Blade Oil

T

The_Guide

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Feb 1, 2009
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I was just curious, when it comes to oiling a blade, are there any specific characteristics the oil must poses?

Does it really matter what kind of oil is used?

Like could I use olive oil?

Up till now I have been using a standard 3 in 1 machine oil, but I have decided I want something that has a pleasant smell to it. I was thinking clove or camellia or something. Ooohhh... could I use essential oils like the kinds used in a scent diffuser? I really dig the smell of lavender :thumbup:

Anyone have any suggestions for a blade oil that has a nice scent, that is preferably food safe?

Thanks!

The_Guide :cool:
 
You know, I am not really sure why they are called "essential" oils.

All I know is that they smell good
 
Ahh... here we go,

According to Wikipedia:

An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. They are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant material from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it carries a distinctive scent, or essence, of the plant. Essential oils do not as a group need to have any specific chemical properties in common, beyond conveying characteristic fragrances.
 
I use olive oil on my blades, it works decently but I use most of my knives for food, alot of people recommend mineral oil for food use but i never bothered to go out and buy it.

If you're not going to touch food with your knife, stuff like 3 in 1, rem oil or even WD-40 would work great for rust prevention.
 
I use mineral oil as my mainstay when oiling my blades. I mixed a 1 oz. bottle of clove oil to 32 oz. of mineral oil. It has a nice rich smell and goes a long way at that mix ratio. Great protection for steel. Works great on the kitchen cutting boards also. Never goes rancid and it's cheap.:D
 
I have been using camellia oil on all of my knives and woodworking tools for the last ten years or so with excellent results. It does not have a strong fragrance though.
 
The_Guide said:
I was just curious, when it comes to oiling a blade, are there any specific characteristics the oil must poses?

Does it really matter what kind of oil is used?

Like could I use olive oil?

Up till now I have been using a standard 3 in 1 machine oil, but I have decided I want something that has a pleasant smell to it. I was thinking clove or camellia or something. Ooohhh... could I use essential oils like the kinds used in a scent diffuser? I really dig the smell of lavender :thumbup:

Anyone have any suggestions for a blade oil that has a nice scent, that is preferably food safe?
Click to expand...

If you are oiling for corrosion protection and will not use the knife for food, use an oil that has additives for corrosion resistance.

If you are oiling for corrosion protection and will use the knife for food, I recommend mineral oil. It will set up a better moisture barrier and will not turn gummy.
 
3 in 1 is fine for tools, for blades that are used often on foods (carbon steel kitchen knives) consider food safe mineral oil, sold as a laxative in your local pharmacy. For scent, add a few drops of cinnamon or clove oil (or whatever) to a small container of the base oil(3in1, mineral oil, mobil1,whatever you fancy). I use clove oil myself. George Fennel (inventor of FP-10, currently making Weaponshield CLP, my favorite lube) uses cinnamon oil as a scent modifier. You shouldn't use the essential oils at 100% concentration, they're usually toxic in large amounts, and for protection plain mineral oil is better. At 1-5% concentration cinnamon and clove are perfectly safe. Be sure to check toxicity and treat the oil accordingly (wipe it off before cutting food with it, which you should do anyways).
 
In my line of work, I use a mixture of citrus oil, mineral oil, and clove oil - the results is a volatile oil that extend the drying time of oil based paints. A side effect of this mixture is that it attracts clothes moths, even though clove oil is an effective mosquito repellent. Go figure!

Also, clove oil has anaesthetic properties. So, your pocket knife can double as a dental tool. should it comes to that.
 
+1 on camellia oil. They do not evaporate easily and is edible, so you can safely use them on kitchen knives also. It is traditionally used by Japanese knifesmiths on their swords.
 
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