A2 Tool Steel Oiling

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savageedge

Joined
Mar 18, 2002
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Does A2 Tool Steel require a constant layer of oil. Or only after it gets wet should I oil. Any advice on the type of oil that should be used on knife and sword blades made of A2 Steel. Thanks
 
i guess this must have been a stupid question. sorry. i honestly dont have much experience with non stainless steel. is any oil acceptable. 3and1 etc...
 
Nah, not a stupid question. Probably nobody saw it...any kind of oil will help prevent rust (WD-40, 3in1, etc.). Some do it better than others, some stay on the blade longer, and some have the potential to be healthier than others. A lot of folks like to use mineral oil because they use their knives to cut food and are afraid of health consequences from some substances. Many folks like the Tuff-cloths, which leave behind a microcrystalline coating that inhibits rust (or something like that). I personally usually give the blade a quick polish with Flitz, spritz it with WD-40, then wipe off the oil with a rag. You don't have to leave a thick layer of oil on the blade or anything. Good luck, and I'm sure somebody'll chip in to tell me how wrong I am and how I should be using product XYZ. :) :) :)
 
I prefer Mineral Oil simply because it is cheap, and does not gum up on the blade if it is stored for awhile like some oils. Some people like to use a paste wax on their blade, or as Burke said,they Tuf-Cloth them.
It's all up to your taste:).

I would advise you to keep a coat of some sort of rust preventive, as A2 has a bit of a reputation for rusting.

HTH:D:).
 
thanks. im noticing some staining already. very new blade too. its never even been wet. jeez. i picked up 3in1 and wd-40. now i gotta find some good cleaner. what do yas recommend... flitz?? where can ya pick it up. can it be found at home depot, walmart etc... i dont have any cutlery stores around here. thanks again.
 
Yeah, Home Depot or Walmart will probably have Flitz or Metal-Glo, both of which have worked well for me in the past. You can even use automotive polish like Meguiar's. Buffing-type polishes (come in stick form) don't work as well as the pastes. If you can't find anything that looks good around you, check out some of the online cutlery stores. I'm sure www.1sks.com has Flitz and Tuff-Cloth.

Regarding rust on your A-2 blade, this might have something to do with perspiration. Depending on your body chemistry, your fingerprints or sweat can be incredibly corrosive. If it's a continuing problem, you might want to wipe your blade down with a soft cloth after every full day of carry.
 
WD 40 is not an oil it is a solvent. Don't use it for protection...

A good grade of oil like Militech1 or this Rem oil I hear so much about are good. Better though is a teflon grease thinly wiped on the blade and rubbed in.

The best option is Marine Tuff Cloth. Works a treat, even on my Double high carbon steel Damascus blade. L6 and 1084 steel are rust monsters and I have not a spot with Tuff Cloth. Love the stuff, though as Ed advised me the normal Tuff Cloth attracts less fluff and lint. Never tried that one myself.
 
For cleaning, I do two things:
1. soap and water...scrub off any gunk/sap/guts/blood/vegetation.
2. Solvent bath. Acetone, MEK, brake cleaner from autoparts store, etc, will remove any remaining oily stuff down in the pores and dry out any residual water from step 1. Avoid any chlorinated solvents as they all tend to be from moderately bad to very bad for your health (just read the label... anything with "chloro" in the name is chlorinated. Chlorinated solvents do tend to work a bit better in many applications, but not enough better to be worth the handling risk outside of some industrial application, generally.

WD-40 is about 75% mineral spirits (weak hydrocarbon solvent) and about 25% mineral oil. It also carries fragrance of some kind (I've heard banana and orange oil, but it smells like neither to me really). It is not a particuarly good solvent compared with stuff mentioned in #2 above, and is a pretty poor lubricant, and it is not refined well so contains varnish-like materials so over time can gunk up moving parts (of no consequence on a fixed blade, minor issue on folders, big deal on anything with precision tolerances). But it is fairly cheap, easy to find, and an ok rust preventive.

Any automobile wax would work pretty well after a good solvent bath... would get into pores somewhat (especially if you get blade and wax warm) and then buffed off (careful with that edge!).

Tuf Cloth is pretty good but a bit smelly.

Any kind of oil will work pretty well also, don't get too bent out of shape chasing the perfect rust preventive. A good bath (soap, then solvent) after use and a re-coat with you choice and you should be fine. Also, if you can avoid storing in a leather sheath, that often helps prevent "rust from storage".
 
I prefer Birchwood Casey "Sheath" on knifes and firearms. It goes on easy and dries leaving a thin layer to prevent rust. It's much better on folders because once dry it doesn't attract lint and doesn't mess up your clothes.
 
what kind of finish does tuf cloth leave on the blade. can it be cleaned off if i dont like the look. or does it just have to wear off.
 
Don't store your knife in a leather sheath for the long term. Watch the bodily contact from finger prints and sweat in general. That being said:

I have used Rem Oil with good results but, really prefer the Sentry Solutions Marine Cloth or Tuff Cloth. Neither of these cloths will leave a "residue" that is noticeable. It is very similar to a silicone rag you use on a firearm but, it lasts a long time and works very well in the rust prevention role. It does have a slight odor but, nothing too bad or offensive (to my nose at least).

For really long term storage, I have used grease from the shop (I lived on a farm) that we used for bearings on the disk. I smeared a good bit around and then wrapped the blade in Saran Wrap and stored it loose. The mess wasn't too bad to clean up and it certainly worked well keeping moisture and rust away.
 
im getting a strange blackish discoration patina? here and there...mostly along the edge. i havnt even been keeping it in the sheath, which is kydex, or handling the blade with my hands. i do live in florida...moist air i guess. first thing i need to do is get the blade finish back to new, then prevent it from hapening again. its a beautiful brushed satin finish and i cant stand this ruining the look. its a short sword which i keep on display so, long term saran wrap type storage isnt an option. i just want it to look great and stay looking great.

should i flitz it clean then tuf-cloth it? or....?
 
That black discolouration is quite normal with very high carbon steels. My WW1 1907 Bayonet is black in places. Look at an Opinel carbon steel knife after a few months... Oil or not they discolour, fruit acids seem to be the worst for causing this. I would say it is a mild form of corrosion.:(
 
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