Spyderco Forums

I know there's a lot of misconception around DLC. Be it, that it scratches (which I will prove below, is really just the material you are cutting that you see on the blade) or that people don't like how it looks when it's worn and appears uneven and grey in color, or that people just don't know how to clean it up and get it back to black, or fear it's some kind of time consuming process to do so.

Below are a few before and after pictures of a couple knives I used at work this past week. The clean up only took me about 10 minutes, and they look brand new! All I do is take a small drop of Flitz, put it on a rag and buff out the material marks on each side of the blade. Buff off the remaining residue after a minute or two. Then I do the same, a small drop of mineral oil on a rag and buff the blade back to a nice, shiny black. Simple as that! I was hoping a few pictures of the difference could really change peoples minds on DLC. I find it to be a fantastic coating, that also protects in corrosion resistance and even more so helps with not scratching as easily as satin blades.

Looking good. My contribution to this is that I use ballistol as a one step clean and lube and it has brought back DLC blades to that nice, new, satin black look many times.

I’m not saying it’s better than the products you mentioned, It just has many uses for me as I use it to clean firearms, some leather stuff, etc... so for those of you that have it on hand, if you ain’t tried using it for cleaning/restoring your DLC knives, it works!

I just use mineral oil and buff it out. Works nice. Thanks for clearing this up. I know I was sceptical at first with DLC

This has been my experience as well. I cut a cable with my Autonomy and nearly fainted when I saw the blade but nearly all of what looked like scratches cleaned off.

I hate feeling the blade of my 4V Shaman and feeling the surface rust all over it. I'm guessing there's no way to get rid of it without removing the DLC in the process?

I may just OSPHO it and then tuff glide the blade or paint it.

The only reason I'm disappointed is that I've never really used the knife. Just a few days of sweat-free pocket time.

Pelagic wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 24, 2019 6:23 am

I hate feeling the blade of my 4V Shaman and feeling the surface rust all over it. I'm guessing there's no way to get rid of it without removing the DLC in the process?

I may just OSPHO it and then tuff glide the blade or paint it.

The only reason I'm disappointed is that I've never really used the knife. Just a few days of sweat-free pocket time.

Wow, does 4V really rust that badly? Going by your experience, it seems to be even worse than uncoated M4 :confused:

Mzen wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 24, 2019 6:30 am

Pelagic wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 24, 2019 6:23 am

I hate feeling the blade of my 4V Shaman and feeling the surface rust all over it. I'm guessing there's no way to get rid of it without removing the DLC in the process?

I may just OSPHO it and then tuff glide the blade or paint it.

The only reason I'm disappointed is that I've never really used the knife. Just a few days of sweat-free pocket time.

Wow, does 4V really rust that badly? Going by your experience, it seems to be even worse than uncoated M4 :confused:

M4 rusted for me, but not as quickly. And there's a few people on this site that swear M4 has no problems with corrosion, so there's always that. Even cruwear is a rust bucket for me.

Pelagic wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 24, 2019 6:49 am

Mzen wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 24, 2019 6:30 am

Pelagic wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 24, 2019 6:23 am

I hate feeling the blade of my 4V Shaman and feeling the surface rust all over it. I'm guessing there's no way to get rid of it without removing the DLC in the process?

I may just OSPHO it and then tuff glide the blade or paint it.

The only reason I'm disappointed is that I've never really used the knife. Just a few days of sweat-free pocket time.

Wow, does 4V really rust that badly? Going by your experience, it seems to be even worse than uncoated M4 :confused:

M4 rusted for me, but not as quickly. And there's a few people on this site that swear M4 has no problems with corrosion, si there's always that. Even cruwear is a rust bucket for me.

After reading a lot of posts about rusty steels here, I'm pretty convinced that a lot has to do with individual bodies and sweat composition. I mostly carry non-stainless steels, both dlc and satin blades, indoors and outdoors in humid Missouri: 1095, m4, hap40, cruwear, 4v, k390, etc. I almost never have problems with rust. I can remember having a few spots of surface rust that wiped off on a 1095 fixed blade and once on a 52100 folder, both after using them for yard work/brush whacking and leaving them wet and sticky for a while after. But otherwise, no rust, ever. I do keep a very thin coat of mineral oil on all my blades, though, and I'm sure that makes a difference, too.

My 4V Shaman rusted after about 3 to 4 days on the beach. But, I was enclosed in a cab of a bulldozer the whole time, so I'm sure it wasn't as bad as being outside. I surely didn't sweat. My sweat CAN cause knives to corrode, but my experiences with m4, cruwear, and even s30v, s90v, s110v (and others) rusting comes from working in an extreme salt environment. I only recently transferred to beach work and was hopeful it wouldn't be as bad (as being actually on the water/ocean). Turns out it's only slightly better.

