Blade disinfection while in the outdoors.

What’s the best way to clean Tony’s blood off my knife? :eek:
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About thirty minutes in an autoclave should do it for you, then douse it and wipe it on your pants.
 
And if Big Mike is really serious, Hydrogen Peroxide removes blood from clothing pretty well, according to my sister in law, who's an ER nurse.
 
Big Mike said:
Well now, …that’s good to know. :cool:





Big Mike

”Scaring the tree huggers.”

Forest & Stream
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Disclaimer: I've never actually tried it myself for more than a little blood. One would think that, as often as I've managed to bloody myself over the years, I would have tried it on bigger projects. Worked well for small amounts though.
 
dawsonbob said:
And if Big Mike is really serious, Hydrogen Peroxide removes blood from clothing pretty well, according to my sister in law, who's an ER nurse.
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Not sure but I think hydrogen peroxyde is like to cause some color alteration on clothing, not a problem with white nurse scrubs but on your favorite jacket... would try on old clothes first,
and yes it reacts with blood try to put a small chunk of bloody meat in concentrated solution...

As for cleaning blade I don't know. Good soap cleaning should be OK for the blade. Small interstices like around handle might be a problem.
Then you could use some hand sanitizer/alcohol solution.

If I was in the outdoor without the right stuff I'd try rinsing boiling water, dipped in (with some piece of wood or rock in the bottom so blade doesn't come in contact with can) or at least rinsing with boiling water.
 
I have a sliding scale of methods....

Above any consideration is the sheath, who wants to get the inside of the sheath dirty? No good.

Beyond that...

Spit or water and a drying with a piece of reasonably clean clothing or a sweat rag.

I am not really all that worried about germs, they fear me. I am not one of those fussy people who have to hit the hand sanitizer every 5 minutes....

As long as I am reasonably sure that it won't kill me immediately, I let my immune system tussle with it awhile, that is why I have an immune system, after all.

I am not above the use of a wet wipe from time to time, but that is more so that I can keep the rotting meat(for instance) fragrance out of my mouth.

Also, as anyone who has crossed one of my sweat rags will tell you, they got a mean wallop.

Marion

"There isn't just clean and dirty. There are many subtle levels in between. See this shirt? Hang this outside in a stiff breeze for 30 minutes and it's good." Dr. Peter Venkman, Ghost Busters
 
I always have alcohol pads in my kit. An added benefit is that they will get stubborn sap of the blade as well. Another option is the steel wool that I carry o clean blades of my noncoated blades. (Then an alcohol wipe or hand sanitizer.)

that being said, unless I'm preparing to cut food or perform surgery, a couple of swipes on the ol pant laeg and back in the sheath is not uncommon.

-- FLIX
 
I split up the task of food and non-food cutting. For edible stuff and game prep, I use either an Alu SAK or a Leatherman Wave. For the other cutting tasks -my sheath knife. The SAK/Multitool get a normal cleaning after use. To deal a blow to the germs, I occasionaly throw them in boiling water to sterilize them.
 
I must admit I've never thought about this before..Normally its just wiped on my pants or grass and put back in the sheath, so sanatizing might be hopeless(consider what might be in the sheath), A good washing with plain ole soap and water when I wash my hands after cleaning fish(I carry Ivory bar soap) is about as close as its ever been to clean. I carry alcohcol hand sanitizer(gel) for cleaning minor cuts and such and digging out splinters ect is usually done with a different blade. I guess I just count on the cooking process to kill any nasties that the food picks up from the blade...
 
Since my knife has never had an infection, I feel no need to disinfect it. :rolleyes:
 
Umm...just boil some water and dunk the blade in it for a bit. :)
 
Thanks for your comments guys. This question came to being during a conversation I've had with an old friend of mine as we were talking about the possibility of a 5-day horseback riding trip to the Sierras. I see there is a convergence of opinions concerning the use of alcohol wipe/sanitizer. I find this a good idea that frankly speaking had never thought about. What I was thinking of was something along the lines of:

Fiddleback said:
Carbon is sanitary. Use charcoal. (After its cooled.)
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Mentor said:
Usually, I'm satisfied with a rinse with water and a wipe on my bandana. If I'm cleaning fish or prepping messier food, I like to sprinkle my knife with charcoal ash, swish it in water
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FortyTwoBlades said:
Umm...just boil some water and dunk the blade in it for a bit. :)
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Happy 4th of July!
 
Cut through a potato and roast the potato. Try to imagine your blade gunk as toppings.
 
WolfTracker said:
wee wee.
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Should be sterile, but you can't count on it.

I usually wipe my knife with a bandanna or some leaves. If I needed it to be clean for surgery or something similar, I'd put the blade in boiling water for a couple minutes--it won't be sterile, but it'll be a bit cleaner. Alternatively, you could make a 10% bleach solution and soak the blade in that for an hour. 10% bleach will kill just about everything and is more effective than a quick wipe with Jack Daniels No. 7. If you feel like carrying a small bottle of bleach around with you....

 
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