Corrosion Reports

[olywa]

Bar Keeper's Friend did the trick. It's pretty corrosive stuff though, so don't leave it on for too long. After a rinse I hit it with Flitz to remove the coloration left by the Bar Keeper's Friend. It's now buried in a lemon for 30 minutes to see if I can get a patina started.

[Mage7]

I've been wearing my Manix 2 LW in Rex45 clipped to the collar of my t-shirts a lot lately. It's pretty cool, like having a neck knife, but it doesn't move around under my shirt all annoyingly. With the deep carry clip it's pretty discreet too.

But this probably wasn't the steel choice to ha e against bare skin all the time. Interesting patina it's developing. It gets pretty rusty, but it's usually just surface rust that's easy to wipe off.

I really like Rex45 as a steel, but wish they'd had a coated version.

I know someone is going to tell me to get the Magnacut Salt LW, but the reason I like Rex45 is because it's super hard and has really high edge stability. I got a CruCarta Manix 2 lately too and have found that "toughness" isn't really serving my needs for an EDC as well as harder blades. I'm never really doing anything hard enough to impart energy that will make them chip out, but I am a little clumsy and always find myself having ran my edge up against something that made it roll. I've had that way less with Rex45 and a few others I know are about 65 HRC or greater.

[Brock O Lee]

...the reason I like Rex45 is because it's super hard and has really high edge stability. I got a CruCarta Manix 2 lately too and have found that "toughness" isn't really serving my needs for an EDC as well as harder blades. I'm never really doing anything hard enough to impart energy that will make them chip out, but I am a little clumsy and always find myself having ran my edge up against something that made it roll. I've had that way less with Rex45 and a few others I know are about 65 HRC or greater.

Ah, someone who clearly understands what toughness, hardness and edge stability mean in the real world!

This is exactly why I also enjoy the high hardness steels. They shrug off those careless little impacts without rolling.

Sounds to me like you're looking for a high-hardness stainless steel, or corrosion resistant tool steel... Seems like you are not interested in Spyderco's Magnacut @ 62-63 HRC. It is probably not hard enough to provide the edge stability you are looking for, but it is on the harder side of the spectrum compared to most other stainless steels. I am not aware of stainless steel production knives that will provide more edge stability. Perhaps custom AEB-L. Pretty sure someone else will think of something...

Here is another left-field idea, serrated LC200N. It is relatively soft and will roll easily in plain edge, however teeth will protect the cutting edge against knocks. But, serrations are not for everyone...

[Mage7]

...the reason I like Rex45 is because it's super hard and has really high edge stability. I got a CruCarta Manix 2 lately too and have found that "toughness" isn't really serving my needs for an EDC as well as harder blades. I'm never really doing anything hard enough to impart energy that will make them chip out, but I am a little clumsy and always find myself having ran my edge up against something that made it roll. I've had that way less with Rex45 and a few others I know are about 65 HRC or greater.

Ah, someone who clearly understands what toughness, hardness and edge stability mean in the real world!

This is exactly why I also enjoy the high hardness steels. They shrug off those careless little impacts without rolling.

Sounds to me like you're looking for a high-hardness stainless steel, or corrosion resistant tool steel... Seems like you are not interested in Spyderco's Magnacut @ 62-63 HRC. It is probably not hard enough to provide the edge stability you are looking for, but it is on the harder side of the spectrum compared to most other stainless steels. I am not aware of stainless steel production knives that will provide more edge stability. Perhaps custom AEB-L. Pretty sure someone else will think of something...

Here is another left-field idea, serrated LC200N. It is relatively soft and will roll easily in plain edge, however teeth will protect the cutting edge against knocks. But, serrations are not for everyone...

It took a while for it to sink in. The thing that really did it was just buying and trying. I read too many different things, but I just never actually tried any steels that were in the 64-66 HRC range, but once I did try several that were they all were like a night and day difference.

