I just got myself a cheap Mora knife and already i'm sure I can see it starting to rust. Need rust prevention measures A.S.A.P.!!!! 
Rust!
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The first thing I do with a carbon steel knife is wrap the blade in tissue paper and soak it in vinegar.
Leave it over night and take the paper off. the blade should now be somewhere between grey and black in colour.
Rinse in water and dry off.
Now you have oxidized the surface in a controlled way and a little oil will keep the blade in this condition. (I use veg. oil because my knives are used for food sometimes)
The vinegar treatment does two things. Firstly it makes the surface much more forgiving in use. Secondly it stops me from worrying about every speck of tarnishing on the polished surface of my brand new knife.....
Leave it over night and take the paper off. the blade should now be somewhere between grey and black in colour.
Rinse in water and dry off.
Now you have oxidized the surface in a controlled way and a little oil will keep the blade in this condition. (I use veg. oil because my knives are used for food sometimes)
The vinegar treatment does two things. Firstly it makes the surface much more forgiving in use. Secondly it stops me from worrying about every speck of tarnishing on the polished surface of my brand new knife.....
Wayland said:The first thing I do with a carbon steel knife is wrap the blade in tissue paper and soak it in vinegar.
Leave it over night and take the paper off. the blade should now be somewhere between grey and black in colour.
Rinse in water and dry off.
Now you have oxidized the surface in a controlled way and a little oil will keep the blade in this condition. (I use veg. oil because my knives are used for food sometimes)
The vinegar treatment does two things. Firstly it makes the surface much more forgiving in use. Secondly it stops me from worrying about every speck of tarnishing on the polished surface of my brand new knife.....
Excellent advice, thankyou muchly good sir.
A few more questions please,
1) How often should I put oil on the blade? Should I put it on after every session of reasonable use? Or just when I feel that the blade has become completely exposed once more?
2)Will olive oil do the job?
Thankyou in advance.
Josh.
1) How often should I put oil on the blade? Should I put it on after every session of reasonable use? Or just when I feel that the blade has become completely exposed once more?
2)Will olive oil do the job?
Thankyou in advance.
Josh.
Josh,
Okay, the first thing you need to know about high-carbon steel is that it will, and always will oxidize. This is because of the content; carbon steel is made of iron (ferrum) and carbon, generally 0.95% added to harden it.
Stainless steel has other things added to it, like nickel, chromium, vanadium, and molybendum. These added ingredients are what make stainless rust-resistant, but it comes at a price: Softer steel. It won't stay sharp (edge retention) for as long as carbon.
That is, by adding these other elements to stainless, carbon content has to be slightly lowered to accomodate them. However, there are some very good stainless steels out there.
Generally, carbon steel is extremely easy to sharpen, and it produces a razor sharp cutting edge. But it oxidizes very easily. Some people will tell you that by simply carrying a small carbon knife in your pocket, sweat will actually oxidize it a bit. This is a trade off for how easy it is to sharpen, and how well it holds an edge, as long as you keep the oxidization to a minimum.
High-carbon stainless combines the best of both worlds, enough carbon for good edge retention, but enough stainless elements for less oxidation. Of course, sharpening a high-carbon stainless blade takes a bit more work than plain carbon, but it still produces a decent edge.
Steel is measured in Rockwell Hardness (HRC) a scale that measures how hard the steel is.
In my experience, a HRC of 56-58 is what you will get in high-carbon stainless steels, such as what Swiss Army, Buck, and Camillus use. It's hard enough to hold a good edge, but soft enough for ease of sharpening.
You see, the harder a steel is, the more edge retention it has (60-62 HRC is extremely hard.) But because it's harder, it is much more difficult to sharpen.
Softer steel, like one would find in dive knives is softer, sometimes dropping below 56 HRC. It is very easy to sharpen, but will not stay sharp very long.
In my experience, 56-58 HRC is perfectly suitable for everyday use.
But there is so much more to a knife than just the steel. Blade shape, profile, and heat-treatment also come into play. I won't bore you by spending hours writing up a huge post about them, but what I will do is say this:
Use what you're comfortable with.
Cheers,
Adam
Okay, the first thing you need to know about high-carbon steel is that it will, and always will oxidize. This is because of the content; carbon steel is made of iron (ferrum) and carbon, generally 0.95% added to harden it.
Stainless steel has other things added to it, like nickel, chromium, vanadium, and molybendum. These added ingredients are what make stainless rust-resistant, but it comes at a price: Softer steel. It won't stay sharp (edge retention) for as long as carbon.
That is, by adding these other elements to stainless, carbon content has to be slightly lowered to accomodate them. However, there are some very good stainless steels out there.
Generally, carbon steel is extremely easy to sharpen, and it produces a razor sharp cutting edge. But it oxidizes very easily. Some people will tell you that by simply carrying a small carbon knife in your pocket, sweat will actually oxidize it a bit. This is a trade off for how easy it is to sharpen, and how well it holds an edge, as long as you keep the oxidization to a minimum.
High-carbon stainless combines the best of both worlds, enough carbon for good edge retention, but enough stainless elements for less oxidation. Of course, sharpening a high-carbon stainless blade takes a bit more work than plain carbon, but it still produces a decent edge.
