PSA - Oxalic Acid Rocks!!!

[cooktocut]

I bought a bag of oxalic acid powder a while ago because of a discussion on here, but never got around to using it. Well, I found the teeniest spot of rust on my new catcheside within 5 minutes of pulling it out of the package. Rather than risk messing up the finish, I opted to try out the oxalic acid. A little bit of powder, a little warm water in a dish with a q tip… I’ve never seen rust come off easier. Granted this is a small spot, but it’s also in a slight indent in the metal, which would make it a little more difficult to remove completely. Took all of 5 seconds to remove.

Long story short, this stuff is the bomb for rust.

 

[esoo]

Oxalic acid is the active ingredient in Bar Keepers Friend, which I know from experience will make mess of a blade. Make sure you neutralize and/or rinse really really well.

 

[cooktocut]

Oxalic acid is the active ingredient in Bar Keepers Friend, which I know from experience will make mess of a blade. Make sure you neutralize and/or rinse really really well.

Thanks for the heads up. I washed it with soap pretty quickly right after I got done, so luckily nothing happened.

 

[simona]

Oxalic acid is the active ingredient in Bar Keepers Friend, which I know from experience will make mess of a blade. Make sure you neutralize and/or rinse really really well.

Curious. How has it messed up your blades? What were they and what were the effects? Thanks.

 

[Bensbites]

1). You definitely want to use ammonia/windex or a solution of baking soda to nuetralize the oxalic acid.

2). BKF seems to have an abrasive in it as well as the acid.

 

[esoo]

Curious. How has it messed up your blades? What were they and what were the effects? Thanks.

It's been 5+ years so my memory is a bit hazy about this, but I had a ZKramer carbon that got used I wanted to remove the forced patina. I put BKF on the blade, scrubbed, the blade looked clean and then I rinsed. Very quickly afterwards, the blade turned and ugly brown. It took a lot of rinsing (and I think baking soda) to try and stop the reaction.

I do not recall how much BKF o put on the blade initially, I really just remember it was a disproportionate amount of work to stop it reacting with the knife.

 

[Bensbites]

It's been 5+ years so my memory is a bit hazy about this, but I had a ZKramer carbon that got used I wanted to remove the forced patina. I put BKF on the blade, scrubbed, the blade looked clean and then I rinsed. Very quickly afterwards, the blade turned and ugly brown. It took a lot of rinsing (and I think baking soda) to try and stop the reaction.

I do not recall how much BKF o put on the blade initially, I really just remember it was a disproportionate amount of work to stop it reacting with the knife.

I don’t think I have used BKF on knives, I use it to clean my stainless steel cookware. There is a grit left behind, I have to wash a second time with soap/water and a sponge on cookware.

Once you use baking soda, that will neutralize any acid.

 

[BoSharpens]

It it better than using crocus cloth?

 

[simona]

It's been 5+ years so my memory is a bit hazy about this, but I had a ZKramer carbon that got used I wanted to remove the forced patina. I put BKF on the blade, scrubbed, the blade looked clean and then I rinsed. Very quickly afterwards, the blade turned and ugly brown. It took a lot of rinsing (and I think baking soda) to try and stop the reaction.

I do not recall how much BKF o put on the blade initially, I really just remember it was a disproportionate amount of work to stop it reacting with the knife.

Thanks for the insights!

 

[jedy617]

I have used bar keepers friends on all my honyakis and it has worked marvelously.

 

[Ruso]

I used BKF many times to clean the baldes. Quick clean with soapy water or baking soda slurry will work great to remove BKF. But I also had success with just plain water.

I am not aware of better alternative to BKF i.e. cheap, accessible, easy to use and can be used for other purposes.