Yeah, the doubt about whether they run Magnacut much harder than this CruWear kinda occurred to me. I wonder if I really need something clear up at 64 or above, but I have noticed that the Rex45 handles my slip ups the best, and from what I have seen of people testing they're running at 65-67 HRC. That was my hesitation in trying the Mule in AEB-L too.

[Woodpuppy]

My two current go-to EDC are an Urban in AEB-L around the house and a PM2 in REX45 out n about. I like both very much, and REX45 edges out Cruwear for me. I’ve also found it handles careless contact with things like those blasted massive staples in heavy duty shipping boxes better than cruwear. I like to USE K390 as well, but I don’t like to sharpen it. REX45 sits in a sweet spot for me I think.

[Mage7]

I decided to go ahead and force a patina and I really like how it turned out.

Dunno if it will really help corrosion resistance but I like it.

[Pacu0420]

Here-s what Maxamet looks like after a few years of use in the Pacific NW. I have other non stainless steels like K390 and M4 that barely show any patina. But Maxamet sure does.

[endura3]

Here-s what Maxamet looks like after a few years of use in the Pacific NW. I have other non stainless steels like K390 and M4 that barely show any patina. But Maxamet sure does.

Gorgeous knife! I'm surprised maxamet patinas more for you than K390 or M4. I live in the northeast in a pretty wet area and it's been the opposite. Although Maxamet does seem to show minor red rust spotting a little more easily if it stays wet

[Pacu0420]

Here-s what Maxamet looks like after a few years of use in the Pacific NW. I have other non stainless steels like K390 and M4 that barely show any patina. But Maxamet sure does.

Gorgeous knife! I'm surprised maxamet patinas more for you than K390 or M4. I live in the northeast in a pretty wet area and it's been the opposite. Although Maxamet does seem to show minor red rust spotting a little more easily if it stays wet

I do carry the Maxamet more than the K390 and M4. I've also had it quite a bit longer. BTW, don't use K390 to cut steak. Lol! Immediate patina where ever the juice got on the blade.

[Vamais]

I really like Rex45 as a steel, but wish they'd had a coated version.

GP Knives had a Stormtrooper Manix LW in Rex45 a little over a year ago.

Nice Patina. Very dark. How did you do it?

[Mage7]

I really like Rex45 as a steel, but wish they'd had a coated version.

GP Knives had a Stormtrooper Manix LW in Rex45 a little over a year ago.

Nice Patina. Very dark. How did you do it?

Well, I was watching Project Farm one day and he was testing different rust remover, and I noticed that this "naval jelly" stuff left a nice dark patina on a wrench he was testing with so I looked that stuff up and found some Rust-Oleum stuff that was comparable. I believe it's basically phosphoric acid suspended in a clinging gel. I squirted some into a baggie and then stuck the whole blade in there, but being careful to grease the pivot area with Vaseline so it wouldn't affect it there. Then let it sit in that overnight, and then scrub it with some Bar Keeper's Friend. The BKF seems to really react more vigorously with the scale that the Rust-Oleum left behind, because it took it from a dark gray to that jet black.

I used the Rust-Oleum on some 15V before and only got the dark gray, but I'm not sure if it was really the BKF that made the difference as much as I think Rex45 might just darken more when exposed to certain types of acid. I expect that white vinegar would have achieved the same darkness, because it reminds me how 1095 reacts to that. Makes me wonder how it would look with a potato patina.

[RazorSharp86]

Here-s what Maxamet looks like after a few years of use in the Pacific NW. I have other non stainless steels like K390 and M4 that barely show any patina. But Maxamet sure does.

Gorgeous knife! I'm surprised maxamet patinas more for you than K390 or M4. I live in the northeast in a pretty wet area and it's been the opposite. Although Maxamet does seem to show minor red rust spotting a little more easily if it stays wet

I do carry the Maxamet more than the K390 and M4. I've also had it quite a bit longer. BTW, don't use K390 to cut steak. Lol! Immediate patina where ever the juice got on the blade.

Love meat-juice patina on my k390. (=

I actually think that forced vinegar patina on k390 looks great. Gives it a blued finish, as long as you don’t keep the vinegar for too long.

