Rusting weapons

[Stranger In Black]

As I'm finding that people keep moving all of my gear and weapons in the basement, I'm thinking I need a better way to protect them from rusting seeing as I haven't. They're still less than a year old, and already collecting rust.

How do I prevent and fix the rust on my weapons?

Any suggestions? It would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[erooMynohtnA]

Get a bottle of urine and tell everyone that the next person to touch your stuff gets a taste.

[poor_nizzie]

Uhlmann makes a 'rust eraser' block that sells for $7 on the Blue Gauntlet website. I haven't used it on wired blades -- not sure if it's safe for them -- but it works wonders on my sabre blades.

That's just one suggestion...anyone else?

[Stranger In Black]

Personally, I like erooomyohtnA's idea.
However, they're be sure to rust in the summer humidity as well.

poor_nizzie, Did you say you had one? Did it work when you used it? I know my coach uses a stone that's a rust remover for model train tracks, and that works for the weapons, and even the wired ones.

I also need to know how I can store them safely.

[pokey]

I have that Uhlmann rust eraser block, so I can vouch for that. Works great on my practice foils, although it will take off whatever special color finish your blade came with. Too bad some of my clubmates don't make use of it more. I haven't had the need yet to try it on my electric blades.

[brtech]

I use the Uhlmann block and it's great. You can find equivalents in most really good tool suppliers. It's just an abrasive block for cleaning tools.

If you catch the problems early, a "scotch brite" pad works well. You can find them in most grocery stores or a walmart

Even a piece of steel wool is fine.

Some folks use a paste wax as a preventative. Probably best NOT to use any oil/WD-40 or other rust inhibitor. Your opponent WILL NOT appreciate it rubbing off on his whites.

[MyrddinsPrecint]

Something I dont' think we've mentioned yet....

Try to store your weapons in a dry place--- That means keep them away from wet gear/tshirts/sweating water bottles. It also might mean that you shouldn't keep your gear in the basement (although that's not always possible). And besides, if your climate is humid enough, it won't really matter.

There've been other threads.....

[JayhawkPawn]

Silica gel packs in your bag. Call me crazy, but it has worked for the military for the longest time, might work for you.

http://www.theruststore.com/Moisture-Control-C6.aspx

[Stranger In Black]

Thanks to everyone and sorry if I repeated a thread...

I won't be back for about a week, but please keep responding! I really appreciate it.

[pokey]

Originally Posted by JayhawkPawn

Silica gel packs in your bag. Call me crazy, but it has worked for the military for the longest time, might work for you.

I'm curious if this works as well in practice as it does in theory. My soft sided fencing bag is certainly not air tight, and it does spend some commuting time with a damp fencing uniform a few days a week before being taken out and hung to dry separately from the blades.

One of the silica packs I had included an indicator that changed color when saturated, and it seemed to go pretty quickly. I never did figure out if it was because of the damp uniform, the lack of air tightness of the bag, or just the ambient humidity, but I do remember concluding the gel packs needed recharging too often to be worthwhile.

That having been said, they're still in the bag.

[H Man]

Prophylactic efforts are best:

First, purchase maraged blades. They resist rust well;

Second, keep away from moisture. Gloves, jackets, wet gear in one bag, weapons in another; and

Third, blueing. I "blue" all my baldes. Only effects about .0001inch of the surface and keeps rust away. Go to a gun shop, they know what it is.

I just purchased some "browning" and will treat some blades for a more classic look. The problem there is that you must heat the steel and all of my blades are wired. There is cold blueng which I use. Has not effected the wires to date.

Now, if your blade is wasted, navel jelly. Keep it off the tip and bell. Go to a hardware store, they know what it is.

[fencerbill]

I rewire blades in batches for the local colleges. After the acetone bath and before rewiring, I derust them and shine them up. Have tried several ways before but now I use abrasive sponge wheels I buy at K-Mart auto section. I use a drill press but a hand drill would work also.

I can take a completely rusted blade and have it shiny in about a minute. There are pads that are for use in stripping furniture that I use for light cleanup. Don't know if they are the same as the Scotch brite pad mentioned elsewhere.