I think I'm going to try the OSPHO idea.

4V with DLC showed rust on or through the DLC, or just the edge?

TkoK83Spy wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 24, 2019 3:48 pm

4V with DLC showed rust on or through the DLC, or just the edge?

Through the DLC. about 1/3 of the blade has rust spots on it near the tip (both sides). Pictures don't do it justice. Haven't carried the knife until I can remedy the problem somewhat.

What are you using to replace the flitz you used to recommend?

Reminder if you use your knives with food not all compounds are food safe that is why I use glitz and food grade mineral oil as you would use on a cutting board.

Pelagic wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 24, 2019 6:23 am

I hate feeling the blade of my 4V Shaman and feeling the surface rust all over it. I'm guessing there's no way to get rid of it without removing the DLC in the process?

I may just OSPHO it and then tuff glide the blade or paint it.

The only reason I'm disappointed is that I've never really used the knife. Just a few days of sweat-free pocket time.

It's all in how acidic your sweat is. I can rust M4 on a dry hot day in my pocket. Sometimes it's less about the steel and more about the person/environment.

I would get some Flitz polish and a rag and see what happens.

I've always used the blue Flitz cream. I've never tried the liquid that Rick shows in the OP. I'll have to buy a bottle of that and see how well it works.

My 20+ year old tube of Flitz cream was starting to get low. So I picked up some Blue Magic metal polish when I was at the auto parts store one day. Sure seems the same as Flitz cream to me. It works about the same for me and it's quite a bit cheaper. I don't know if it's actually the same as Flitz but it cleans up DLC nicely. I put a little of the paste on a cotton gun cleaning patch and clean the blade. Then I clean the paste off with some light gun oil. Good as new!

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Magic-400-O ... 7190&psc=1

Sharp Guy wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 24, 2019 6:38 pm

I've always used the blue Flitz cream. I've never tried the liquid that Rick shows in the OP. I'll have to buy a bottle of that and see how well it works.

My 20+ year old tube of Flitz cream was starting to get low. So I picked up some Blue Magic metal polish when I was at the auto parts store one day. Sure seems the same as Flitz cream to me. It works about the same for me and it's quite a bit cheaper. I don't know if it's actually the same as Flitz but it cleans up DLC nicely. I put a little of the paste on a cotton gun cleaning patch and clean the blade. Then I clean the paste off with some light gun oil. Good as new!

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Magic-400-O ... 7190&psc=1

Just bought that. Thanks.

Evil D, yeah I know how bad sweat can be. But in this case I didn't sweat at all. Just salt air.

Pelagic wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 24, 2019 6:48 pm

Sharp Guy wrote: ↑

Sun Nov 24, 2019 6:38 pm

I've always used the blue Flitz cream. I've never tried the liquid that Rick shows in the OP. I'll have to buy a bottle of that and see how well it works.

My 20+ year old tube of Flitz cream was starting to get low. So I picked up some Blue Magic metal polish when I was at the auto parts store one day. Sure seems the same as Flitz cream to me. It works about the same for me and it's quite a bit cheaper. I don't know if it's actually the same as Flitz but it cleans up DLC nicely. I put a little of the paste on a cotton gun cleaning patch and clean the blade. Then I clean the paste off with some light gun oil. Good as new!

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Magic-400-O ... 7190&psc=1

Just bought that. Thanks.

Not sure how well it'll work if your blades are rusting through the DLC. It doesn't sound like you have much to lose at this point. So I'd give it shot too. These polishing creams can separate in the bottle after they sit for awhile. So shake it up good before you use. Make sure the lids on tight first. I speak from experience on that last word of advice lol

I like my carbon steels in DLC, use them camping, on the water (typically not salt water though) but plenty of sweaty times during the summer months. I'm yet to experience any kind of rust or corrosion issues outside of my edge DLC knives in M4 and 52100.

I'm certainly not doubting Pelagic's claims, based on where he typically works, but it's a bit of a bummer to hear as someone that pushes DLC for corrosion resistance on non stainless steels.

I'll post pictures when I can. Working nights right now. I know Cold Steel's DLC has never rusted through, but that's with XHP, not nearly as corrosive as 4V.

Like I said, pictures don't do it justice. Keep in mind I never used this knife NOR did I sweat. I was freezing my *** off for the 3-4 days I carried it. It still has a great factory edge.