Thread: my chisel steel a bit dark

Easiest way to find out would be to sharpen it.

Originally Posted by luckduck32167

hi yall, my chisel steel is a bit dark, its second hand. Is that surface rust?

Rust is brown and rough! SO if its just blacker then I think its OK!

oh ye it goes white after u sharpen it but its not like ur typical rust, my chisel steel looks 'seasoned'

You will find the original owner most probably cleaned it up on a wire wheel buff before selling it ....that makes then go very dark.

So does the rust converters and the citric acid bath - doesn't matter as it's dark as long as it's not brown and rusty - best way for us to tell would be a pic though!

Originally Posted by andrewr79

So does the rust converters and the citric acid bath - doesn't matter as it's dark as long as it's not brown and rusty - best way for us to tell would be a pic though!

...

You appear to have caught a case of the dots.

I recommend at least three hours of sunlight streaming in the doors of whatever workspace you choose and copious mounds of shavings. That'll fix you right up!

Age will darken steel, as will most of the restoration solutions. I managed to avoid chemistry but I believe it's something to do with the by product of turning rust back into a metal?. Nothing wrong with darker steel, my bergs are near black except where they have been sharpened and they work just fine.

Originally Posted by andrewr79

You appear to have caught a case of the dots.

I recommend at least three hours of sunlight streaming in the doors of whatever workspace you choose and copious mounds of shavings. That'll fix you right up!

Age will darken steel, as will most of the restoration solutions. I managed to avoid chemistry but I believe it's something to do with the by product of turning rust back into a metal?. Nothing wrong with darker steel, my bergs are near black except where they have been sharpened and they work just fine.

AH HA! heres a gentleman who knows what im talking about. good to c some bright ppl r in here.

When I use citrix acid to clean the rust it goes grey. Little bit of steel wool after washing the metal gives it back some shiny metal colour.

As part of the after treatment you do need to protect the metal by some oil or lubricant.

That's my guess of why it was grey.

Now that you have them look after them as they should give you years of use.

Originally Posted by andrewr79

Age will darken steel, as will most of the restoration solutions. I managed to avoid chemistry but I believe it's something to do with the by product of turning rust back into a metal?. Nothing wrong with darker steel, my bergs are near black except where they have been sharpened and they work just fine.

I couldn't avoid chemistry unfortunately. The dark grey is just another of iron's oxidation states. As I recall, the red one (rust) is Fe3+ oxidation state (Fe2O3) and the black is Fe2+ (not sure which oxide). Although thinking about it it might even be just a different Fe3+ oxide (Fe2O4).

Might have to dig out my old uni textbooks and have a look...