# Help! Pitting on my blade?



## stopbarking (Oct 30, 2012)

Two part question.

1. Is this what I think it is?

2. What should I do about it?


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## EdipisReks (Oct 30, 2012)

hit it with some barkeeper's friend.


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## Salty dog (Oct 30, 2012)

Not if it's a hole.


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## EdipisReks (Oct 31, 2012)

Salty dog said:


> Not if it's a hole.



Hitting it with BKF will let him know what he's dealing with, regardless.


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## echerub (Oct 31, 2012)

How did you store this knife? Was it in a blade guard of some kind? Those blade guards can trap moisture, whether left over from cleaning the blade yourself or from condensing and trapping moisture in the air.

If it is indeed rust there, you want to get it off first. Use barkeepers friend or some other non-abrasive rust/tarnish remover - I'm assuming barkeeper's friend is non-abrasive cuz I don't use that particular product myself. For the pits themselves, you'll have to scrub the stuff out somehow. I tried elbow grease before and it was very time-consuming... but then again I had a more extensive problem. Using a brass or nylon brush on a Dremel (variable speed one that can go down to 15k-17k rpm) will really make things much easier. Brass will leave ... well, brass deposit though it works faster. Both brushes are softer than steel so they will scrub away the rust without removing steel.

The knife won't look pristine again, but at least this will stop further damage from occurring.


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## Cascadification (Oct 31, 2012)

In my experience that's just a concentrated patina in those spots. It can happen easily on a high carbon knife being used all day for prep if it is left with food acids on it. My O1 santoku just went through this when my wife used it to prep food for a party. If you rinse and dry intermittently in all day prep you'll avoid it. Bar keepers friend didn't really remove the patina spots, just cleaned them up a bit to a nice dark gray. If it happened in the block, an acid was on the blade in those small spots. Moisture will cause red oxide, some acids cause a brownish oxide others a black. Just make sure it's not rust (red oxide) developing an you'll be fine.
In my opinion anyway.


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## RRLOVER (Oct 31, 2012)

1... corrosion 

2...leave it alone or steel wool and flitz metal polish will clean up

3...Buy a Stainless Steel Blade


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## EdipisReks (Oct 31, 2012)

echerub said:


> How did you store this knife? Was it in a blade guard of some kind? Those blade guards can trap moisture, whether left over from cleaning the blade yourself or from condensing and trapping moisture in the air.
> 
> If it is indeed rust there, you want to get it off first. Use barkeepers friend or some other non-abrasive rust/tarnish remover - I'm assuming barkeeper's friend is non-abrasive cuz I don't use that particular product myself. For the pits themselves, you'll have to scrub the stuff out somehow. I tried elbow grease before and it was very time-consuming... but then again I had a more extensive problem. Using a brass or nylon brush on a Dremel (variable speed one that can go down to 15k-17k rpm) will really make things much easier. Brass will leave ... well, brass deposit though it works faster. Both brushes are softer than steel so they will scrub away the rust without removing steel.
> 
> The knife won't look pristine again, but at least this will stop further damage from occurring.



BKF is only abrasive if used dry or damp. if used with plenty of water, it's merely chemical.


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## DeepCSweede (Oct 31, 2012)

When I first started using carbon knives, I started with proteins which resulted in patina that had deep blue dots and I freaked out thinking that it was starting to rust. After cleaining it up with BKF, I started over and it did it again which I realized was patina because there was no red in the coloring. Yours looks like you could have some rust in it, which I would say BKF, Flitz or new one I heard this week was Breakfree CFP, which I haven't tried but looks promising.


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## stopbarking (Oct 31, 2012)

Thanks for the tips guys. I cleaned up the blade with some BKF and it looks like I caught the problem before it got too bad. Most of those little dots were rust. Looking at them through my loupe after a good scrubbing they do not appear to be very deep and cannot be felt with a fingernail. There is no red left on the blade. 

I do keep the knife in an Eamon sheath and based on the fact that this only happened on one side of the blade I can only assume it was not bone dry when I put it away last. Camellia oil is in the mail. Lesson learned the hard way for my first carbon. :beatinghead:


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## EdipisReks (Nov 1, 2012)

that is why i usually leave my knives out for a bit, after washing and drying them, before putting them away.


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## Zwiefel (Nov 1, 2012)

EdipisReks said:


> that is why i usually leave my knives out for a bit, after washing and drying them, before putting them away.



Hmmmm....that's a good idea...doing to have to start doing this and resist the impulse to put my tools away immediately after use.


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## GlassEye (Nov 1, 2012)

EdipisReks said:


> that is why i usually leave my knives out for a bit, after washing and drying them, before putting them away.



I always do the same; the knives stay in open air for a while (on the cutting board or another board away from possible splashes), then get put away later. Have not had a problem since I started doing this, even with a few knives that will rust while sharpening.


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## ChiliPepper (Nov 1, 2012)

Gee... it's posts like these that remind me why I've only got stainless...


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## The Edge (Nov 1, 2012)

Another tip, besides leaving the knives out to dry for a while, is to use hot water to wash your knives. I'm sure most do it anyway, but it will also help your knives dry faster.


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## Zwiefel (Nov 1, 2012)

The Edge said:


> Another tip, besides leaving the knives out to dry for a while, is to use hot water to wash your knives. I'm sure most do it anyway, but it will also help your knives dry faster.



Yup, as hot as the tank gets


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## EdipisReks (Nov 1, 2012)

The Edge said:


> Another tip, besides leaving the knives out to dry for a while, is to use hot water to wash your knives. I'm sure most do it anyway, but it will also help your knives dry faster.



yep.


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## Cutty Sharp (Nov 1, 2012)

EdipisReks said:


> yep.



I was at a maker in Sakai last week and thought it was interesting that beside their sharpening station they also had a fanning station. Sharpen, wipe dry, then set before a whirling fan. Did the trick.

I suppose it's good if you're doing a series of knives at once. And it's true - knives will still be a bit wet and often leave streaks of rust even after dry wipes.


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