As I said, I am posting the pics out of interest, not because I am in any way dissatisfied with the product. It owes me nothing after 3 years of hard use, and the staining looks pretty superficial.
The rusty marks on it are definitely streaks of rust, but they seem to be mostly superficial. Even in its current superficially stained state it still does the job perfectly well - it cuts rope quickly and efficiently.
It's interesting that most of the rusty staining is symmetrical. The main source seems to be emanating from the pivot region, but there's also an area at the top of the spyderhole and in the middle of the serrated portion of the blade.
The blade itself has a few spots that look like superficial rust, these photos actually show it quite well. However, I must point out that this is totally uncleaned for at least 2 of the last 3 years, and I reckon most of that superficial staining would polish off quite easily.
I'm very pleased with the H1 knives generally, I have 4 of them and they certainly stand up to marine conditions and fairly constant abuse.
