A few months ago, I used my Morakniv* carbon steel knife to do something gross (which I can’t remember off the top of my head—it might have been to scrape old mouse poop off of some duct work in order to then vacuum it up). The knife usually lives in my kitchen drawer and is used to open boxes and packaging, but it got to branch out a little bit! Whatever this gross job was, it drove me to put the knife into the dishwasher afterward.
This was… a bit of a mistake.
Evidently, carbon steel blades are not very rust-resistant, unlike their stainless steel counterparts.
After a bit of a-googling, I came upon several ways to clean off said rust. The one method I chose to pursue came from a chef message board. I chose to pursue this avenue because chefs love their knives, and for good reason. They wouldn’t pursue any options to rid their bodily extensions of rust if it would hurt the blades in the long run. So this, in my mind, settled it.
How It Works
I poured distilled white vinegar into a tall glass and stuck my knife into it for a few minutes while I gathered the rest of my supplies [aluminum foil, paper towels, and a little Rem Oil (mineral oil works as well, I read)].**
Then, I took the blade out of the vinegar and repeatedly rubbed it down (gently) with some balled up aluminum foil for about two minutes per side, reapplying vinegar as it seemed to dry up.
As I rubbed, the blade turned black, which I believe was some kind of chemical reaction occurring between the rust, aluminum foil, and steel.
Suffice it to say that when I wiped away the black liquid with a paper towel—it had worked. Huzzah!
To finish off the job, I sprayed the blade and wiped it down with a little bit of Rem Oil to help protect it. Had it seemed the edge was dulled after the job was done, I would have sharpened it before applying the Rem Oil.
All told, this took me just under ten minutes, and most of that time was spent gathering supplies. The finished product looks pretty good 🙂
*If it’s good enough for Cody Lundin to wear around his neck during a survival situation, then dammit it’s good enough for me! That guy is a national treasure and an all-around good human being. He’s also the only person licensed in the state of Arizona to catch fish with his bare hands. Cool!
**I assuredly used too much vinegar with this method, but I didn’t know what I was doing.
Great advice. Of you own a fair number of knives you eventually will have one with some amount of rust.