I finally found out why my grandpa's old tools never rusted

So I was digging through my dad's garage and found this old handsaw from the 1940s that my grandpa used. It had zero rust on it despite sitting in a damp shed for 30 years. I looked it up and apparently tools back then were made with higher carbon content steel that naturally resists rust better than the cheap alloy stuff today. Has anyone else noticed this with old tools from before the 1960s?

4 comments

4 Comments

hugos461mo ago

Funny enough, my own grandpa's hammer from the 1950s looks better than any tool I've bought in the last decade, which mostly just confirms I'm the weak link in the family's handyman tradition.

leo_black7616d agoMost Upvoted

holy crap, a 1950s hammer still looking good? that's wild. my grandpa had a similar estwing from the 40s that he used every day for like 30 years building houses, and the head still had its original shape. i don't think anything i've bought from home depot the last five years would survive a single season of that abuse, let alone look decent after. the steel really was just different back then, plain and simple.

shanef341mo ago

if you ever restore an old tool like that, just use some mineral spirits and fine steel wool (0000 grade, it's the good stuff) and it'll clean up without scratching the metal. then a light coat of oil keeps the rust away. beats any modern polish i've tried.

shanef341mo ago

yeah that tracks with what i found goin through my grandpas toolbox a few years back. he had this old plane from the 1940s and a set of wrenches that looked almost brand new after i wiped the dust off. my dad told me they used better steel back then, like you said, and the surface was actually ground smoother so gunk had less to grab onto. your handsaw sounds like a keeper, probably worth more than most new ones at the hardware store these days.