Thread: Removing fresh rust/discoloration spots

I found a pristine, beautifully restored Heljestrand MK32 on eBay a few weeks ago and finally received it today.

Looks nearly NOS. Immaculate. I take it out, clean it with soap and water and then apply some alcohol solution to sterilize it. Stupidly I left to do something else and let it sit for a bit before I got back to dry it off. Very sadly, I now have what appears to be a few spots of discoloration, if not rust, on the blade and you can image my angst at myself I should know better.

Is there any way to get these spots off with something life polishing compound and a q-tip or will this have to go to a polishing wheel and have to be rehoned?

If it is that fresh, it won’t be deep so you probably can get it off with a q-tip and some mothers or similar product. Polish will kill your edge rather fast, but if we are talking not anywhere near the edge, and you are careful, it won’t likely need to be rehoned . I am of course guessing.

As Rez said....

A little FYI.....ALCOHOL ATTRACTS MOISTURE.!

The best polishing compound I found over the years is Flitz.
The best is to use a soft cotton cloth, put some polish on it, take the cloth between thumb and forefinger, put the razor between both fingers and move the hollow up and down. Don't touch the edge of coarse. It is better to move along the whole hollow than to polish only the spots themselfes with a Q-tip, since you then have local-polished spots that also tend to oxidized more easily again next time. Of coarse that only works if you don't have an etching on the blade.
Regards Peter

Thank everyone! Not near the edge so I got lucky. I'll give some very light polish a try to today and hope it works. Still can't believe I ruined a pristine blade like that

Originally Posted by animalwithin

Thank everyone! Not near the edge so I got lucky. I'll give some very light polish a try to today and hope it works. Still can't believe I ruined a pristine blade like that

After you polish the blade it will look pristine again.

Bob

Ow! That sucks. I've done that before too. I came late but you've gotten good advice already. You should be alright though. I have faith in you.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Ow! That sucks. I've done that before too. I came late but you've gotten good advice already. You should be alright though. I have faith in you.

Haha thank you Paul!

Update: A few polish-soaked q-tips later and she's back to immaculate condition. Thanks again fellows!

I’m glad that everything worked out well. Never, ever, leave any liquid on a carbon steel blade, razor, tool, or knife.

There was a fellow on another forum who used cola to ‘clean’ his razor, which contains phosphoric acid. He forgot to remove it and a couple of hours later the blade was black, just as you would suspect phosphoric acid would do. Never use acids on carbon steel either, many acids will ‘pick up’ iron, which is not a good thing for steel.