a working knife and the handle has been beaten a lot.)

In that case, don't worry about it.

 

[mr dazzler]

why have a crappy beat up handle on a partially clean blade?
I would start from scratch, completely remove old handle, strip the rust in an electroylsis tank, or acetic acid tank, then make and fit a new handle. I have used large 4 or 6 pint milk containers as makeshift tanks for electrolysis-anything non conducting and big enough to hold the item surrounded by electrolyte (normally washing sioda or caustic soda) Then a battery charger and an anode to power it. The rust and other oxide crap is driven off the sound metal onto the anode. The process doesnt eat into sound steel as an acid etch does. It works very very well. I have restored dozens of old classic disston saws which before treatment resembled something from a time team dig . Afterwards they were so clean you could once again clearly see the makers marks. The beauty of it is you set it up, then thats it just leave it to cook for a day or so, no endless elbow grease, you can be getting on with something else. When your done cooking its a case of a rinse and rub down with a scotchbrite pad, finished!!
These sites give more technical details on the process.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/rust.htm
http://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp

 

[harryhaller]

Thanks Mr. Dazzler, that was interesting. Unfortunately, as you were writing it, I was already taking my knife out of its overnight vinegar bath. The results are pretty good, with just some pitting and black marks - and I find the pitting attractive - a sort of patina

why have a crappy beat up handle on a partially clean blade?

A few a hours after I cleaned off the rust from the knife, my brand new Frosts Mora 137 arrived with a beautiful shiny blade, its laminated steel giving off flashes of purple.

The blades of the Eriksson and the Frosts 137 are the same size but the handle on the Eriksson though is much better - but also, much beaten, chewed, etc. The handle has a wider girth and where the Frosts handle ends, the Eriksson swells out again giving ita nice feel in the hand - and it is there that it looks as if a dog has chewed it.

I would start from scratch, completely remove old handle, strip the rust in an electroylsis tank, or acetic acid tank, then make and fit a new handle.

Yes, that is what I want to do, though as a novice, I doubt whether I would be able to recreate the orginal handle.

I have used large 4 or 6 pint milk containers as makeshift tanks for electrolysis-anything non conducting and big enough to hold the item surrounded by electrolyte (normally washing sioda or caustic soda)

Can one use sodium bicarbonate?

Then a battery charger and an anode to power it. The rust and other oxide crap is driven off the sound metal onto the anode. The process doesnt eat into sound steel as an acid etch does. It works very very well. I have restored dozens of old classic disston saws which before treatment resembled something from a time team dig . Afterwards they were so clean you could once again clearly see the makers marks.

Yes, my knife came in a box of rusty carpentry tools so I still have a lot of work to do - but now with electrolysis!

The beauty of it is you set it up, then thats it just leave it to cook for a day or so, no endless elbow grease, you can be getting on with something else. When your done cooking its a case of a rinse and rub down with a scotchbrite pad, finished!!
These sites give more technical details on the process.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/rust.htm
http://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp

Yes, they are very good links.

So while the other tools get de-rusted, I'll try and work out how to get the handle off the Eriksson and how to make a new handle.

Btw, I prefer the old Eriksson to the sparkling new Frosts.

thanks again for the post!

 

[Chinkapin]

Mr. Dazzler: Thanks for posting this info. I always wanted to do this, but did not know how. Ironically I have an old Disston saw that I want to clean up as well. Once again, thanks.

 

[philaw]

...as a novice, I doubt whether I would be able to recreate the orginal handle.

I had the same thought, but fitting an axe handle is much less sensitive than I expected. I was convinced it wouldn't fit properly and would fly off in use, but it's not the case. I bought a handle that fitted straight in and then hammered a 50p metal wedge into the top. The wedge hasn't even gone all of the way in because I used an overly big wedge, but with the wedge's barbs, there's no shifting it(in or out)!

The previous handle snapped in it's first day of hard use after a couple of decades in my grandad's garage, and it didn't have woodworm!