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Post by shinycanoe on Sept 20, 2023 22:24:19 GMT
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Post by squalembrato on Sept 20, 2023 22:47:47 GMT
You can buff it with 0000 steel wool and mineral oil or at least rub it down with Flitz metal polish. These won't harm the blade. You have to get that active red rust off or it will severely pit the blade. Oil by itself isn't good enough.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Sept 21, 2023 0:36:47 GMT
I have used #000 steel wool and WD-40 for decades to remove active red rust. First with my firearms collection and now swords. But I suspect any light oil will do. This will not damage the surface. It will not remove pitting nor black rust, so don't expect a like new blade, but will be an improvement over what I saw in the photo. I suggest a preservative oil afterwards to keep rust away.
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Post by larason2 on Sept 21, 2023 2:26:25 GMT
If you keep applying mineral oil, it will soak in and convert the red rust to black over time. Another strategy is to use bit of copper or bone to help work the red rust off with mineral oil. At least with mineral oil, you'll slow the pitting quite a bit.
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Post by shinycanoe on Sept 21, 2023 5:02:20 GMT
I have used #000 steel wool and WD-40 for decades to remove active red rust. First with my firearms collection and now swords. But I suspect any light oil will do. This will not damage the surface. It will not remove pitting nor black rust, so don't expect a like new blade, but will be an improvement over what I saw in the photo. I suggest a preservative oil afterwards to keep rust away. Thanks, I have #000 on hand, I'll give that a try and post the results.
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Post by carbon on Sept 21, 2023 12:03:45 GMT
I've tried many oils and other potions on firearms, knives, etc and Kroil is the best I've found so far at removing corrosion and other gunk.
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Post by mrbadexample on Sept 21, 2023 13:03:18 GMT
A small, tight ball of wet aluminum foil will pull red rust off of steel if rubbed gently on the rusted area. It will leave pits and black rust intact. This can alter surface color of steel slightly on brighter blades, but that probably wouldn’t be an issue with the patina on your tulwar. Even so, I’d try it in a small area first. I like to do this step before using 000 steel wool and 3 in 1 as suggested above. Just be sure to gently rinse and dry the area well between using the foil and steel wool.
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Post by mrbadexample on Sept 21, 2023 13:05:10 GMT
That’s a nice looking example, btw. I like that more Persian-like profile.
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Post by shinycanoe on Sept 21, 2023 13:42:30 GMT
That’s a nice looking example, btw. I like that more Persian-like profile. Thanks. I wish I knew more about it's provenance.
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Post by shinycanoe on Sept 22, 2023 17:05:36 GMT
You can buff it with 0000 steel wool and mineral oil or at least rub it down with Flitz metal polish. These won't harm the blade. You have to get that active red rust off or it will severely pit the blade. Oil by itself isn't good enough. (before) Thanks for the tip. I took some #0000 steel wool and oil and started removing the rust. After about 20 minutes of working the blade by hand the rust started to come off. I kept going for another 20 minutes or so and a got most of it off, but there is still a little left. I will work on it more later. I was impressed that the steel wool did not seem to have any marring effect on the steel, and it did not change the finish, it just removes the loose bits of grime but leaves the existing patina. I like the result. You can see that the blade looks much better, the canker is gone, but it left behind some permanent marks, which at this point simply add character to the antique blade. While going through this process I became more familiar with the blade, its imperfections and blemishes. I am actually more impressed with the quality of the steel than I was before, and now have a better appreciation for what I have. Here are some images of the result as of now. Any remnants of rust are actually difficult to see, I had to try really hard to get photos that would capture what is left, I edited the photos to highlight the appearance of the rust. I will put some more time into getting the last remnants of red off. Thanks again for the help.
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Sept 22, 2023 17:27:56 GMT
I tried #0000 once when #000 wasn't available and got the same result, only I had to work longer.
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Post by shinycanoe on Sept 22, 2023 18:03:28 GMT
I tried #0000 once when #000 wasn't available and got the same result, only I had to work longer. Makes sense. Turns out #0000 is what I had on hand, so went with that. It's slow going.
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