WD40 for preventing rust

You have already started that thread here. But if you really want to know the best thing you can do for an axe head to preserve it that would be to paint it. When it starts to get worn off paint it again. The best preserved old axes I have ever found were painted. A bomb can of exterior enamel will last quite a while.
 
Woodcraft said:
Lol.
I have two ax heads I am punishing for being crap. They are outside rusting. Perhaps I will toss some saltwater into the mix.
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And then you'll learn some more about accelerated rust hardening of steel surfaces. Surface rust is not necessarily a negative thing! NASCAR Pioneer Smoky Yunick 1/2 century ago harnessed these traits on to cylinder walls in order to build that-much-more-more-durable race car engines.
 
I may have been lookng in the wrong places, but couldn't find too many facts on rust hardening. It really intrigues me as a concept.
 
300Six said:
And then you'll learn some more about accelerated rust hardening of steel surfaces. Surface rust is not necessarily a negative thing! NASCAR Pioneer Smoky Yunick 1/2 century ago harnessed these traits on to cylinder walls in order to build that-much-more-more-durable race car engines.
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That is interesting. I did not know that.
 
I don't like WD40 for rust prevention as it doesn't seem to have staying power over time, and is so thin that it can 'leak' off. For short-term it's fabulous, and for getting rid of water where you need it not to be.

I've been rubbing down my axe heads with the same sno-seal I use for their sheaths. It seems to work so far (several years).
 
Gently melt 1 part beeswax in 4 parts mineral oil. When this cools it should be a paste consistency. This is a food grade item that can also be put on cutting boards, wooden bowls butcher block etc.
 
Ive been seeing hatchets/hawks made of 440c steel lately?!. No full size axes yet
 
WD is by no means a miracle product but it sure is cheap, easy and convenient. Especially in the form of an on-sale aerosol can to 'mist' tools just before putting them away. I've been a competitive scattergun shooter for almost 30 years and rather than fuss around for hours (such as most folks that zealously lord over expensive shotguns do) in cleaning surfaces of dampness and rainwater and to keep hands & fingerprints from etching metal surfaces a mere 'momentary squirt' of WD has never done me any harm. Protective bluing from receivers has long since departed from 'my babies' but rust has never been able to take over despite my laziness.
If you zap your stuff before storage it becomes the cheapest insurance there is against retrieving an embarrassingly rust-pitted tool some time later. If you're staining the wood of goods with this then you're using way too much. "Mist not soak" should be the overall mantra about all this.
 
300Six said:
WD is by no means a miracle product but it sure is cheap, easy and convenient. Especially in the form of an on-sale aerosol can to 'mist' tools just before putting them away. I've been a competitive scattergun shooter for almost 30 years and rather than fuss around for hours (such as most folks that zealously lord over expensive shotguns do) in cleaning surfaces of dampness and rainwater and to keep hands & fingerprints from etching metal surfaces a mere 'momentary squirt' of WD has never done me any harm. Protective bluing from receivers has long since departed from 'my babies' but rust has never been able to take over despite my laziness.
If you zap your stuff before storage it becomes the cheapest insurance there is against retrieving an embarrassingly rust-pitted tool some time later. If you're staining the wood of goods with this then you're using way too much. "Mist not soak" should be the overall mantra about all this.
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is WD40 cheaper than mineral oil? WD40 is a bit more multi purpose than just mineral oil alone. but Mineral oil is cheaper, by a lot iirc.
16oz of mineral oil at walmart is about 2 and 8oz of wd40 is about 4
but really its so small a difference it doesnt really matter, just nit picking.

if you want to have a cheap food safe solution either will do. you just have to apply it more often. if you want something that will last a longer time, fluid film, or wd40 specialist will do really good. heck even wax for storage. but as long as you keep your high carbon metal dry and not in humidity you shouldnt have any problems.
 
3in1 oil is the best for the money, I wonder if they make a 3in1 grease so it has a bit more staying power.

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John.
 
John Stubley said:
3in1 oil is the best for the money, I wonder if they make a 3in1 grease so it has a bit more staying power.
John.
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check out this test. a bit more options and ALOT more days tested. 3in1 doesnt last much more than 24 hours in the test. where as 3 options last at least 192 hours. WD40 lasted between 24 and 48 hours (they did two tests), 3in1 didnt last for more than 24 hours in either test.
http://www.dayattherange.com/?page_id=3667
 
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rjdankert said:
From the article:

Here is a picture of the two boards with board #1 at 15 days (360 hours) and board #2 at 14 days (336 hours). The top 3 performing products are continuing to protect the steel plates.




Bob
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Yup exactly. Specialist version of wd40 (which is Not the wd40 everyone talks about) is pretty damn good. I picked up some Barricade from that test cause it excelled in lubricity, gonna have to test it out for a few folding knife pivots. One shot is also on my wish list for next time. I got the Barricade first because it was on sale.
 
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I prefer 3in1 over wd40. I find the best characteristics of them is the cleaning aspect to get back to a polished surface is stuff gets built up. I'm not a fan or thicker oils/pastes unless the knife will be stored.

Mineral oil seems like a great solution that I simply haven't tried yet for knives but it works pretty well on bike parts but those have some types of cleaner additives in them from what I understand. They are at least dyed colors so not likely food safe.

I'm actually surprised the 3in1 performed better than rem oil. I always thought they were nearly the same thing, basic machine oil: clean, lube, prevent.
 
I think mineral oil is only for knives used in preparing food, 3in1 oil for all else though, it`s as cheap as mineral oil on Amazon UK (maybe it`s cheaper in the US), I would like to try a 3in1 grease if they sell it.

I checked the safety information on 3in1 oil, it says it`s has a low toxicity though it does not have a very nice taste i have read, I don't like the smell of wd40 at all, if the smell is added i wish they would stop.

John.
 
John's comment got me curious so I looked up the SDS. It's surprisingly low toxic as Naptha is the only toxic part and mostly for inhalation. It seems you have to take quite a bit of it to be to the toxic level, 5 grams per kilogram bodyweight (a 218 lb person would need to drink a little over a pound). I was hesitant to use it on food contact blades as it smells like it has something more toxic but that doesn't seem to be the case. Good to know.

https://www.wd40company.com/files/pdf/sds/3inone/3-in-one-multi-purpose-oil-w-telescoping-spout.pdf
 
The primary reason to use WD-40 is it comes in inexpensive aerosol cans and refillable squirt bottles . You can efficiently zap a rifle, engine block, axe or shovel easier and faster than having to use a cloth.
Were these valuable museum specimens or items to put away for long term storage it becomes worthwhile to look at other products.
 
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