Knife metal protection outdoors from rust

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eddieb

Tenderfoot
Jan 17, 2014
79
26
Essex
www.youtube.com
Hi all, when out n about for several days what do you do to protext your highcarbon steel knives ?
I personally bring nothing and just dry it and thats work for the most part but im thinking of adding somghing to my kit so would like to hear what you have/do
 
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I use a food safe, dry silicone oil. Just spray it on and jobs a good 'un. Works well.

This sort of thing. I'm not sure if this exact one is food safe, but i'm sure you get the idea.


This one appears to be though. Not bought any for a while as a can will last years normally.

 
As you are doing at the moment - keeping the blade dry after use - is simplest. I do sometimes take a couple of sachets containing wipes soaked in Ballistol Klever with me, just in case.
 
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Unscented baby wipes.
Cleans off mud, gunk, food residue, and leaves a safe residue behind. Wipe with a paper hankie and put in sheath.

Seems to work fine. I've knives that I've been using for 25 years and they're good :)
 
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Same stuff I use on my craft and wood workingtools - Camellia oil

In the field ; a plastic ziplock bag containing patch of cotton cloth damp with the stuff, quick wipe, back in the bag.
 
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Butchers block white oil (high purity mineral oil) is a good option if you want it to be food-safe.

Sometimes I rub a thin coating of petroleum jelly (such as Vaseline) over high carbon tools to protect them from moisture. Especially if they aren't going to be used for a long time. Unlike oils which lose viscosity when exposed to warm temperatures during the summer and can eventually run off the surface of the tool, petroleum jelly is thick and will stay in place permanently.

It depends on what type of tool I'm protecting, how often I intend to use it and and where it will be stored that decides which oil is used. For most tools I use a machine oil, sometimes I use petroleum jelly and if I'm feeling lazy or in a rush a quick spray of 4 in 1 oil (such as WD40) does the job well enough for shorter periods of time. For food-safe tools I always use butchers block white oil.
 
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Butchers block white oil (high purity mineral oil) is a good option if you want it to be food-safe.

Sometimes I rub a thin coating of petroleum jelly (such as Vaseline) over high carbon tools to protect them from moisture. Especially if they aren't going to be used for a long time. Unlike oils which lose viscosity when exposed to warm temperatures during the summer and can eventually run off the surface of the tool, petroleum jelly is thick and will stay in place permanently.

It depends on what type of tool I'm protecting, how often I intend to use it and and where it will be stored that decides which oil is used. For most tools I use a machine oil, sometimes I use petroleum jelly and if I'm feeling lazy or in a rush a quick spray of 4 in 1 oil (such as WD40) does the job well enough for shorter periods of time. For food-safe tools I always use butchers block white oil.
Try something like this...Seriously, it may seem on the steeper side price wise, but once you spray a bit on your blade, it stays there. Carving wood can rub it off the bits on contanct with wood, but it'll protect every other area for weeks/months. If you're not carving wood, it'll stay put, for a long time. Thats my professional recommendation. There are other versions of the same thing... some might be cheaper, some more expensive, but this is the type of thing i use. I used to use oils, greases etc... tried many things over the years. Wouldnt use anything else now.

 
Try something like this...Seriously, it may seem on the steeper side price wise, but once you spray a bit on your blade, it stays there. Carving wood can rub it off the bits on contanct with wood, but it'll protect every other area for weeks/months. If you're not carving wood, it'll stay put, for a long time. Thats my professional recommendation. There are other versions of the same thing... some might be cheaper, some more expensive, but this is the type of thing i use. I used to use oils, greases etc... tried many things over the years. Wouldnt use anything else now.

what's the "normal" purpose of that stuff?! buying online and getting anything shipped to central america is out of option due to the ridiculous shipping and import fees (+red tape), but maybe there's a local alternative...
 
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what's the "normal" purpose of that stuff?! buying online and getting anything shipped to central america is out of option due to the ridiculous shipping and import fees (+red tape), but maybe there's a local alternative...
Many uses. Basically a dry lubricant. Same thing you'd use oil for, when you don't want oil all over other things.

Lots of vids on youtube...

Quick search examples...

It used a lot in industry. It keeps machines running and corrosion free, without attracting gunk. I've used pretty much most stuff.. Waxes, oils, grease... I prefer this sort of thing.
 
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I guess I'm a bit lazy but I don't really do that much, I keep it clean and polish off any rust spots when I'm sharpening it that's about it.
I've never had a scenario where my knife/sheath has been wet and stored for long enough to start to corrode badly.
I have a fair bit of dull grey blade discoloration which could be buffed out with metal polish but it doesn't bother and has no effect on performance.
My knife has a wooden handle and leather sheath neither of which should be subjected to long term exposure to water, I guess with this in mind I try to keep it fairly dry and so far have managed this.
 
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Try something like this...Seriously, it may seem on the steeper side price wise, but once you spray a bit on your blade, it stays there. Carving wood can rub it off the bits on contanct with wood, but it'll protect every other area for weeks/months. If you're not carving wood, it'll stay put, for a long time. Thats my professional recommendation. There are other versions of the same thing... some might be cheaper, some more expensive, but this is the type of thing i use. I used to use oils, greases etc... tried many things over the years. Wouldnt use anything else now.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll give it a try.
 
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Force a protective iron oxide finish on the carbon steel. In the past carbon steel firearms were protected by a process of forcing iron oxide to form and then boiling it off, scraping the residue and repeating. This is called rust blueing. If you take this all the way you get a very attractive layer of rich black iron oxide on the surface of the carbon steel that is stable and will provide some protection from rusting.

I have done rust blueing before but I am too lazy to do this these days. Now, I just use a carbon steel knife, wash it off with dish cleaning soap (Dawn) and a nylon brush. I rinse off the suds with blazing hot water with an aim to heat up the blade steel. This helps get any liquid out of areas like behind the handle scales. Unless the knife is going in to deep storage, I wipe the blade with a kitchen towel and just don't worry about it. Sooner than later a gray surface finish emerge on the blade. This grayness is iron oxide and will provide some protection from rust.

You can force iron oxide to form by getting acids on the blade and then wash this off with the soap/hot water process. Trying making a few batches of onion soup with your blade. Get the onion juices on the blade and it do the trick. Some people smear prepared mustard on the blade and get excellent results. I've tried this method too and, frankly, it is fast and works but feels like cheating to me.

Oh, last comment, personally, any blade that I might use for food prep is not exposed to things that I would not want in my body. Melted beeswax can provide an excellent long term protective layer that will also not poison you if you get it in your system.
 
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