Oiling a blade

[Tom89]

Hi, when oiling a blade for storage, if the blade is coated black (mines a kabar) do you only need to oil the expose part of the blade edge rather than the entire blade? Cheers

 

[Will_]

Yes, I think only the exposed steel is prone to rusting. The coating should protect it better than oil until you wear areas of the coating away, then it will probably be easier just to oil the whole blade.

 

[nzgunnie]

It depends on the coating, if it is phosphating or parkerising (as some K bars are), then it should be oiled. If it is powder coated (as some K bars are), then oil wont make any difference to the coated areas.

 

[VaughnT]

For long-term storage, I prefer wax over oil any day of the week. Oil will run and soak into whatever's around the blade, and then it's not there to protect the blade. For best effect, I use kiwi-brand shoe polish and have never had a problem with rust on the blades. Even when out and about, the shoe polish gets smeared onto the inner surface of the sheath (leather for me!) and helps to waterproof it. It's a win-win situation for dirt cheap.