Spydercard

[Ian Parker]

Hi, I've just waited 8 weeks to recieve my new Spydercard. I was shocked to see that there was surface rust on it after only owning it for a week. For that week it was kept in it's box, Is there anything I can do to rectify this ?

[sam the man..]

It was probably stained. Dab some metal polish such as AUTOGLYM and your Spydercard will be back to normal. Sweat in humid areas sometimes causes surface stain or rust...

Good luck!

Sam

have spydies
will travel...

[Joe Talmadge]

Weird. The Spydercard is made from some pretty rust-resistant steel. But rust is a fickle beast -- I have an uncoated carbon V blade that refuses to rust no matter what I do, and meanwhile sometimes my stainless steel knives get stained.

Stain resistance can be affected by the heat treat, but much more likely you're seeing a small stain that's an anomaly that won't return. Interesting to hear if you keep seeing rust -- I know I've had mine for a couple months and haven't seen a sign of it.

Joe

[Philip357]

Yep, my spydercard rusts too. Mostly on the unscharpened edge of the blade, but also on the flat surfaces. I used some chrome/metal polish for cars to remove the stains, which worked rather well.

[cutler34]

I've found all knives with a bead blasted finish will show signs of surface rust if not protected.I think it is the miroscopic sharp edges formed by the bead blasting which is at fault.I use a leather chamois coated with Tef-Lube and wipe my knives over.This seems to stop it.Just like oiling the pivot of the knife a little prvention and maintenance helps.

I also use a light metal polish to remove the rust on customers knives.I've heard there is a cloth called the Miracle cloth that has the same effect, however i have not tried it.

Regards
Ricki
info@outdooredge.com.au
Spyderco Club Member

[Clay Kesting]

The problem with bead blasting is that droplets of moisture form in the pits forming tiny galvanic cells. I posted the following explanaion on BF some time ago:

"I have a StiffKISS, AUS6 steel, bead blasted blade which shows rust spots if I wear it next to my skin for a day. OTOH my Wegner Jr, ATS34, has shown no staining despite being used every day, peeling heaps of oranges and receiving only an occasional wipe down. I couldn't understand why the supposedly more stainless AUS6 was rusting more than the ATS34. Yesterday I was preparing some notes on corrosion for my Engineering Science class and there was the answer.

When a drop of electrolyte (aka sweat) forms over a pit caused by bead-blasting, the centre of the drop contains less oxygen than the rim and this difference is sufficient to
cause a difference in electrode potential between the inside and outside of the drop. The result is a micro Galvanic cell, current flows and the metal in the centre of the pit is corroded causing rust to be deposited around the rim of the droplet. The smoother the blade, i.e. satin or mirror finish, the less the problem."

Clay

The antipodean troublemaker

[cutler34]

Thanks Clay. Always thankful to learn something new.

Regards
Ricki
info@outdooredge.com.au
Spyderco Club Member

[sam the man..]

Way to go Clay!! Good explanation!! <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>
Going up the mountain for some skiing soon?

Sam

have spydies
will travel...

[Clay Kesting]

I wish Sam. We're spending Christmas up there but there won't be much chance of skiing. However it's a great time of the year for bushwalking, horse riding and even a bit of sailing on the lake. Might even try some whitewater stuff <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle>.

Clay

The antipodean troublemaker