Rusty Blades

[Aeric]

I just ordered some new blades from Santelli and Blue Gauntlet (Uhlmann), and not a week after they came in the main, they started to rust. I even put some WD-40 to prevent rust, because this has happened to all of my blades in the past.

Yet some blades that my friend uses are in pristine condition, and he never does anything different than me in maintaining them. I tried steel wool on the rusted ones, but the blade is still blackened even though the rust is gone.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep a new blade from rusting, or how to remove rust to make a blade look nice and shiny again?

Any information would be greatly appreciated. This has been bothering me for quite some time due to some mixed comments about my blades from other fencers.

They never seem to have this problem.

[Craig]

Try prevention first - If you have a multi-section bag make sure to keep your blades away from any wet gear.

When you get home, take the wet gear (including mask) out of the bag to dry out and prevent moisture from getting to your blades.

I tend to wipe blades down with a cloth and use a polishing pad to get rid of rust. The higher quality blades don't have the rust problem that the non-maraging blades do.

Craig

[mifencer]

Maraging blades are not supposed to rust, therefore your next order you might want to try those. Meanwhile, I would use a green scouring pad and rub like crazy.

[oiuyt]

Maraging steel CAN rust, it's just extremely rust resistant. You have to work to get your blades rusty. :)

-B :)

[MyraTrue]

the only thing I can add to this is that if you do not have a separate compartment for your weapons, try (well, it depends on the weapon for what you'd use) PVC piping works well for epee's (1/2" I think) and its possible to get foam pipe insulators (the basuc name escapes me at the moment). Either helps protect againt bends and also against wet kit in bags.

I also noticed that my cheap uhlmann practice foil rusted when I lived somewhere with high humidity and no AC. Go figure I guess- but I agree that a higher quality blade will be more rust resistant. My miraging uhlmann hasn't rusted.

Myra

[great bowyer]

I have also have this problem. my epee and foil blades both rusted, and i only had them for 2 weeks. i do keep them separate from my uniform in a different bag, but they still rusted.

my foil is a non-fie uhlmann with a blue coating on, this rusted more and faster than my epee which is also a non-fie uhlmann, but is not coated.

my guess is as soon as you recieve them, coat them good with wd-40 and take care that after you use them to recoat them. this should help prevent the rusting.

as for the maraging blades, i have 3 of them, one that is over a year old, and i have never had to touch them.

btw, the 1/2" pvc pipes work just fine. i have also found that a small 9" bungee at the end helps keep the weapons in so they don't slide out. this is also good if you use them for foils and sabres as well.

[Cerian]

Some of the fencing stores sell 'corrosion removal blocks' that are essentially blocks of grit. I would guess you could find them at a hardware store. I find that they take off rust very well.

[Inquartata]

Just to chime in, WD-40 isn't the best thing to use on blades, either. It contains solvents as well as oils...and of course like any oil it will stain things like nice white fencing jackets if it gets on them. ( Or worse, onto a lame! ) Bad enough if it gets onto yours, but others will NOT be amused to find oil spots on THEIR uniforms.

If you want something to make a moisture barrier on your blades, get some paste wax or clear ( neutral ) shoe polish, apply sparingly, and be sure to wipe it off before using the weapons.

[great bowyer]

that is a good point Inquartata, i have not thought about that. all i have been told is that wd-40 works wonders. i will have to try the wax.

the wax is what most people use on woodworking machinery surfaces to prevent rust. there is also another product called top-coat (see link below) that i heard works good. this is something i will have to look into.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...urrency=2&SID=

[Cerian]

Sandflex Hand Blocks

[veeco]

I have also been told that the PVC pipe trick isn't necessarily a good thing, because it can keep the moisture in instead of letting it dry out.

I have a bag with separate compartments so I don't use them. But YMMV, I guess if I did not have that bag I would just keep my blades in the bag, and them let them air dry after each practice.

If the salle you are fencing in is humid, like mine, keeping blades out of the lockers and bringing them home with you is probably a good thing to do too...

[Marcos]

Apart from the aesthetics of having a little rust on the blade - does it actually have any detrimental effect ?

I mean, if fencing, will the (for example) 2 week old foil disintergrate during a bout?

[Gav]

Rust on the blades can have a detrimental effect. They can stop the blade conducting so that - in Epee - a hit could be registered. In Foil I suppose you could get an off target. I don't suppose it makes much difference in Sabre.

[MyraTrue]

also... and don't hit me for sounding too "girly"- I like my whites white...

Heavily rusted blades (such as mine at times) will leave rust streaks and spots on equipment. They don't wash out, scrub out, spot remove out, etc. My jacket now looks like I have blood spots under one arm, due to a rusty foil. A friend has a number of stripes on his jacket from a day of rusty bladed epee.

And if you don't stop the rusting, it can eventually progress far enough to weaken a blade. That one isn't going to happen over night, but all things considered...

Myra

[Inquartata]

Myra, have you tried RIT Rust Remover?

[MyraTrue]

I haven't, but would be willing to try. However, that rust has been there for a good 15-20 washings. I try to keep my kit in good order, and so I've just learned to clean up my blades when they start to rust so I don't have too many problems anymore.

[great bowyer]

also, rust makes the blade weaker if not treated, resulting in more broken blades, i believe it is a proven fact that clean blade last longer than rusty ones do. so keep those blades clean!

[Rangerhua]

After every practice I wipe down my blades with a towel to take off grime. Then I apply a light coat of vasseline to keep moisture off the blade. the vasseline does not stain my opponents whites in any way. I have cared for my un-maraged foil in this manner for nearly three years and it's still as shiny as the day I got it.

Also, I keep my blades out of the bag between practices, I believe moisture can build up in there whether you have wet clothes in the bag or not.

[rsy]

If you use a non-maraging blade, then instead of WD-40, try a gun cloth. It is a small cotton cloth impregnated with a rust preventative and can be purchased at a sporting good store. Keep it in your bag and wipe your blades down after each use --no oily stains and no rust.

If your blades get rusted, you can clean and polish them with a small piece of emory cloth. Make sure the emory cloth is "fine" or rougher, otherwise you will end up polishing the rust rather than removing it. A 4 x4 in piece of emory cloth can easily be kept folded in your tool kit and it can also be used to clean the insulation off the end of blade wires when rewiring.

[canthidefromme]

Originally posted by Aeric

...but the blade is still blackened even though the rust is gone.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep a new blade from rusting, or how to remove rust to make a blade look nice and shiny again?

If there's no rust and its blackened still were they silver in the first place? I know my non-fie Uhlmann wasn't... never used a santelli blade.