What are these weird streaks on my suji? Are these rust?

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I have been storing this ironclad suji in its saya for a while now. Today when I took it out, I noticed all these weird streaks on it. I tried to wipe it with wet paper towels but nothing came off. it's also difficult to feel the texture of the streaks when running my finger over it.


Are these rust or something else? Is there a way to get rid of these without marring the original finish too much on this knife?


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Gshep91 said:
I’ve used a lemon cut in half to rub along the rust and gotten it off before without leaving scratches since it isn’t abrasive.

Lemon juice is acidic and the peel is tough enough to get some of the rust off, if that’s what it is
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Add a little baking soda for a little extra oomph.
 
For future get vci paper and store the knives wrapped in it with camellia oil . If you are in a humid area and if you are not going to use that knife for a while tape the gap area and so it’s airtight. And avoid storing knives in saya
 
chefcomesback said:
For future get vci paper and store the knives wrapped in it with camellia oil . If you are in a humid area and if you are not going to use that knife for a while tape the gap area and so it’s airtight. And avoid storing knives in saya
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Thanks, I have a roll of VCI paper actually just was lazy to put it on. I put the knife in the saya since it came without a box and made sure it's bone dry. Never again tho ugh.

Didn't make it to the store so putting some oil on the knife for now. Need to do this though it pains me to see such a beautiful kasumi with rust on it.
 
If you are out of space in your knife block or magnetic holder and need to keep knives in a drawer, the plastic felt-lined knife guards are a decent option. They don't trap moisture the way a saya can.
 
Michi said:
If you are out of space in your knife block or magnetic holder and need to keep knives in a drawer, the plastic felt-lined knife guards are a decent option. They don't trap moisture the way a saya can.
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The felt lined guards absolutely trap moisture. Only knife I ever had rust was on one of those. Can be mitigated by saturating the felt in mineral oil.
 
Make your own guard with cardboard. Cardboard stabilises humidity. Sayas are great with both stable humidity and temperature — as in Japan, I guess. Temperature changes cause condensation.
Had to deal with +25°C in the kitchen and –10° outside. 77 and 14°F.
Here a cardboard saya with staples. With fancier knives, use duct tape.
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Heckel7302 said:
The felt lined guards absolutely trap moisture. Only knife I ever had rust was on one of those. Can be mitigated by saturating the felt in mineral oil.
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True, been there. Cork lined edge guards are a great alternative, Shihan used to make them but not anymore. There are probably other options out there?
 
Heckel7302 said:
The felt lined guards absolutely trap moisture. Only knife I ever had rust was on one of those. Can be mitigated by saturating the felt in mineral oil.
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That's never happened to me but, in the same drawer, I've had surface rust on knives in a saya. I take your word for it though.
 
Baking soda slurry then Flitz. Honestly I have had pretty poor luck with BKF on knives. Can also try a blue sunshine polishing cloth (amazon) which is probably what I would try before Flitz. Flitz works great just go easy with it on a cotton pad. Stone powder on hard felt works too if you can get some! I need to learn the way of the cardboard saya eventually. There are some solid tutorials on here if you search btw!
 
You might consider a new saya. If the rust got on the wood, it's a seed crystal for more rust. You could clean the knife perfectly then get more rust in the same spot. I got that t shirt too.

To see how much moisture is stored in the saya itself, put it in a 200 degree F toaster oven and watch the glass steam up.

The saya is not your friend. Travel only.

Also flitz should get surface rust off without altering a stone finish.
 
captaincaed said:
You might consider a new saya. If the rust got on the wood, it's a seed crystal for more rust. You could clean the knife perfectly then get more rust in the same spot. I got that t shirt too.

To see how much moisture is stored in the saya itself, put it in a 200 degree F toaster oven and watch the glass steam up.

The saya is not your friend. Travel only.

Also flitz should get surface rust off without altering a stone finish.
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Thanks, I got rid of the saya. Thinking of it, when the knife came to me it had some pitting on it, I cleaned it up then put it back in the same saya. Now I realize it's a bad idea, not doing that again.
 
I hit it with some lemon, then baking soda slurry. Didn't seem to be doing a good job, so I used some BKF. Still can see the streak mark on the cladding, but the color is gone so that's better at least.

I have flitz on order, gonna give that a try once it arrives.


 
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