Best way to protect damascus - EDC vs collector

Atlas Knife Company

Atlas Knife Company

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Feb 16, 2010
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My damascus project is almost finished, and I need to protect it. Ren wax, oil, nu-finish car wax, Rain-X, what's going to hold up the best on something that will get banged around a lot and be regularly brushed against vegetation 30-40 times per 18 holes? Is there anything in neoprene that would be damaging to a blade? Do collector knives get protected the same way as EDC knives?
 
zaph1 said:
regularly brushed against vegetation 30-40 times per 18 holes?
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Nice..... LOL


I have been using WD40 on my guns and knives for a long time, and I have yet to find any rust after a long day of hunting

And before any ones says bluing stops rust, forget and leave a wet gun in a case over night and you will see how very little rust protection bluing provides, learned that one the hard way :mad:
 
I use a damascus knife brushing trails out, and it is very low maintenance especially if you appreciate character. The bright metal polishes back up no problem and the dark metal just gets darker and darker.
Maybe there's a market for tuff cloth club cozies.
 
I have started using "Strike Hold", which is a penetrating oil. It comes in a pump bottle.
Lacy ( Alabama Damascus) turned me on to it. He says it helps keep the etch good looking and rust free better than anything he has used. They use it to set the etch after rinsing and neutralizing their damascus.

http://strike-hold.com/
 
You might want to be careful when using that stuff, its chuck full of Tetrachloroethylene a class 2A carcinogen

best part about WD40 it is classified as non toxic


Potential Acute Health Effects:
Hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant), of inhalation. Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (permeator), of eye contact
(irritant), of ingestion.
Potential Chronic Health Effects:
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: Classified A3 (Proven for animal.) by ACGIH. Classified 2A (Probable for human.) by IARC, 2
(anticipated carcinogen) by NTP. MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Mutagenic for bacteria and/or yeast. TERATOGENIC EFFECTS:
Not available. DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY: Not available. The substance may be toxic to kidneys, liver, peripheral nervous
system, respiratory tract, skin, central nervous system (CNS). Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce
target organs damage.
 
the problem with w-40 oil is that there is water included in the contents. . There are better penatrants on the market. Leroy
 
were did you hear that WD40 has water in it, it was originally designed to dissipate water, its kind of counter intuitive to think they would put water into something designed to dissipate water ;o)
 
My experience (having a semi-open air shop in the rainy Pacific Northwest) is that WD-40 leaves equipment very vulnerable to rusting. A local outfit called Boeing developed an alternative called "Boeshield T-9" that I see in hardware stores here.
It seems to have wax in it, though I don't actually know what its composition is- much better choice for rust control.
WD-40 is probably better than nothing, but experience tells me that it's not much.
 
elementfe said:
(having a semi-open air shop in the rainy Pacific Northwest)
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Ya living on the upper left coast with all that rain and humidity has got to suck, I can just about imagine that from time to time you run across a piece of plastic that is starting to rust ;0)
 
leroyk3 said:
the problem with w-40 oil is that there is water included in the contents. . There are better penatrants on the market. Leroy
Click to expand...


Take a look what is actually in WD40

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/17-05/st_whatsinside

st_whatsinside2_f.jpg
 
well i'm happy to find out that I haven't been spraying water on my guns for the last 35 years LOL
 
I've been carrying a damascus EDC for years now. No rust problems to speak of but granted semi arid to arid climate. However the knife is used and used hard often getting wet or bloody. Care tends to be wiped on my Levis' leg or chaps to dry and put back in the sheath. I do try to wipe it down occasionally with an oily rag and have used WD 40 but more often Breakfree. It lives in its leather sheath cause it really is an EDC. If I have my pants on, I'm wearing it. Have not noticed any rust or discoloration from the leather either.
 
elementfe said:
My experience (having a semi-open air shop in the rainy Pacific Northwest) is that WD-40 leaves equipment very vulnerable to rusting. A local outfit called Boeing developed an alternative called "Boeshield T-9" that I see in hardware stores here.
It seems to have wax in it, though I don't actually know what its composition is- much better choice for rust control.
WD-40 is probably better than nothing, but experience tells me that it's not much.
Click to expand...

Boeshield T9 was developed for airplane landing gear components, and it's also marketed as a bicycle chain lubricant. I have been using it for YEARS, (on my mountain bike chains) and it is amazing stuff- incredibly tenacious. I do believe it has a fair amount of parrafin wax in it, but it's very thin and leaves an almost invisible protective film which is crazy durable and it also seems to fight rust. Never thought of it in this context but it's a great suggestion!
 
My experience with WD40 and expensive knives is this; I don't use it on them. Certainly not for rust prevention. I'll use WD40 as a lubricant while handsanding, but not as a rust preventive after the knife is complete. This comes from many years of collecting fairly expensive carbon steel and carbon damascus knives and attempting to keep them from rusting while stored. WD 40 evaporates fairly quickly and what's left is the propellant, which is corrosive. I use synthetic Rem Oil now. I tried Ren Wax, and still use it on wood handles, but it's too easy to get too much on your blade and it makes clean up a beeatch.
 
Danbo said:
WD 40 evaporates fairly quickly and what's left is the propellant, which is corrosive.
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According to the chemical analysis provided by avigil, the propellant in WD40 is CO2, carbon dioxide, a gas that evaporates into thin air when released at room temp, if there was any corrosive residue left behind, the guns I have been spraying it on for 35 years would have turned to dust by now ;0)

seems to be a few myths about wd40 that just aren't true...my favorite.... that it is made from fish oil ;o)
 
The propellant in WD 40 evaporates, leaving a mineral oil coating-which is a pretty good rust preventative. There is no water in WD 40.
 
So, which ingredient in WD40 makes it a bug repellant?

I'm going to go to the bike shop today and see if I can find some Boeshield. I like the concept of it at least.
 
White Lightning is also parafin based and might work for you too. It's a little waxier, while T9 is a little oilier
 
Good thread, good link too! I might need to find some of that t9 stuff, but I as amazed how well good old wd40 did, and how poor Hoopes #9 oil did. I have been using gun oil, but this make me think there are much better things out there.
 
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