A2 and food prep?

Y

y53p

Joined
May 11, 2022
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Gonna buy a Bark River Teddy 2 in A2. I’ve seen it tends to rust pretty easily, and that to prevent it you either have to oil it pretty often, which seems both like a hassle and unsafe for food prep, or put a patina on it, which will just make a new $300 knife look like an old piece of junk, as well as possibly making it unsafe for foodprep. Is the latter worry unfounded when it comes to foodprep; also does A2 rust that easily or will it be just fine if I wipe it dry after each use? Can anyone who’s used the BR Teddy or any A2 knife share their experience?
 
A2 does NOT rust that easily in my experience. A2 does not patina as fast as many of its competitors ( 01/1095/5160/8670). I’ve had many knives in A2 - excellent steel if the heat treatment is decent. Bark River should have A2 “mastered” at this point. My experience with A2 is similar to that of good D2 without the chipping issues, easier to sharpen. Maintain your blade with food grade oil and you’ll have zero issues
 
I made several kitchen knives in A2 about 18 years ago and they are still going strong. They take a great edge. Mine were hardened to 60 HRC. They turn grey in appearance but don't look bad. Someone mistreated one of them and it got a little blotchy. I lightly rubbed it with 1200 grit paper and it brightened right up.
 
I'm just thinking that the blade geometry of that knife is anything but ideal for food prep. If it's going to be minor function of the knife it might do. Any acidic food  will stain A2 in my experience, though not necessarily excessively, if cleaned after use.
 
Richard338 said:
I made several kitchen knives in A2 about 18 years ago and they are still going strong. They take a great edge. Mine were hardened to 60 HRC. They turn grey in appearance but don't look bad. Someone mistreated one of them and it got a little blotchy. I lightly rubbed it with 1200 grit paper and it brightened right up.
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How have you taken care of those kitchen knives? Did you need to oil them or was wiping them just fine for them not to rust/only turn grey?
 
I’ve made a lot of knives from A2, including kitchen cutlery. It holds up well if the owner/user does their part. My wife has a paring knife I made and she keeps the blade coated in cooking oil to prevent rust. It will patina over time, but cooking oil prevents the damaging rust that causes pitting.
 
shane45-1911 said:
Maybe avoid Bark River?
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word of warning...Mike doesn't work on Saturdays, so don't pester him on the weekends......

a2 has done fine for me. no real rust or pitting and I just wash if needed and wipe clean / dry and store..I dont oil anymore. stopped doing that almost a decade ago.
 
luethge said:
A2 does NOT rust that easily in my experience. A2 does not patina as fast as many of its competitors ( 01/1095/5160/8670). I’ve had many knives in A2 - excellent steel if the heat treatment is decent. Bark River should have A2 “mastered” at this point...
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This.^^^


I'm not questioning your veracity but find myself wondering where (*geographically) you've "seen" it rust pretty easily.

One of my favorite camp "food prep" blades is an LT Wright Camp Muk in A2. I also have two Teddy IIs that I don't think I've ever had to put a single drop of oil on. Mind you, I don't use the Teddy IIs for food prep. However, on my Camp Muk, I just clean/dry it when I'm done.

A2 takes a nice patina (*probably my favorite) with usage, in my humble opinion. And, if any of the grey'ish/black'ish hues start to take an orange'ish turn, a short/simple polish with Brasso puts everything back in the zone. The nice thing with Brasso is that it isn't abrasive. So, you won't lose all the patina you've spent time building. It will only polish the very surface.

Obviously, A2 isn't stainless. However, it you're worried about the "oil on the blade/food prep" thing, just go down to your local CVS/Walgreens/whatever pharmacy and score yourself some "food grade" mineral oil. You'll find it in the laxative/antacid section. You won't even have to wipe that stuff off. You can go straight from the sheath to cutting food. (*EDIT- Sorry, I just caught @ferider's post)
 
y53p said:
Gonna buy a Bark River Teddy 2 in A2.
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You sure its really A2?
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Alone said:
Why are you batoning your potatoes and carrots?
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Because thats the only way that scandi grind will cut them.....
 
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