[Pacu0420]

Here-s what Maxamet looks like after a few years of use in the Pacific NW. I have other non stainless steels like K390 and M4 that barely show any patina. But Maxamet sure does.

Gorgeous knife! I'm surprised maxamet patinas more for you than K390 or M4. I live in the northeast in a pretty wet area and it's been the opposite. Although Maxamet does seem to show minor red rust spotting a little more easily if it stays wet

I do carry the Maxamet more than the K390 and M4. I've also had it quite a bit longer. BTW, don't use K390 to cut steak. Lol! Immediate patina where ever the juice got on the blade.

Love meat-juice patina on my k390. (=

I actually think that forced vinegar patina on k390 looks great. Gives it a blued finish, as long as you don’t keep the vinegar for too long.

I wouldn't have minded if the steak juice gave it an even patina, but it was all blotchy and looked bad IMO. I tried a few different things to remove the patina. (3 in 1 oil rubbing alcohol) What actually worked was coconut oil. I was just trying to even out the blotchyness, but it ended up bring it back to a decent shine.

[Evil D]

15V and patina?


I've got an interesting unintentional experiment happening with my 15V Military 2... either it resists a patina better than I thought or Tuff-Glide is far more effective than I thought.

I initially wiped the blade down with a Tuff Cloth, and then later that day decided to cut up some steaks with it so I cleaned the blade off with some alcohol and a cotton ball (didn't feel like eating Tuff-Glide). After cutting up 4 steaks, there's no sign at all of any sort of patina or staining. So is this steel more stain resistant than I thought or is Tuff-Glide effective enough to work after only being on the blade a couple hours and then being wiped off with alcohol?

[SchoonerBum]

S110v?

PXL_20241222_172839918.NIGHT~3.jpg
PXL_20241222_172833077.NIGHT~3.jpg

I've been wearing my Manix 2 LW in Rex45 clipped to the collar of my t-shirts a lot lately. It's pretty cool, like having a neck knife, but it doesn't move around under my shirt all annoyingly. With the deep carry clip it's pretty discreet too.

But this probably wasn't the steel choice to ha e against bare skin all the time. Interesting patina it's developing. It gets pretty rusty, but it's usually just surface rust that's easy to wipe off.

I really like Rex45 as a steel, but wish they'd had a coated version.

I know someone is going to tell me to get the Magnacut Salt LW, but the reason I like Rex45 is because it's super hard and has really high edge stability. I got a CruCarta Manix 2 lately too and have found that "toughness" isn't really serving my needs for an EDC as well as harder blades. I'm never really doing anything hard enough to impart energy that will make them chip out, but I am a little clumsy and always find myself having ran my edge up against something that made it roll. I've had that way less with Rex45 and a few others I know are about 65 HRC or greater.

[barnaclesonaboat]

15V and patina?


I've got an interesting unintentional experiment happening with my 15V Military 2... either it resists a patina better than I thought or Tuff-Glide is far more effective than I thought.

I initially wiped the blade down with a Tuff Cloth, and then later that day decided to cut up some steaks with it so I cleaned the blade off with some alcohol and a cotton ball (didn't feel like eating Tuff-Glide). After cutting up 4 steaks, there's no sign at all of any sort of patina or staining. So is this steel more stain resistant than I thought or is Tuff-Glide effective enough to work after only being on the blade a couple hours and then being wiped off with alcohol?

To be honest, this is similar to my experience with the 15V Mule Team (the sample of 15V I have on hand). I'm not sure if it is the stonewash, the heat treat being tweaked for extra matrix/in-solution chromium to contribute to corrosion resistance, or any manner of other things I'm naïve to. My 15V mule has a fraction of the rust spots under the scales compared to my similarly-used K294 mule, and I feel like it is at least as patina-resistant as the similarly stonewashed maxamet PM2 I use regularly. Would love to have a better-evidenced explanation for this feature of 15V...

[vivi]

Got some spotting on my PD1 Police that doesn't seem to want to rub off with my thumb. After one trail run in 85-90F weather (yep, felt like summer today...)