In the arsenal of every housewife there is a knife that is not used very often. However, knives need to be carefully monitored to prevent the appearance of rust on the blade, this spoils not only the appearance, but also reduces the sharpness of the blade. Knives of hunters who wait for their hour in the case for a long time are especially prone to this. Let’s figure out how to clean a knife from rust, get rid of metal corrosion with the least expenditure of effort and money, how to avoid the appearance of this unpleasant chemical reaction in the future.

Rust is iron hydroxide that reacts to substances containing acid. You can buy a special composition for removing rust in the store and use it to restore your tool, the main thing is not to forget about safety and caution when working with such tools.

How to clean a knife from rust

But we will use handy, affordable means of combating this scourge:

  • potato;
  • onion;
  • vinegar, lemon juice or kerosene;
  • “Coca Cola”;
  • soda;
  • ketchup.

When starting to clean the blade, first of all, wipe it well with a coarse cloth so that no dirt interferes with maximum contact of acids with the affected surface, the result depends on this.

Clean with potatoes. The oxalic acid contained in it will cope well with not very large areas of damage. Sprinkle the potato slice with salt and rub the blade. You can simply insert a blade into the potato tuber so that the rust appears inside, leave it for 15-30 minutes. If not all affected areas were exposed to oxalic acid, then repeat the treatment. After that, rinse and dry well.

Onions are used in the fight against rust in the same way as potatoes. Onions contain acids that dissolve corrosion if you rub a knife with a cut, or stick it into the bulb and leave it to act. Repeat the process if necessary. Then wash, dry.

Apply vinegar, lemon juice or kerosene to the affected metal with a richly moistened cloth, wrap the blade in it and leave it for several hours, putting it in a bag so that the cloth does not dry out. The knife will shine like new! Be sure to wash and dry after cleaning the knife from rust.

“Coca Cola” (or other carbonated water) contains phosphoric acid, it perfectly dissolves rust. Therefore, feel free to place our rusty cutlery in a carbonated drink for 15 minutes, and then rinse and dry. The blade should shine again like before!

Baking soda is great for cleaning corrosion. We mix it with water or vinegar to the state of paste, apply it to the blade, let it act for 20 minutes, wash it off. Be sure to wipe dry.

Ketchup or tomato paste. If rust caught you by surprise, for example, on a hike, you can clean it with ketchup by simply treating the blade with it and washing it off after 10 minutes. We repeat the processing if necessary. Do not forget to dry after processing.

How to clean a knife from rust

Care

You’ve cleaned your knife of rust, now make sure it doesn’t happen again. Thoroughly dry and treat the surface with one of the suggested means:

  • alcohol or acetone;
  • machine oil;
  • wax is considered by professionals to be the best tool for preventive treatment.

In order for the knife not to rust, you need to use it more often, take good care of it and not store it in a case. Wear a cover only when you need to take the blade with you when you go on a trip (hunting or traveling). Moisture is contained even in the air, so it is better to store the knife in a ventilated place. It is better to spend energy and time on preventing the appearance of rust than on how to clean it.

How to clean a knife from rust

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