Blade stain removal question

[simon711]

Hi
I have 3 manix's in S30V, all are brand new purchased by me years ago, but I just took them out to look at, and they all have stains on the blades. I have never used the any of them, and am not sure how these stain marks got on the knives. I have uploaded a photo of one of them. I cannot remove the stains with just a towel and was wondering what is the best possible, and least invasive way of cleaning these knives. Thanks in advance!

[farnorthdan]

Try flitz polish, I've heard it works well for stain removal.

[SpyderNut]

It appears to be a bit of old oil left from the factory. I'd try using some solvent, like bore cleaner, to see of it will cut the old grease. I've done this in the past and have had good results. This also prevents scratching the blade too.

[Fred Sanford]

Lighter fluid first. Flitz second.

[simon711]

Thanks for the suggestions. I never thought of trying lighter fluid or bore cleaner. Someone else told me about flitz, but I'm trying to avoid any polishing action, as I don't want to leave any abrasion marks on the blade.

[Tdog]

Hi Simon, the Flitz won't leave any abrasion marks, it will clean, polish, and protect the blade. I've done numerous knives with Flitz, good stuff. Take care. Be sure to use a clean cloth with the Flitz.

[simon711]

It's settled, I'm going to get some Flitz. I hear too many good things about it.

[farnorthdan]

Post some pics after, I'm interested in seeing how it works, I've never actually had to use it on any of my blades.

[simon711]

Will do. I just ordered the Flitz, so it should be arriving in a few days.

[Larry_Mott]

Flitz or Autosol, polish along, not across the grain and it will be better than new!

[Doc Dan]

I would try WD40 or some cleaning solvent, as suggested. It is probably old lubricant on the blade. It is possible it could be corrosion, and then you will need the Flitz. Try the simplest first.

[JD Spydo]

Try flitz polish, I've heard it works well for stain removal.

Yeah all of "FLITZ's" products work very well>> also you might want to get one of Flitz's polishing cloths because they do work well with the polish much better than an ordinary cleaning rag does. That Flitz polishing cloth is made with a "micro-fiber" and many other manufacturers now produce a similar polishing cloth you can get at most hardware stores. There might even be one out there now even better than the one Flitz sells for all I know.

But you might also use Bar Keeper's Friend cleanser if the Flitz polish doesn't obtain the results you're looking for. BKF doesn't put micro scratches in your blade like many of the other cleansers on the market seem to do. There are also a lot of Silver, Brass and jewelry polishes on the market that I've also had decent luck with.

But do keep us posted as to what you have your best results with because I'm always looking for new methods of cleaning and polishing constantly.

[DougC-3]

If your goal is to try to keep these in near mint condition as collector items, I would definitely try the solvents first. IIRC I failed to completely remove some Flitz once before it dried and it sort of discolored the metal a bit. I think it was CPM M4 I was working with, so it would be less likely to happen with S30V, but it still wouldn't hurt to be cautious.

[simon711]

So WD-40, bore cleaner, or lighter fluid first? Then Flitz if those don't work? I know that Flitz makes a bore cleaner too.

[Mr Blonde]

Absolutely, try to clean the blade first with either WD-40, bore cleaner or ligher fluid. If that doesn't remove the stains, then I would use Flitz or a similar polish. It doesn't leave marks in my experience, it will make the blade a very tiny bit shinier though.

[simon711]

Just got my Flitz today. I wanted to test it on something before using it on my knife, so I tried it out on my copper pot lid. The stuff is amazing, and as you can see, no abrasion marks. I can definitely take it further to completely remove all the spots.

[simon711]

Here is the manix before and after. I tried lighter fluid which did nothing. WD-40 only removed part of the stain. Flitz completely took care of it, left absolutely no marks on the blade.

[farnorthdan]

Well there you go, looks great man, glad it worked for you

[Tdog]

Glad it worked out for you. I use this stuff on all sorts of things. It cleans and polishes many different materials. I ended up buying a larger can of
Flitz and have already gone through almost half of it. Use it on aluminum and stainless on boats. Take care

[DougC-3]

Good job on the pot and knife! Did you use the liquid or paste? I used the paste on my blade and will try the liquid next time. I didn't get any abrasion either, just a shinier area where I used it.