Vergez Blanchard knives - brand new and RUSTY

[SidS]

I bought two new Vergez Blanchard knives and to my surprise they are rusty right out of the box.

Is this normal ?  What should I do - is this something I can fix myself ?

[tsunkasapa]

Does not look like anything I would worry about. If you have any rouge rub it on a cloth and buff it out.

[kgg]

3 hours ago, SidS said:

I bought two new Vergez Blanchard knives

If you mean you bought them from Vergez Blanchard as new I would have expected them to be in a lot better condition. They should have been presentable, sharp and ready to work with maybe a minor touchup on the sharpness. I would contact the Vergez Blanchard company and express my disappointment with photo's of how they arrived.

kgg

[SidS]

1 hour ago, kgg said:

If you mean you bought them from Vergez Blanchard as new I would have expected them to be in a lot better condition. They should have been presentable, sharp and ready to work with maybe a minor touchup on the sharpness. I would contact the Vergez Blanchard company and express my disappointment with photo's of how they arrived.

I bought them new from Deco Cuir (in France).

They arrived sharpish in what appeared to be original, factory sealed packaging.

[kgg]

7 hours ago, SidS said:

I bought them new from Deco Cuir (in France).

I still would contact that company and as well as Vergez Blanchard.

kgg

[chuck123wapati]

polish em , sharpen and use.

[Handstitched]

 

7 hours ago, SidS said:

They arrived sharpish in what appeared to be original, factory sealed packaging.

Being brand new, I would have thought  they might have some sort of protection, like wax paper, or some sort of oil coating to prevent that from happening?

HS

[battlemunky]

High carbon steel is going to rust. It sucks that wasn't explained at the time of purchase but even if you clean it off and keep after it there is always maintenance with carbon steel. Having said that, it should affect the tool much at all and from your pics it is just surface rust and no pitting or anything crazy near the sharp bits so you should be good.

[Tugadude]

2 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

polish em , sharpen and use.

This.  The rust I see we sometimes call "flash rust" in the construction industry.  This sort of rust can literally happen within minutes in the right conditions.  It is easily removed and once it is, you won't be able to tell anything had been there.  From there onward, keep them oiled to prevent excessive corrosion.

Should it have happened in the first place?  Probably not if the manufacturer would have applied an oil or other corrosion-inhibiting treatment to the surface.  But then, when that is removed it is on the buyer to protect it.

[SidS]

1 hour ago, Tugadude said:

Should it have happened in the first place?  Probably not if the manufacturer would have applied an oil or other corrosion-inhibiting treatment to the surface.  But then, when that is removed it is on the buyer to protect it.

I received these less than 24 hours ago

[doubleh]

Polish off the rust with 0000 steel wool and apply paste wax. Good as new  and will stay that way with re-waxing now and then.

[tsunkasapa]

1 hour ago, SidS said:

I received these less than 24 hours ago

Totally irrelevant. It probably occurred shortly after production. As many above have stated, it is a non-issue. You can either spend less than 5 minutes on them and start using them, or you can wait for however long it takes for one of the two companies to send you replacements that may have the same issue.

[SidS]

6 hours ago, tsunkasapa said:

Totally irrelevant. It probably occurred shortly after production.

I was responding to one of the many helpful suggestions in here.

Quote

As many above have stated, it is a non-issue. You can either spend less than 5 minutes on them and start using them, or you can wait for however long it takes for one of the two companies to send you replacements that may have the same issue.

That seems to be the consensus and will most likely do that - and talk to the two companies in question.

Edited November 20, 2022 by SidS

[paloma]

22 hours ago, battlemunky said:

High carbon steel is going to rust. It sucks that wasn't explained at the time of purchase but even if you clean it off and keep after it there is always maintenance with carbon steel. Having said that, it should affect the tool much at all and from your pics it is just surface rust and no pitting or anything crazy near the sharp bits so you should be good.

exact,good answer.

nothing very nasty, a little shot of steel wool a shot of polish and it's good.

[SidS]

Any particular wax/polish brands or products I should look for ?

[doubleh]

My choice has always been Johnson's paste wax. You might still be able to find a can on a store shelf. It is no longer produced. There are some other waxes still available however. Just look for a carnauba wax. Pledge will do the same thing but it has to be refreshed more frequently. Amazon has a variety and if I needed any I would go with Minwax, Trewax, or Simonize. Stay away from those that contain oils as they aren't as durable.

I have used paste wax as a rust preventive for years. I use it on my table saw to reduce friction and on any bare metal tools I have. It works better than any oil wipe, doesn't get on your hands or work, and is odorless after it dries.

[battlemunky]

Also if you have access to some gun cold bluing it'll work as well. You could also use vinegar to force a patina that should inhibit further corrosion too.

[doubleh]

Cold or hot salt bluing will not prevent rust and patina is just controlled rust. Even here in the land of far apart raindrops it's a problem and why I started using paste wax on firearms back in the late '60's. I haven't any rust since.

[battlemunky]

I blued my Blanchard wing dividers and live in Alabama where it is decently humid and haven't had rust since I did it, not even on places where my hands touch so I figured it was good as a surface protectant from minor rust. Same with my carbon knives, zero rust anymore. *Shrug*

[SidS]

Kudos to Deco Cuir, who agreed that those knives should have been more presentable, and offered a 50% refund or sending me two new knives.

[kgg]

6 hours ago, SidS said:

Kudos to Deco Cuir, who agreed that those knives should have been more presentable, and offered a 50% refund or sending me two new knives.

That is good customer service. So which option did you choose?

kgg

[chuck123wapati]

8 hours ago, SidS said:

Kudos to Deco Cuir, who agreed that those knives should have been more presentable, and offered a 50% refund or sending me two new knives.

[battlemunky]

Good on 'em, for certain!

[SidS]

16 hours ago, kgg said:

That is good customer service. So which option did you choose?

It was a difficult choice, I landed on the 50% refund

I would have liked to start with perfect knives, but if I went that route what would I do with the ones I already have ?  They are certainly usable after putting a better edge on the round knife, they just have these black pits that don’t look too good.

I used 0000 steel wool to remove the rust and I’ll polish them with Simoniz carnauba paste wax when I’m happy with the edges – not there yet, but it’s coming along

I’ll post updated pictures when done