Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without - The life of a bait knife

I was cleaning out my boat the other day and found an old bait knife that had been forgotten on board. This thing was rough, sprayed by seawater and left for dead any normal person would just throw it out and run to the store to buy the next replacement. I looked at that knife and said, "Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." That knife has done a good job cutting up ballyhoo and pilchards for hungry schooling Mahi-Mahi, I felt like I owed the little bugger a clean-up.

First, let me tell you that this is no show knife, I don't have this displayed in my glass knickknack cabinet. This is a work knife a little rust is not going to hurt it. My best advice is to NOT LET YOUR KNIVES GET THIS BAD!!!!! With that being said you will see in the pictures that there still is a little pitting on the blade, but the transformation is remarkable for the amount of rust that was present.

Here is what it looked like before I started.

The other knife is an old craftsman knife that my grandmother owned, I just thought I would throw it in the pictures (I did clean it up too!).

Since this was a stainless steel knife I reached for the product that I always start out with when It comes to stainless steel. Bar Keepers Friend. A friend indeed! Remember stainless is Stain-LESS, not rust proof!

Next I grabbed a sponge with a green scrubbing pad on one side. If your knife has normal light rust then you can use the yellow or non coarse side of the sponge.

Sprinkle some Bar Keepers Friend on the knife wet the sponge and then go to town on it. I like to hold the knife right at the edge of the counter so that the blade lays flat on the surface that way I can put more back into it. Like I said before this is an extreme example. Even with the rust I had on my knife I got the majority off in less time than I could drive to the store and bust out another 15 to 20 bucks for a new bait knife!

Here is what it looked like after several minutes of scrubbing.

Not too bad for what someone would normally throw away! Another product I use for all things metal is Never Dull. I have used this stuff for years, and it works great. If you need a little more rust removal on your blade you can use Never Dull, fine grit sandpaper and even fine steel wool.

Like I said before this is not a show piece knife so I don't really care about having a perfect blade. If you have a really nice knife always start with the least abrasive method first, If you hit your nice knife with 60 grit sandpaper your not going to like the outcome. When your done cleaning the blade make sure you give it a good sharpening and hit it with some type of protective oil. Keep in mind food grade knives verses survival/outdoor knifes for the type of protective oil you use.

So don't throw out that old steak knife that has been sitting in your garage for 30 years, "Fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."