Blunting in storage?

[oldtimer]

I recently got a chisel that I hadn't used for some time out for a small job and found that it seemed blunt although I'm sure when I put it away it was sharp. It had a tip protector on it and is kept in a box reserved for sharps in an unheated shed.

I've noticed something similar with knives. It sometimes seems that the edge has dulled while the knife has been stored. My knives are mostly carbon steel, but it seems to have affected a SAK put away in a drawer.

Am I imagining this, or can an edge corrode through dampness in the atmosphere and lose its sharpness?

 

[ammo]

It could be worse than anything you imagine...........Someone might be useing your tools.:bluThinki

I recently got a chisel that I hadn't used for some time out for a small job and found that it seemed blunt although I'm sure when I put it away it was sharp. It had a tip protector on it and is kept in a box reserved for sharps in an unheated shed.

I've noticed something similar with knives. It sometimes seems that the edge has dulled while the knife has been stored. My knives are mostly carbon steel, but it seems to have affected a SAK put away in a drawer.

Am I imagining this, or can an edge corrode through dampness in the atmosphere and lose its sharpness?

 

[Goatboy]

You'll have to start storing your blades in a pyramid ( Loved that bit that Terry Prattchet wrote about the pyramid being so big it could put an edge on a rolling pin)

Though this came to mind from British Blades.

Originally Posted by Gollnick Two processes are at work.

The first is oxidation. This is probabaly the cause of your problem. Oxygen in the air literally rusts the very edge of the knife.

The second is atomic migration. The very sharp edge is a very unnatural thing. It's a very organized thing. Nature abhors organization -- witness my desk. The atoms will tend to migrate away from that organized edge. This is a very slow process.

So, these two things mean that the answer to your question, "Do unused knives get dull?" is yes.

 

[ozzy1977]

Cant say I have ever had this problem,

 

[ammo]

I have, but i live by the coast and always put it down to this. If i apply beeswax and dont sheath them. The edge seems to stay longer.

Cant say I have ever had this problem,

 

[oldtimer]

You'll have to start storing your blades in a pyramid ( Loved that bit that Terry Prattchet wrote about the pyramid being so big it could put an edge on a rolling pin)

Though this came to mind from British Blades.

Originally Posted by Gollnick Two processes are at work.

The first is oxidation. This is probabaly the cause of your problem. Oxygen in the air literally rusts the very edge of the knife.

The second is atomic migration. The very sharp edge is a very unnatural thing. It's a very organized thing. Nature abhors organization -- witness my desk. The atoms will tend to migrate away from that organized edge. This is a very slow process.

So, these two things mean that the answer to your question, "Do unused knives get dull?" is yes.

Thanks for that. It has set my mind at rest. I sort of guessed that was what may be happening. I would have expected that a knife showing obvious signs of corrosion would have the edge blunted and had come to the view that it could happen unseen on the edge. Thank you for confirming my suspicions.

Thank you also for confirming another opinion of mine that someone on this site would be sure to know the answer to anything to do with knives!