How may I remove the thick rust from tools which have lain unused for years (nay, decades)?

Please suggest only easily available materials and techniques, as highly special materials for rust removal may not be available in India.
I don’t feel like throwing them away, as many of them are very old and ingenious (made pre-World War II), and you don’t get such cleverly made tools any more.

to add to the others…
wd-40 works …albeit slowly…but that’s OK…sometimes the only thing holding pieces together is the rust…
TSP /naval jelly/ muriatic acid/ and good old SOS/brillo with a lot of “elbow grease”…

a stiff wire brush will clean off the heavy rust/a wire wheel or wire (disc) cup for a power drill will aid in the initial cleanup…
or…start with an extremely coarse sandpaper and work your way up to 00 or 0000 for the finish work

just be careful that whatever you try..you don’t destroy the item trying to clean it up…sometimes a little rust on an important item is preferable to a shiny clean but ruined piece

How It’s Made – Hand Tools

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