Blade care question?

B

Brigmophyson

Joined
Sep 21, 2013
Messages
36
Hello, I am relatively new to Buck knives and I have a 119 that I got about a year ago and a custom 110 with S30V blade I got a couple months ago. The short story to this is I was browsing around on Buck's site and came across a section about Knife Care, which I had no clue about. I know this might sound silly to some of you, but I have to say I was pretty depressed after reading it. It was talking about these knives rusting and having to oil the blade 2 or 3 times a year.

First, I thought specialty knives like these would hardly ever rust, only very very rarely.

And second, I dont want to have oil lathered all over my knife blade, the oil would just get everywhere when I handle the knife daily, and get all over the sheath and whatever I am cutting and would be a mess. I want a dry knife when I handle and use it.

I don't know if I am reading into this wrong or what, my kitchen knives have never rusted and I have never had to use oil on those, in fact I have never heard of oil having to be on a knife blade. I know I must sound like a real noob, but if someone could shed some light on this subject for me and help me understand this rust and oil situation I would be greatly appreciative.

Thanks in advance ^^
 
You are in Oregon I see. So your knives are in a humid environment at times and this can lead to issues. If you keep your knife in a leather sheath this can lead to problems. All steel can rust, except H1 or equivalents.

I take steps on some of my knives and on all of my vintage (cannot be replaced) knives: tough glide. I've had no problems over the years with this surface treatment.

I only oil some moving parts and no surfaces other than moving parts and then only in spare amounts. I use food grade mineral oil.

All that blather being said, I don't have a problem with rust on Buck knives. My place is dry, roof doesn't leak and the heating system dries the air. I don't store most of my Buck knives in their leather sheaths to be safe. Leather can play heck with brass and nickel silver.
 
You are reading more into it than needed. My collectables are never used but because they are valuable I do take good care of them which means they get cleaned and oiled at least twice a year as a precaution. My users are a different matter. I clean them as needed to remove blood, animal parts and grime, and simply dry them thoroughly. My folders get (as Oregon stated) a very very spare amount of oil on the moving parts a couple times a year after they are cleaned and dried. I have never had one to rust. The key is to simply make sure they are completely dried after cleaning them, and if you do oil them just use a very thin, almost unnoticeable coat.
 
oregon said:
I take steps on some of my knives and on all of my vintage (cannot be replaced) knives: tough glide. I've had no problems over the years with this surface treatment.

I only oil some moving parts and no surfaces other than moving parts and then only in spare amounts. I use food grade mineral oil.
Click to expand...

I never heard of Tuf Glide but looked it up. It's a dry film which interests me. Do you think it's safe for gold etched blades?

How about stag, how important do you think it is to treat stag with mineral oil or should you do anything at all.?
 
Thanks for your reply's. So, the two knives I have are not going to be used alot and definitely not on anything wet (like food). So when I oil the blade, do I just put a tiny amount on and rub it on the whole blade and then wipe it clean and dry? Or do I have to leave an oiley film on the blade? Or do I have even have to oil the blade, and just oil moving parts?

Basically I'm asking, when you get done oiling your blade, do you have oil film left on it that gets all over yourself and everything else?

Thanks again~
 
I don't even bother with oil on m Bucks. I do put a drop in the pivot every now and then when the action feels stiff. Now I do polish them every now and then with mothers mag and aluminum polish but I like my knives to be pretty. As long as you don't let them STAY wet you'll be fine
 
I oil the pivot and blade about 3-4 times a year. Once a quarter. However, I don't leave it slobbering and dripping with oil. Just a thin coat. Even merely a wipe with an oily cloth will do. On the ones I use I apply mineral oil. I can see you've not cared for a firearm. There is some room for learning. DM
 
Let me ask a bit of a different question now, if I had a mirror polished blade would that make it more rust and corrosion proof, and would I have to oil it still?

Thanks again ^^
 
I just give them a light wiping down with an oiled cloth occasionally if they are not to be used anytime soon,
I frequently oil the pivot, and any other moving parts though.
 
DeSotoSky said:
I never heard of Tuf Glide but looked it up. It's a dry film which interests me. Do you think it's safe for gold etched blades?

