Derusting Hand Saws

[Noah Barfield]

Hi all,

I was poking around my local antiques mall yesterday and found a couple of handsaws (Disston) with decent looking handles. However, they were being stored outside and were fairly rusty. Yet for $8 each, they seemed like a bargain and worth restoring. Before / if I buy them, a couple of quick questions:

1) What's the best way to de-rust them?

2) How can I tell if the rust is problematic (i.e. shouldn't buy) vs inconvenient (elbow grease needed)?

Thanks,

Noah

[David Weaver]

If they have any pitting at all near the toothline in an area where you actually want them to cut (that is, other than the very toe or very heel) and they are crosscut, pass them by.

Some pitting for rip saws isn't as big of a deal, but it screws around with your ability to get the teeth accurately set

There are enough saws around with no pitting to not deal with really rusty saws unless it's just a coat of superficial but uniformly covering surface rust with very little or no pitting.

There are lots of posts on here about derusting in various places, but it comes down to:
1) scrape off as much rust as you can with a cheap razor blade or something like that
2) wet sand the rust off of the saw with a hard wooden flat backer.

If you end up doing that, take the handle off. It'll make your life a lot easier.

[Casey Gooding]

Evaporust is my favorite way to get rid of rust. It's easy and water cleanup.

[Chris Fournier]

Tons of threads regarding this topic! Enough that all your other tools will be rusted by the time your searching is completed.

[Jonathan McCullough]

Check out the vintagesaws.com website. There's a tutorial there, and that's the best way to clean saws. I would not recommend using water, chemicals, or electrolytic rust removal on saws--I've tried them all. Mineral spirits is relatively gentle and non rust-inducing. The others either cause more pitting or are too aggressive in eliminating it, especially electrolysis.

Sometimes it's hard to tell how bad the rust really is, especially from a photograph. Rust can be a fine mist of red coating that easily washes off or it can be shaggy undulations of deep, severe pitting. Experience is the best guide, but some saws have surprised me.

[Noah Barfield]

Check out the vintagesaws.com website. There's a tutorial there, and that's the best way to clean saws. I would not recommend using water, chemicals, or electrolytic rust removal on saws--I've tried them all. Mineral spirits is relatively gentle and non rust-inducing. The others either cause more pitting or are too aggressive in eliminating it, especially electrolysis.

Sometimes it's hard to tell how bad the rust really is, especially from a photograph. Rust can be a fine mist of red coating that easily washes off or it can be shaggy undulations of deep, severe pitting. Experience is the best guide, but some saws have surprised me.

Thank you--this really helps!

Noah

[Randy Briggs]

Sandflex blocks in medium and fine with Boeshield Rust Free is what I use (per Bad Axe site). Finish up with Barkeeper's Friend if still bad and Autosol metal polish. I use Ospho Blue to raise etches when necessary.

[Joshua Culp]

+1 for Evaporust. 1 gallon jugs are available at Harbor Freight. Smaller sizes can be found at Tractor Supply and sometimes AutoZone.

[Jonathan McCullough]

I've had good luck with acids like vinegar on planes and chisels, but not all tools are the same. Maybe it's only my opinion, but saws are just different. Maybe it's because they're tempered at a higher temperature or because the steel is rolled, but conventional rust removal methods seem to drill tiny little pits into the steel where none were before. I like to use naval jelly to raise an etch, but I only keep it on for less than a minute. I think Barkeeper's Friend is a combination of abrasives and a mild solution of oxalic acid, aka wood bleach. I've seen good results from that milky-pasty turtle wax stuff with a buffing, but haven't tried it yet myself; as a final finish it might be similar to a temporary application of Barkeeper's Friend.

[David Weaver]

I'd save any of the acids, electrolysis, etc for something other than saws. They will leave a saw plate looking dull, and all of the classy saws came with a nice polish from the factory unlike the brushed sides on planes (though they do look kind of bad with the gray tint from chemical removal - it's not like I haven't done it, but they do look bad and I usually oxpho blue them to hide it).

If you can't get the rust off of a saw with a razor blade and then work with wet and dry fine grits (as fine as you can work with and still be productive to leave a nice smooth plate) with a lubricant, then it's probably not a saw worth saving.

[Johnny Kleso]

+1 for a Razor but make sure the blades are not pitted with holes..
Ask if you can scrape a small area..