Rust Removal/Axe

[MichaelBikel]

I love axes and saws, i've had a few Gransfors but had to sell them since I needed money. That leads me to the current axe I have now, needs a new handle and its rusty as hell. Right now I have it soaking in apple cider vinegar which I have never tried before. I was wondering how you guys clean your rusty parts without the use of a sandblaster or naval jelly ect.

I wanted to try electrolysis but that is going to have to wait, I have also seen distilled white vinegar used with awesome results. Does anyone have any tricks for the cider vinegar approach?

IMG_4305 by MichaelBikel, on Flickr

 

[panknuckshovel]

Its an axe head, can't you just take sandpaper to it?

 

[MichaelBikel]

So how much does a used Gransfors sell for?

Depends, brand new the cheapest and smallest is about $120. Most of them retain their value probably just for the name alone so probably not cheap. I'm not looking for another, I don't really have a need for one its just nice to have an axe/project so I picked up something cheap at a tag sale.

 

[7th Kahuna]

I would have suggested vinegar as well. Give it a couple of days and then a good rinse. I've been sold on vinegar since needing to clean up a rusty chuck key and chain. I had no idea how I would ever get to all those surfaces. I soaked it in apple cider vinegar for a couple days. It came out black. I rinsed it under a faucet while rolling the whole mess around aggressively between my hands. It came out beautiful. Tossed it into a warm cast iron frying pan for a moment to dry and that was it. No further work required. If you are concerned about scratches but want to scrub a bit, wadded up aluminum foil lubricated with vinegar, or WD-40 works great too. I've used it on chromed surfaces where rust has come through with success.

I too am looking forward to setting up an electrolysis tank but for now, vinegar has been doing the job.

 

[MichaelBikel]

Its an axe head, can't you just take sandpaper to it?

Yeah i've done that, it takes forever and you will use a ton of sandpaper and if you don't like looking at scratches you have to sand in one direction for a LONG time.

I have tried sandblasting, sand paper, brass wire wheel and even grinding just to do it. The point of using a liquid is to let it do the work for you, it also doesn't remove excess material or miss any areas really. If you try sanding it you'll see what i mean. Sanding it on a belt sander would be convenient but you also don't want to apply heat to any axe head or tempered tool for that matter.

 

[Dave455]

I've suggested it before in various threads, but by far the best is a boric acid solution!

Here in the u.k. you can order boric acid through any chemist. Fill a container as big as you like with water, dissolve the crystals till you can't dissolve any more, then just chuck in whatever needs de rusting! Come back in a week and the rust is gone!

Works faster in a warm room, and if whatever you are working on is really crusty you may need to give it a rub with a scotch pad halfway through, not to remove rust, but just the residue!

 

[MichaelBikel]

IMG_1021 by MichaelBikel, on Flickr
24 hours of apple cider vinegar, hit it with a plastic brush first to remove rust. Ended up getting some flash rust after I wiped off the solution so I hit it with a brass wire brush and decided to call it done. Not sure what the D9 stamp is but assuming it is just some mass produced Chinese head I don't care to look into it. Filed it to get it into some kind of shape, can't say i'm good at that part. Took a stone to it, doesn't work for a shave but it should be fine to get me splitting some wood until I get my maul in working order.

 

[x madmax diesel]

Evaporust is great. Tractor supply company sells if


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[cgrutt]

Nice!

I've used white vinegar with good success. The longer you leave it in solution the better it gets, usually about a week.

 

[stewed baker]

Vinegar.
A piece as rusty as that gets left in for 2 hrs or so.
Take a wire brush [brass] to remove the top layer of rust.
Back in for a couple more hrs, scrub it down with a green scrubbing pad. Rinse it in water. Done.
4-5 hrs at the most.

 

[Jazz1]

I have a plastic bin full of vinegar for soaking rusty steel. You have to wipe stuff down with oil as soon as removed from vinegar or the piece will start to oxidize. Nice axe...got a Gransfors that I FOUND in the bush. The other with broken handle is a WALTERS,, was in wood shed of our 100 year old cabin

 

[Bryan Burns]

Yep. Vinegar. About two days should do it.
Note: It turns wood black and it's quite difficult to remove it.