Steel is measured in Rockwell Hardness (HRC) a scale that measures how hard the steel is.
In my experience, a HRC of 56-58 is what you will get in high-carbon stainless steels, such as what Swiss Army, Buck, and Camillus use. It's hard enough to hold a good edge, but soft enough for ease of sharpening.
You see, the harder a steel is, the more edge retention it has (60-62 HRC is extremely hard.) But because it's harder, it is much more difficult to sharpen.
Softer steel, like one would find in dive knives is softer, sometimes dropping below 56 HRC. It is very easy to sharpen, but will not stay sharp very long.
In my experience, 56-58 HRC is perfectly suitable for everyday use.
But there is so much more to a knife than just the steel. Blade shape, profile, and heat-treatment also come into play. I won't bore you by spending hours writing up a huge post about them, but what I will do is say this:
Use what you're comfortable with.
Cheers,
Adam
To be honest, I probably wouldn't use Olive oil on my blades. There's been quite a bit of disscusion over on BB about it and it turns out it can actually contain some quite acidic components which cause black spotting and pitting on the blades. My best advice would be to get a Sentry Solutions Tuff Cloth from somewhere like Heinnie's not only do they protect, but they clean as well.JoshG said:A few more questions please,
1) How often should I put oil on the blade? Should I put it on after every session of reasonable use? Or just when I feel that the blade has become completely exposed once more?
2)Will olive oil do the job?
Thankyou in advance.
Josh.
I use anything from tesco's cheapest to fat left over from cooking (providing there is no salt in it)
Personaly I prefer to see some "colour" on a blade as it is a sure indication that it is used for it's purpose instead of just being the knife of an armchair bushcrafter.
Personaly I prefer to see some "colour" on a blade as it is a sure indication that it is used for it's purpose instead of just being the knife of an armchair bushcrafter.
ever notice how if you get mutton fat on a knife it seems to take weeks to come off?
i dunno why you suggest olive oil , veg oil is as good an option , if not better as it doesnt have the acidic ( i think its suspended water / olive juice) that olive oil can have
a rag with oil soaked into it should do fine for in the field, just wipe the blade down before sheathing it
at home store it out of its sheath, pref wrapped in an oily rag, will be ok for months that way
Tant
i dunno why you suggest olive oil , veg oil is as good an option , if not better as it doesnt have the acidic ( i think its suspended water / olive juice) that olive oil can have
a rag with oil soaked into it should do fine for in the field, just wipe the blade down before sheathing it
at home store it out of its sheath, pref wrapped in an oily rag, will be ok for months that way
Tant
How about gun oil?
Obviously on a non food blade, but it does OK on my rifle and a certain Mr M. recommends coating axe heads in it for preservation.
Then as a further question to Tantalus, does the use of mutton fat and its longevity, mean that it will protect a blade for longer than veg oil?
ATB
Ogri the trog
Obviously on a non food blade, but it does OK on my rifle and a certain Mr M. recommends coating axe heads in it for preservation.
Then as a further question to Tantalus, does the use of mutton fat and its longevity, mean that it will protect a blade for longer than veg oil?
ATB
Ogri the trog
Tantalus said:at home store it out of its sheath, pref wrapped in an oily rag, will be ok for months that way
Tant
That's an interesting difference, I always store mine in the sheath but I make sure the sheath is soaked in oil. (Veg. oil again)
But always oil it before storage.
Ogri the trog said:
I use cooking fat / grease quite a lot as it is often the most convenient source in a living history environment.
It persists well but I have been caught out by bacon fat on occasion ( salty ).
Interestingly though even then a quick wipe off followed by fresh oil has always sorted the matter out.
I have been hesitant in using any type of food oils and fats for blade preservation. Mainly because of it's ability to go rancid, or am I mistaken on that one? I've always used 3 in 1 oil, or gun oil on my carbon blades. I use a stainless SAK to do my food cutting.
Hmm... I've heard the rancid thing a few times but I've never noticed it.
Some of my leather sheathes are over a decade old and oiled with veg oil, they just smell like leather to me.
Some of my leather sheathes are over a decade old and oiled with veg oil, they just smell like leather to me.
only reason i would specifically go for olive oil is for an olive wood handle, just as a treat for it, the wood itself is oily to touch when it comes off the tree so i figure its gotta be a good thing
bacon grease is good, i believe mutton fat is better though, i think it will last longer but i dont really know, just get into the habit of putting something on it after using and you can not go too far wrong
storing in sheath, yeah leather has been known to absorb a little damp from the atmosphere and cause pitting over time, safer to take it out if it is going away for the winter
no harm done if ya get a little bacon fat coming off on your sarnie, it tastes better than gun oil
Tant
bacon grease is good, i believe mutton fat is better though, i think it will last longer but i dont really know, just get into the habit of putting something on it after using and you can not go too far wrong
storing in sheath, yeah leather has been known to absorb a little damp from the atmosphere and cause pitting over time, safer to take it out if it is going away for the winter
no harm done if ya get a little bacon fat coming off on your sarnie, it tastes better than gun oil
Tant
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