How about stag, how important do you think it is to treat stag with mineral oil or should you do anything at all.?
Click to expand...

I think of tufglide as a micro sealant at the molecular level. Rust cannot get a foothold if it works. I'm in this for the long term and then I hand off to another collector who is in it for the long term. On the vintage pieces, I have some oldies from WWI & WWII, I clean them within an inch of their lives and then, using gloves, clean again with high test alcohol, dry, clean with ultra clean cotton and then apply tufglide outdoors because it stinks, goes thru your skin and it stinks real bad. This stops the aging forever as far as my lifetime is concerned. I figure that if I am going to own a rare vintage piece that I must make an effort to stop the aging or I shouldn't own it. I intend to hand off to the next collection a piece that is stable and not in dire need of rehabilitation. I have only a few gold etched blades: gold is forever, unless you rub it off because etched gold is very very thin so use a feather duster on it, maybe. Stag scares me over the long run so I only have a few pieces and don't do a thing except enjoy it for its beauty. I'd be pleased to know the killer treatment, something that enhances it longevity, for stag.
 
Brigmophyson said:
Let me ask a bit of a different question now, if I had a mirror polished blade would that make it more rust and corrosion proof, and would I have to oil it still?

Thanks again ^^
Click to expand...

It definitely helps. If you think of it on a microscopic level. The more polished a blade is the less imperfections there are on the surface of the steel more moisture to get in and settle.
I live in South Carolina. You can just about swim through the air during summer because of the humidity levels. I haven't had rust problems with a single one of my buck knives. But I do keep them clean. I paid good money for these things and I would like them to be in good shape when I pass them on to my son
 
Brig, Welcome to the Buck Forum. Many of us are collectors and don't use some models. Other models we use. Toward your question, if your 119 is of Bucks standard steel (420HC). This is a very good stainless steel and resists rust well. Our kitchen knives are made of this steel and I oil them only when I sharpen them. Every other month. If you don't want to wipe your knife with a lightly oiled cloth once a year then don't. Mirror polishing a knife greatly helps it to resist rust or staining. Your custom 110 with S30V blade would be very difficult to give a mirror polish. As the vanadium carbides in it resist polishing. Still, if you have the equipment then go for it. Knife maintenance is a part of using and enjoying your knife. Similar to changing the oil in a car in order to enjoy driving it and helping it to last. Not much in life is maintenance free. DM
 
Just thought I would give a quick update, I went and got some mineral oil and oiled my knife. Just a couple of pinky dabs on each side of my 119 blade and then rubbed it up and down the blade and then wiped it all clean with a cloth, no mess like I thought it would be, seems my freaking out was for nothing. I feel kind of stupid, but I guess you just don't know until you do it yourself. Thanks for all your guys' tips and sorry for all the fuss :)
 
Not sure about gold but I use Tuf-glide on stag, pearl, the scrolled 111, 520, 523, 525 and 526 with no problems. I just rub down the entire knife using the Tuf-Guide after spraying some on the Tuf-Cloth to renew the cloth periodically. Seems to work well on all my stored knives.

Mike

Fiat justitia, et pereat mundus
 
hmm, well first I would have to say that it truly depends on the finish of the blade. Something with micro crevices in the blade is more likely to have some issues with oxidation. For older knives my father told me a method of preserving blades which would be to use a neutral shoe polish as it seems to work fairly well. For a couple of WWII blades that I have, I have done that and so far so good. Although I find that overall, the storage of the blades will determine what steps are required to caring for them, so I guess the real question would be where do you plan on having them?

BTW, your concerns are not noobish, and you did the best thing really. If you don't know, find out, and there seems to be no better place to do so than blade forums.

I myself have a cabinet I store all my knives in, and living in Texas I can tell you that we got some humidity, but my house inside for the most part is always kept at low humidity levels, so it is not as required for me to need to oil the blades on a regular basis. Myself, I just check them once every few months with honing oil. I have found that it actually works really well for the most part. In the end there is very few wrong answers to what to use, and everyone has their choices. I am big on simple myself and it seems to work.
 
I just put some grape seed oil on my blades and wipe it off with a bandana and never had any rust problems after that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top