All About Pocket Knives

S2K wrote:Thanks for the article Ken. Interestingly, it's the microscopic layer of chromium oxides ithat form on the surface of stainless steels that retards rusting. That O2 just won't give up!

I thought that was intresting too.
It reminded me off cells and how receptor sites can be blocked by one thing to prevent something more harmful from binding.

I am a big fan of the patina on carbon steel knives however, when I am doing restoration work on a knife I will remove patina so that the blade looks like it belongs in the knife. I have to match the blade to the knife. If a customer has a relatively new knife and they break the master blade and send it to me for repairs, I will try to find a new master blade for the knife. If I cannot find a new blade and I am forced to use and the older well patinaed master blade, I will try to remove most of the patina to match the rest of the knife.

I am a big believer in patina on the blades to help protect the blade from rust. Just so anyone reading this later understands; we are speaking of carbon steel blades here – stainless steel rarely form a patina.

When the Case and Sway Back Jack came out with their nice Wharncliffe blade I bought one with CV steel. I put it in my pocket and within about three days noticed the blade was beginning to pit and some rust was forming on it. I don't live in the South, I live in the mid Willamette Valley of Oregon, A pretty temperate climate. When the rust and pitting first appeared I cleaned the blade with the Scotch Brite buffing wheel, oiled the blades and the joints and put the knife back in my pocket. A couple days later I noticed it was pitting & rusting again.

Long story short, I cleaned the blade again on the Scotch Brite wheel, wiped it down with 99% isopropyl alcohol, and allowed it to dry and applied a coating Birchwood Casey cold bluing. A light coat was not enough, I had to apply a heavy coat but it finally stopped the rusting.
I have heard of other people with similar experiences with Case's CV steel.
In this case the patina of the cold bluing prevented rusting.

I am a firm believer in patina for protection carbon steel; besides protecting the steel, a nice patina enhances the character of an old knife!

Dale thanks for sharing your experiences and views on patina. I had heard of bluing and a few other ways of forcing patina. Sharing your story helped me to see why and when you might use this as a way to preserve.
I came to this forum to learn more of other views and ways of doing things.
what knife makers call patina and tool collecters seam to are different beasts. And with so many differnt steels and weather conditions to consider that adds to the complexity.
It makes me glad that the first knives i cleaned up to use wernt valuable and, that when i came across something older i didnt rush to make it shiny.
G

I have had pretty good experience using Simichrome and a popsickle stick. I cut the popsickle stick on an angle, then put a dollop of Simichrome on the blade well on top of the liners. Then I push the Simichrome into the blade well using the popsickle stick and rub it in vigorously. Next, I wrap the popsickle stick tip in a piece of shop grade paper towel and remove the Simichrome and dirt/rust/stuff. It works well. Puts a nice shine on the liners and the inside of the backsprings. And, you can sand down a popsickle stick to fit very narrow spaces between liners.

Gary, I use Flitz polish cream often, but have not tried it for rust. Is Simichrome similar to Flitz?