First spyderco, kinda disappointed

[Donut]

Welcome to the forum.

Nutnfancy, a youtuber accidentally left a VG-10 Spyderco out lying in snow all night and when he found it the next day he had no rust on it.

I kept a 8Cr18Mov Cara Cara rescue in my car for a couple of years and got a little bit of rust on it, I replaced it with a VG-10 Assist and haven't seen any rust since. I think I've been carrying a VG-10 cricket in my pocket as a money clip for the past 10 years and it has pretty minor rust on it.

What kind of steel is on your 7 year old knife so we can tell what kind of rust resistance you're used to?


Matt, I think the Saber Endura is still available for those who favor saber grind. He could check the two letter date code on the box to tell about how old it is.

[mattman]

Yup, it looks to me that it's listed still at KC... they have two listings for black FRN Enduras, and one seems to the sabre ground iteration... never noticed they were still around in PE...

I'm still kinda thinking steel dust, but on both his knives is a heck of a coincidence, so I'm still quite unsure what else to speculate...

[anagarika]

Welcome!

It's really baffling. My sweat is very acidic but I only have similar spots on my GB M4 and E4 ZDP.
Both are semi stainless as indicated, not strange at all. VG10 should be VERY stainless. The day I found pitting on either of them, my VG10 did not have anything on it (on different pocket, both on pants, so the sweat level should be about the same)

The knives likely are genuine, from my research there's no fake Sabre Grind E4 (without wave).

If not so much trouble, try sending it to Spyderco for inspection. I can't think of anything that can cause it spotting like that given the washing & drying described.

IME, WD40 is great to remove all remaining water & replace it with thin layer of mineral oil. I use it on my pivot & lockbar & spring to prevent rust from washing/soap/water residue. So far so good.

Again, it's really baffling. :confused:

[microtech85]

I have found that tape residue left on a stainless blade is more likely to rust it than water. I would imagine that some chemicals in the tape may be more corrosive than water. ALWAYS clean tape residue off your blade before putting it away.

[tvenuto]

I have found that tape residue left on a stainless blade is more likely to rust it than water. I would imagine that some chemicals in the tape may be more corrosive than water. ALWAYS clean tape residue off your blade before putting it away.

As stated in my post in this thread I do not do this at all and have had no issues.

[tetraodon]

Thanks for the overwhelming response and help, I plan on cleaning the knives real good and doing what i normally do for a bit longer, so far it's only the rust that im disappointed in but I will figure it out

[bearfacedkiller]

You can try wiping it down with mineral oil which is food safe or there are other products that works well like frog lube and tuff glide but they aren't food safe as far as I know. There is an old timer trick which involves coating the blade with wax. You can also buy beeswax/mineral oil blends which are designed for wood finishing that work well as a rust preventative. I haven't used the oil/beeswax but have only heard positive reviews of it.

[Blerv]

You can try wiping it down with mineral oil which is food safe or there are other products that works well like frog lube and tuff glide but they aren't food safe as far as I know.

Froglube is actually food-grade/bio-made. I don't know if I would eat the stuff but it does smell pepperminty delicious. :D

Mineral oil works great and is what I had before. In terms of corrosion protection I would guess:
Keeping clean/dry < mineral oil < Froglube < the toxic stuff

I use FL on my M4 knives and have not seen rust or patina yet.

[mattman]

Thanks for the overwhelming response and help, I plan on cleaning the knives real good and doing what i normally do for a bit longer, so far it's only the rust that im disappointed in but I will figure it out

Please report back periodically!

As you can tell, this is not the norm for VG-10...

Let us know what you find.

[palonej]

I was thinking the same thing Matt, but they are available. Blade HQ has them for $68.
All my VG10 Spydies, quite a few, have no rust at all on them. I use them at work so they aren't treated with the white glove treatment.
Weird.
Joe

[tetraodon]

Hey everyone, an update, so last week I was out of town for two days, so I was unable to clean the knives properly, they where in my pants and not used. When I looked at them, the FRN knife developed even more rust on the blade and the all stainless came back. I contacted spyderco and I am sending the knives out to be inspected.

[ejames13]

Hey everyone, an update, so last week I was out of town for two days, so I was unable to clean the knives properly, they where in my pants and not used. When I looked at them, the FRN knife developed even more rust on the blade and the all stainless came back. I contacted spyderco and I am sending the knives out to be inspected.

Do you sweat acid?

