All About Pocket Knives

Hi all, let my nephew use my Knives of Alaska gut hook to clean his first deer I went back two days later and found it in the grass... looking for any recommendations.

I use 0000 steel wool and 3-in-1 oil to kill active rust, then I use a carpenter's pencil to remove the killed rust. Leaves a blackish area. If you're paranoid about your knife not being all shiny, you could then spend many hours sanding the entire knife with increasing fineness sand paper to remove the resulting black areas, thereby thining the knife as well.

Me? I kill the rust and go on. A working knife develops character over time. I personally would never waste time making a used knife "look new".

I would agree with ZZ's treatment. The only thing I like to do, in addition, is apply Renwax. I find that areas that have rusted, will rust more quickly than the first time around. Renwax helps "seal" it; although, it won't stop additional rust, if left out, in the weather, for a prolonged period.
Congrats to your nephew. Tell him he owes you some backstrap

I always start with WD40 and 0000 steel wool. That usually gets it done unless there is deep rust damage (previously mentioned dark spot), and then you need to sand if you want to remove all of it. I would tell him he owes you the entire tenderloin!

Since that knife has a bead blasted finish, I would suggest using powdered "Barkeeper's Friend." It's available at most grocery stores.
Wet the blade with water and apply a paste of the BKF to the rusted areas. Paste needs to be wet enough so that you can see it bubbling. After a few minutes, rinse. Repeat as necessary.
Any mechanical means that you use will alter the finish on the knife.
If you know someone with a bead blaster, it can be blasted away.

Hard to tell from the pictures how bad the rust actually is. It may come off simply with a little 3-in-1 oil, a soft cotton rag and a little “elbow grease”. That should remove at least some of it. Next step would be the Bartender’s Friend, then pencil lead (graphite). I would not use anything more abrasive unless those don’t do the trick.

And you have a great opportunity to teach your nephew a little about respect for other people’s property. Items borrowed should be returned in condition as good as, or better, than when received. He should have cleaned it after using, but the fact he left it in the grass is inexcusable. We all make mistakes - that’s how we learn. Enlisting his help in the rust removal would be a good opportunity to have that conversation.

Ken

Thanks yall, I dont care what it looks like as long as its functional. Kinda disappointed to see it rust so easy so fast. Might be time to look for something better..any recommendations there.? Oh and the nephew owes me more than that, I scouted that deer all day for him. Almost took the shot myself a couple times.

As I mature; I've learned my friends that have good quality knives of their own A: usually don't ask to borrow mine and B: if they do, they're often returned in equal or better condition. And in most cases, it's just my multitool or Swiss Army Knife for the pliers, scissors, or a screwdriver for a small job. If they don't carry a knife, or carry/use cheap stuff (often with a broken blade or two)--typically that results in it getting broken--dont' let them touch your stuff, and keep an eye on it. Keep your toolbox locked, and the stuff you've got on your person on your person. I learned my lesson with a Leatherman Super Tool 300 in which a guy broke a jaw off of the pliers; something I was completely unable to do. Warranty sorted it out (but they gave me a cosmetically imperfect/second pliers head with bad cutters; which I had to change out; at a cost of $12); but in retrospect, shoulda made him pay the $75 for a new one, or at least the mailing costs to Leatherman in Oregon, which was about $10. I've borrowed stuff and usually returned it in better condition than I received it; and if something got lost or broken; I typically always bought a replacement.

Bead blast finishes, in my opinion, rust worse than satin, as ground, and especially polished. The Leatherman Super Tool 300 and Rebar both have those finishes. And, they rust really easily. I cleaned the ST300 and decided to air dry it a bit before I towel-dried it. Within two hours, there was rust spots on most of the tools. Polished finishes, in normal use don't tend to rust easily. I lost my Victorinox SwissTool for a weekend; and when I found it, only the file had rusted (which is machine-cut; but still stainless steel); and it was just rust spots.

Saw an interesting show on TV last night, we have a gardening show every Friday night that i watch, and this year they have a new segment/presenter. He is a wood worker and tool restorer, last night he restored an old pruning saw. It had been seriously neglected and the blade was covered in rust, he had a vinegar bath, the vinegar was nearly black. He had shovel heads and axe heads etc. soaking in the vinegar with bubbles slowly rising to the surface. He placed the rust covered pruning blade in the vinegar bath and left it for 1 week, it came out completely clean. I have used vinegar before to remove rust, but not just vinegar on it's own and not soaking for that long. I am trying to get an old rusted knife blade to try it and see how it goes, i have had great success in the past with vinegar mixed with other things.

Oil and a rag. It’s not that rusty.

cody6268 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:25 pmI learned my lesson with a Leatherman Super Tool 300 in which a guy broke a jaw off of the pliers; something I was completely unable to do.

How did he manage to do that? Leatherman tools tend to be very solidly built. I'd be...um, upset if someone did that to an item I lent them. But then again, that dude could have a future as a product tester!

Returning to topic, I have no experience with bead-blasted finishes, but I'd start with oil and a rag and move on to more drastic methods as necessary.

Dan In MI wrote: ↑Fri Apr 09, 2021 12:15 am

cody6268 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:25 pmI learned my lesson with a Leatherman Super Tool 300 in which a guy broke a jaw off of the pliers; something I was completely unable to do.

How did he manage to do that? Leatherman tools tend to be very solidly built. I'd be...um, upset if someone did that to an item I lent them. But then again, that dude could have a future as a product tester!

Returning to topic, I have no experience with bead-blasted finishes, but I'd start with oil and a rag and move on to more drastic methods as necessary.

The excuse he gave me (which I'm almost certain was a lie) was that he broke it putting T-Post clips on a fence to attach the wire to the T-Posts, something I personally did all the time. I did it a lot with that tool (I only carry 6" and 8" linesman's pliers, as well as a big pair of fencing pliers, and needlenose do the job better), and nothing happened. Something had to have been done that was beyond the explanation I got. The guy also broke a fiberglass handle off a NEW hammer. I have 70-year-old claw hammers with half dry-rotted wooden handles, and doing the same thing (tightening a fence) it never happened. I'm sure he would have probably broken an all-metal Estwing given the chance.

The reason I didn't raise a big stink was that my grandparents had hired the guy to cover for me while I was away taking classes at the community college on the other end of the county. They seemed to never raise a stink about anything he did wrong (which about half the stuff he did has already had to have been reworked) and/or broke. I personally didn't raise a big stink because he didn't exactly have a whole lot. I just learned to lock all my toolboxes and NOT put the spare on any keychain anyone but me has access to. That way, if for some reason, I'm away--there's nearly ZERO chance one of my tools getting broken, stolen, or lost. Also, I carried most of the (small) amount of high-value USA-made tools I owned with me to use when taking industrial maintenance classes. While basically, everyone borrowed my tools (provided, my group was all retired/laid-off former coal miners), they were all returned in good condition.

cody6268 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 12, 2021 12:09 am I'm sure he would have probably broken an all-metal Estwing given the chance.

That wouldn't surprise me, either.