Bleach on knife handles.

[Gunner]

Hey all i just have a few questions. Will bleach destroy my next generation Ka-Bar handle? Will it bleach all handles? Which knives are safe to use around bleach? Thanks BTW the reason I ask is after i use a knife to clean game i need to clean the entire thing with bleach.

 

[Jeff Clark]

I'd pick a different disinfectant than bleach for cleaning a non-industrial knife handle. Bleach is intended to remove colors from materials using an oxidation process. It contains chlorine which not only eats colors it also attacks most organic-based materials like rubber, synthetic rubber, and many plastics. Things that tolerate bleach are plastics like polyethelene (used in bleach bottles). I happily bleach my white plastic handled industrial boning knife, but not my regular hunting knives.

I get gallon jugs of concentrated Lysol Lemon Scent cleaner/disinfectant at Sam's Club. I mix diluted solution and fill a spray bottle. This is a lot less obnoxious to have around than bleach. Have you ever noticed that it seems to take forever to completely rinse bleach off of something?

I just got some European military surplus field gear this week. It all came with some degree of mildew odor. The Lysol cleaner works on a variety of materials without discoloring them.

There are many other brands of disinfectants out there. I'd leave bleach for cases where I wanted a color removal effect along with disinfecting.

 

[Defender]

Im not 100% sure what Bleach will do to your Ka-bar handle but I wouldn't chance it. Certainly don't soak it. Why is it that you need to clean your blade w/ bleach after dressing game? I've always found Lots of hot water and some Dish washing liquid to be adequate. If you have a lot of gunk on a blade such as animal fat or tree sap a finger nail brush and a mile abrasive such as boraxo works great and won't harm the finish on your blade.