rust

by rod
(christchurch new zealand)

QUESTION: I have a sword that someone must of been touching (I usally clean it every time its touched) that has rust spot type of things on it is there any way to remove these spots.

ANSWER: Hi Rod,

It is pretty frustrating when people touch a sword with their fingers, the acidic secretions in skin is pretty nasty on steel...

There are several ways to remove it though. The easiest way is by using a product such as CLR Clear - wear gloves, use it undiluted and then run the blade under a tap and wipe it down before drying and re-oiling. (I like to spray with WD-40 after drying to get rid of any moisture, and be sure to hold the blade under the tap with the tip pointing downwards to avoid water getting in the hilt).

The other way is to use a product such as Metal Glo or any other commercially available metal polish. Only thing to watch out for, if the sword is a Katana with a fake hamon, you can actually polish it off...!

More tips can be found on cleaning up a rusty sword here in the sword care section of SBG.

Thanks,

- Paul