KitchenAid Knives

KitchenAid Pros come with a "no hassle, replacement guarantee." If you liked them at all, it sure seems worthwhile to have them replaced. They're made of a stainless alloy called 420J2. 420J2 is quite corrosion resistant. It's a surprise that your knives show rust, especially since they were well cared for.

Good luck,
BDL

I'm sure you could get them replaced but you may want to try cleaning them with bar keepers friend. This will likely take the spots off. You can find it near the scouring powder at any Walmart and many grocery stores. Less than $2 a can.

The name "stainless" does not mean 'stain proof.' Given enough salt and time, any stainless steel shows signs of corrosion.

If this is a deal-breaker for you, return the knives.

However, if the knives are 'perfect' for you and you do not wish to chance a new knife with other new problems, simply have the knife cleaned or polished. As I have stated, a "tinker" is a repair craftsman for kitchen items. Find a good tradesman in your area and have this issue professionally solved.

You can do it yourself. Yes, Barkeepers Friend is a brand. Personally, I'm going to polish decorative areas anyway. I use Mothers Billet Paste, or Nevr Dull (yes, that's the correct spelling).

These products are good for other uses, like cleaning tarnish on copper pots.

That's the question we need to work on. You can polish the knives, replace them, whatever, but I'm concerned that you're getting rust spots. As has been noted, stainless steel is not perfectly rust-free, but you shouldn't be getting rust on them based on the care system you describe.

I have a few questions:

1. Do any other knives in your block (if there are any) rust?
2. What sort of climate do you live in?
3. Where does the block rest?

In my experience, stainless steel rusts and pits only when there is stunningly bad basic care (which doesn't seem to be the case here) or when it is stored in a damp, corrosive environment. So I am suspicious of your block: I wonder whether it is holding moisture somehow. Is that possible?

Even if these knives were defective somehow, that shouldn't produce this result. The steel is the steel: they don't make it themselves, nor is it carbon steel (which rusts) plated or cladded with stainless. I suppose there could be flaws in the blades that are trapping corrosives, but I find it hard to believe that this would happen on multiple knives simultaneously. Thus I'm looking not at the knives but at what's happening to them.

I would agree, but remember that not all 'stainless' alloys have the same make-up.

For example, to be classified as stainless, an alloy must have at least 12% chromium, that's why a great steel like D2 at 11% is not marketed in that fashion.

Alloys in the jargon of "high carbon low chromium" like the twins ATS-34 and 154-CM barely make it to the level of stainless. However ZDP-189 is 20% chromium.

But to be fair, there are knives that spend their entire lives wet or in salt, and those belong to sailors. However their most popular brand is Myerchin, and corrosion is never mentioned.

I think our forum member just needs a lick of polish and nice micro-fiber cloth.

Sure, but we're not talking about fancy Japanese knives that are just barely or not quite in the stainless range, we're talking about KitchenAid knives. All I can find is that they're labeled "high carbon stainless steel." I'm betting we're well into the stainless range here. So even though, yes, PixieDiva can just polish off the rust, I still think there is something else we need to work out or it'll just happen again.

You're not making this easy, you know. ;)

I don't suppose you could post a photo of one of these knives with the rust on them? This is really bugging me: it shouldn't be happening, and I'm at a loss for how it could be.

I'm not sure that's possible in the real world. Any tool suffers some form of wear just by being used. Yikes, my bike would just sit in the garage--and BTW I have to make this quick, it's sunny...

As stated, "stainless" really means the alloy can endure more of the corrosive process than carbon steel or iron. I have a Shapton iron stone flattener that proves that point.

There are things--like Nevr Dull--that do leave sort of a 'dry lubricity' on the surface.

Now, I've talked to a rep from Sentry Solutions about Tuff-Cloth and use on food-grade items. They do not have a governmental sanction despite lots of safe use. Let's face it, the cloth smells like mineral spirits. I only use it on hard use working knives where abuse is part of the job.

Use the knife, take good care of it, enjoy it. Dry it thoroughly, and polish it before corrosion gets out of hand. I cannot remember the last time I polished the Myerchin in my blue jeans. Nor do I worry about it.

Yes friend you are right..no Garnette for stainless that it will never get corrosion...

One more question:
Is the block made of Yellow Pine or Cedar?

Those are both acidic woods and could be affecting the steel.

Hmmmmmm? That probably rules out the wood of the block as the source of corrosion.