An advantage of the wheel and pads over the blocks is that they are flexible and fold around a blade.

I have used the wheel for already wired blades but you have to make sure the wire doesn't stick up above the groove.

[jfarmer]

Originally Posted by pokey

One of the silica packs I had included an indicator that changed color when saturated, and it seemed to go pretty quickly. I never did figure out if it was because of the damp uniform, the lack of air tightness of the bag, or just the ambient humidity, but I do remember concluding the gel packs needed recharging too often to be worthwhile.

That having been said, they're still in the bag.

I've used them in lockers when we had to store gear in an unheated room that always had humidity problems. They helped a bit. What has worked for some of our members is to pack the silica bags into the PVC tubing the weapon is stored in. They usually put a plastic cap on one end of the tubing & pack the silica bag(s) in there. Myself, I leave both ends of th etubing open and so haven't had any rust problems, even with the dry weapons I teach with (they stay in the same bag as the uniform).

John Farmer
Coach, Oak Ridge Fencers Club

[Beloit Fencer of Old]

Stranger: I have to second the H Man. If you buy FIE blades, you will not experience much rust. Some of my blades are six and seven years old, all have spent most of their days in my basement, and none have rust.

That being said, that's not the only advantage to the FIE blades...at the Pomme de Terre today, my opponent and I attacked at the same time...very quickly. My FIE blade bent 90 degrees against his chest...but it did not break...and it's six or seven years old (with no rust!).

[veeco]

Originally Posted by Beloit Fencer of Old

Stranger: I have to second the H Man. If you buy FIE blades, you will not experience much rust. Some of my blades are six and seven years old, all have spent most of their days in my basement, and none have rust.

That being said, that's not the only advantage to the FIE blades...at the Pomme de Terre today, my opponent and I attacked at the same time...very quickly. My FIE blade bent 90 degrees against his chest...but it did not break...and it's six or seven years old (with no rust!).

FIE blades break as often as regular blades. It's just that when they break, they're less likely to break with a sharp edge, which is the dangerous bit.

They do rust much less, though!

[veeco]

Oh, by the way, removing rust is very easy with Rusteco:

http://www.rusteco.com

This is a biodegradable product that can be used on any metal to remove rust. It comes in a liquid or a gel, and can be applied and washed off very easily. I've been using it on old metal (I am fixing up an old car) and it works wonders, even on heavily rusted parts.

[fencerX]

Originally Posted by veeco

FIE blades break as often as regular blades. It's just that when they break, they're less likely to break with a sharp edge, which is the dangerous bit.

You have that backwards.

FIE blades' safety comes primarily from them typically taking more cycles to break. And it has yet to be conclusively proven that when they do break, that they break less "dangerously" than non-FIE blades.

It's a safety numbers game. More cycles per break, means fewer breaks per equivalent duration of use, which means fewer opportunities for breaks to injure someone.

[Beloit Fencer of Old]

Originally Posted by fencerX

You have that backwards.

FIE blades' safety comes primarily from them typically taking more cycles to break. And it has yet to be conclusively proven that when they do break, that they break less "dangerously" than non-FIE blades.

It's a safety numbers game. More cycles per break, means fewer breaks per equivalent duration of use, which means fewer opportunities for breaks to injure someone.

Veeco...FencerX is right. The "flat-break" thing is pretty much a myth. But a well-made FIE blade will generally take quite a bit more abuse before breaking. Back when I used to buy non-FIE blades, I could count on at least two or three breaking during a season. The last FIE blade I had break was over five years ago...

[Mergs]

"Blueing" has already been mentioned, however, another technique is to use a silicone based car wax to protect the blade. While it won't entirely stop rust, it does inhibit it. Just use a light coat and rub it in.

[Jay83]

I've been using tubular webbing to cover my foils.
http://www.rescuetech1.com/index.asp...ROD&ProdID=326

It keeps the blades from touching all my sweaty gear in the bag. Seems to work well enough.