Vg10 Caly 3.5 oddity

xceptnl · #21

MrCynical wrote:...I'll be a bit put off if I have to go buy metal polish too...Didn't think I'd have to put much work into a ~$120 knife, but it looks like it'll be worth it.

It will certainly be worth it. Also a $8 tube of Flitz is one of the best investments for a Knife user / collector / lover. I find that it fixes most any problems I have with metal finishes. If you are opposed to buying anything, I believe barkeeper's friend (commonly found) will also take away most surface stains. Just my .$02 and welcome to the forums.

eric m. · #22

Have you tried looking at it with a magnifying glass? That would tell you if it was something on the surface or in the steel! I don't know what would give that pattern! :) I've been using WD-40 for 35 years and I'm sure better products have been made since then, but I make sure that at least once a year I wipe everything down! I've had no problems!

eric m. · #23

Looking at the pictures of the knife blade, it looks like it was dipped in something! The line on the blade is too perfect! :confused:

sok · #24

I received a Caly 3.5 VG-10 a couple of weeks ago. It has the exact same stain. It is like someone dipped about an inch of the tip in some kind of tarnish remover.

I immediately installed the VG-10 blade into a carbon fiber handle and have been edcing it since. The stain is barely visible now. Not sure what caused it.

#25

Hi SpydieHole and Sok,

Welcome to our forum.

Sounds like an interesting problem. I realize it's an old thread, but I don't remember customer service mentioning the issue, especially if there is more than one. I'd love to see one. If we can't fix it, we can replace it.

sal

sok · #26

Thanks Sal, I had forgotten about it until I saw this thread. I took another look and like I said, it is now barely visible. I doubt my camera skills could even show it.

Now that I think on it more, maybe they put the tip of the blade in some sort of rubber clamp to put the knife together and it left some sort of discoloration that disappears after a little use.

For me it is a non issue. I just mentioned it because of this thread. Love my Caly 3.5.

phillipsted · #27

xceptnl wrote:...I believe barkeeper's friend (commonly found) will also take away most surface stains.

X - I'd be careful about using Barkeeper's friend on knives - especially around moving parts and friction surfaces (e.g., pivot). The Oxalic Acid in the formula is a reducing agent and can corrode metal if you aren't careful. That's why it is so useful for polishing brass bar railings. That's also why it is so useful in cleaning metal swarf out of sharpening stones...

TedP

xceptnl · #28

phillipsted wrote:X - I'd be careful about using Barkeeper's friend on knives - especially around moving parts and friction surfaces (e.g., pivot). The Oxalic Acid in the formula is a reducing agent and can corrode metal if you aren't careful. That's why it is so useful for polishing brass bar railings. That's also why it is so useful in cleaning metal swarf out of sharpening stones...

TedP

Thanks Ted, I knew how effective the acid in barkeeper's friend can be. It only touched my Superblue for a second, but a complete repolish was needed because the Barkeeps friend changed the patina so drastically that I couldn't save it after rinsing 30 seconds later. I rarely allow my cutting media to drip into the pivot, this also applies to the polishing media. Thanks for sharing the info Ted. It is appreciated as always.

sok · #29

One more observation on this subject.

Although the stain is getting harder to see with use, it was still visible. I decided to take a picture to post in this thread.

I used Windex to clean gunk and fingerprints from the blade, to prepare it for pictures, and the stain is now 100 percent gone.

When the knife was new (two weeks ago), I cleaned and rinsed the grittiness from the knife with a Teflon spray lubricant. This did not have any effect on the stain.

From my experience, Windex is the answer to rid this discoloration. YMMV

Brown209 · #30

sal wrote:Hi SpydieHole and Sok,

Welcome to our forum.

Sounds like an interesting problem. I realize it's an old thread, but I don't remember customer service mentioning the issue, especially if there is more than one. I'd love to see one. If we can't fix it, we can replace it.

sal

Hey Sal,
Not sure if anyone has taken you up on your offer, but I'd be happy to. I just received a caly 3.5 for Xmas and it has the same issue. Let me know if your offer still stands.

Best

#31

Hi Brown,

Welcome to our forum.

Send it in, call it to my attention. We'll see what we can do. You might give customer service a heads-up.

sal

Brown209 · #32

sal wrote:Hi Brown,

Welcome to our forum.

Send it in, call it to my attention. We'll see what we can do. You might give customer service a heads-up.

sal

Hey Sal,
I just returned home from vacation, polished the blade with some Flitz and the issue has been resolved. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your willingness to help out your customers. It's a big deal to me.

Thank you.

Stuart Ackerman · #33

I etch steel a fair bit, and the second pic seems to be an etch exposing the grain structure...
But for the life of me I cannot imagine Spyderco using any etchant near any blade...

The fact that is seems to be fading would bear out my thoughts, as normal use would smooth the surface of the steel as time goes by...