[SpyderEdgeForever]

I hope all goes well with the Endura. It is one of the best knives ever made by human hands and craftsmanship. The Endura 4 is a super tool. When it comes to stainless steel and FRN, I believe the Spyderco Endura 4 is the "top of the food chain" and is a winner overall. '

Endura Uber Alles :)

[tetraodon]

Hey all, quick update, I talked with spyderco and I am sending my knives in for inspection, fingers crossed. However it might have just been due to the humidity In my area as I observed some spots on my kitchen knife and my ESC. Worse case is i get the knives back, degrease, and boil the metal.

[SpyderEdgeForever]

tetraodon, are you going to get a Spyderco Tasman Salt? You ought to if you can. It is a great folder with a Hawkbill blade made of H1 stainless steel with an FRN handle.

[ZrowsN1s]

The knife I purchased was from knife center, not sure where the all stainless came from but they both are genuine. It usually hovers 60-90% humidity here and also have always sweat alot, but like I said the only times my other knife rusted was in the several weeks long trip in the everglades with no TLC,

My buddy has rust problems with his VG-10 all the time, I think his sweat must be acidic, if he keeps his knife in his pocket all day he's almost guarenteed to have a few small spots. So you're not the only person I ever heard of having problems with the steel.
3 solutions:
1. As BeardFacedKiller suggested, Frog Lube, tuff glide, and other moisture/corrosion proofing oils and blade coatings are out there.
2.Flitz metal polish, metal cleaner, and wax (they sell a kit on amazon for under $20 comes with a free micro fiber polishing cloth).
3. As others have said, make the switch to the H1 salt series, or pick up a spyderchef. Never worry about rust again. You can leave H1in a dirty wet sink for days and it'll clean right up with soap and water.

[Skaaphaas]

Some people have more corrosive sweat. I carried a S&W for three years with not a hint of rust. Sold it, and the new buyer had rust forming within the first 6 months.

If it was me I'd definitely go for something in H1.

[Bodog]

So first post so take it for what it's worth.

In the last couple weeks I got my first spyderco knives. I bought one myself and got one as a gift. Both are endura 4s, one is the all stainless the other is with black FRN scales. No stranger the knives, I've carried the same knife for 7 years. Never any issues. After doing a lot of reading I finally settle on the model, steel and grind; endura 4, vg10, and sabre grind. Anyway, I received my first knife with the FRN a week before the all stainless. The all stainless was given to me this past Friday. I always carry a knife so I put both in my pocket, all stainless front right hand, FRN back right hand and my 7 year knife left front, I used the knives for light food prep, cutting tomato, squash, zucchini, and bread. The knives where washed with dawn soap and water, hand dried and put into my drying rack for an hour or so while I ate. Then made sure they where dry and put them back into my pockets. Monday i used the knives to cut boxes, tape, and such at work. Then yesterday I sat down at lunch and took them out to admire, that's when I noticed rust on both knives. The all stainless had some near the pivot and some needle tip spots before the grind, the FRN had pin spots all over the primary bevel as well as the locking notch. Both knives got a good soaking in wd40, a scrub, and a coat of wd40. Back into my pockets, and today the rust is back. I'm at a loss, I've only dealt with rust a couple of times in the last 7 years with my previous knife. I really haven't neglected the knives, I've barely even used them. It's discouraging to have knives that are so well regarded fall short, was it something I've done wrong or is it the norm for vg10 to need to babied?

Thabks for any help

I've never really been fond of the Japanese made spyderco knives. The ones from Taiwan, Italy, and Golden all have had their merits, though. I'd like to suggest trying a taiwanese made knife if you're still interested in spyderco. I'd also like to suggest trying to find a brick and mortar dealer that will let you play with the knives before you buy one. I think you'd probably be impressed, especially comparing to a Japanese made Spyderco knife.

[tetraodon]

Wondering if I should carry around a carbon steel putty knife for comparison

[Able Dog]

I have overwhelmingly positive experience with VG-10. I carry one, if not two, knives with VG-10 every day.

I have yet to have rust issues, and that is with use around open water, food prep, EDC chores, and sweaty pockets.

I do tend to clean my knives very regularly. But even when I neglect to I am impressed with the corrosion resistance.

But everyone's sweat and bodily oils are going to be different.

Sorry you're unhappy with VG-10's performance so far. I'd suggest cleaning it and keep on using it. If the problem continues then I'd get worried.