Can you maintain a carbon steel knife with only materials from the wilderness?

T

T.M.A.

Joined
Jan 3, 2021
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188
This is something I haven't seriously thought about until now:

The advantages of a big carbon steel blade are many in a survival/ wilderness living scenario, but the rust factor obviously sucks. If you're in the wild without anything, can you maintain a carbon steel knife with only materials from nature?

I dunno... Sap? Some plant? Ashes from the fire??

Let me know thoughts and experiences!

Thanks!

-T
 
NapalmCheese said:
Sure.

If it gets wet you dry it. If you want to oil it you use animal fat and/or nose grease. If you want to sharpen it you use a nice rock. If it rusts you rub it with sand to clean it up (or not).

It's just metal.
Click to expand...
This ^

Also, just use the knife, a lot. So many things will accelerate patina, which will further protect the tool from rust. And if you see a rust spot? It really is not going to be a problem for a very long time to come.
 
Probably the reason a blacksmiths black finish was usually put on most carbon tools / knives before stainless was invented, which acts just like an acid wash but better and stops the blade from rusting.
Also oil is a natural resource that you can easily process, press or obtain outdoors from many natural fruit and seeds etc.
I have forged some blades and left a blacksmith black finish on them, and I've never seen any form of rust appear anywhere apart from the shiny edge bevel where it lacks the black finish, and that goes away as soon as I sharpen the knife.
 
Actually, there is no way to keep a carbon steel knife from turning into rusty dust within a few days. It is a little known historical fact that all knives and swords made before the invention of stainless steel were actually made of very shiny wood.
 
Somehow the mountain men in the Rocky Mountain wilderness managed to keep their knives, tomahawks, and rifles from rusting. Over two thousand years ago, the Roman Legions marched and conquered Europe, the Mid East, and most of Britain and their weapons did not rust away on them. The Vikings sailed open boats from Scandinavia to Iceland and Greenland with no rust on their weapons. French canoe voyagers paddle hundred of miles across wilderness rivers and Great Lakes, and their knives got by.

The myth of carbon steel rusting away if you look at it with tears in your eyes needs to be put to rest. And a little rust is not a bad thing. Puts some iron in your diet!
 
Well if I somehow get myself stuck "in the wild without anything" (except a big carbon steel blade it seems), I think maintaining the knife is a pretty low priority.

Getting myself back to civilization before the "rust factor" sets in will generally take precedent.

Am I the only guy on this forum who wanders around with more than just a big carbon steel blade on him? Sometimes I wonder.

Sharpening with a rock is pretty easy. We do it all the time, actually. And nose oil is readily available if you need it.

desmobob desmobob it takes a big blade and heavy martial arts skills to persuade bears to give up the grease. From what I hear. ;)
 
I wish I could take credit, or blame, for the rust myth, but it's just not so. It was our collective tendency to only add bits and pieces of information to our internal storage as we see fit.
Once upon a time, rust was just a thing. You had to take care of all your gear, rust was just another thing you dealt with it. Then stainless steels came along, and people began to forget how to care for their gear, it just wasn't needed.

But it was about the time that people started calling rust a cancer that things got totally whack. Because we ALL know about cancer, and how quickly it eats its host. And if a single spot of surface rust means your knife's days are numbered, several spots must mean that the cancer has metastasized, and failure is imminent. The structural integrity of the steel will be forever in doubt, because most cancers kill from the inside.

A little bit of surface rust is easily dealt with. It's a freckle, a beauty mark, perhaps a small scar, on on otherwise pretty face. If that's all it takes to turn you away, she didn't really need you in the first place. Perfection of form is a concept for artists, or car designers. It's not within the purview of working tools, at least not after their removal from any packaging.....
 
desmobob desmobob it takes a big blade and heavy martial arts skills to persuade bears to give up the grease. From what I hear. ;)[/QUOTE]
Lol, :D Nice:thumbsup:
N NapalmCheese ...What is this 'nose grease' that you speak of ?
-I reckon ear wax has some potential,
but seems alittle cringe worthy...
B.T.B.
 
My 1095 Ontario Rat 3.5 inch coated blade has always been in my pack, for many years, on deep back country trips here in the West. If I need to touch up the edge, a fairly smooth, flat rock always works. The black coating has worn off in many areas but being out here, the humidity is rather low and rust is no issue. I like 1095 for the back country!
 
rust - it's so easy to fix - put the blade in some boiling water... you have wilderness camp fires right?

rust (ferrous oxide) turns to black (ferro-ferric oxide) aka magnetite in boiling water

this is literally 'gun bluing' or 'rust bluing'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron(II,III)_oxide

I'm surprised more of us don't talk about it or mention it...

and of course the only other thing is sharpening on any good piece of flat rock
 
Mix ashes from your campfire with some bacon drippings - voila - you now have soap.
The soap will help protect the steel.

You can rinse it off before you use it on anything you are going to eat.
I thought everyone knew this?

Oh well - .
Normal use of carbon steel will also develop a "patina".
The "patina" is really just a form of rust - not unlike gun bluing or browning - speaking of wich, that can also be applied to a blade to slow down rusting.
 
Many, many people throughout the world extensively use simple, carbon steel machetes in all types of often humid, tropical environments in various countries in Latin America, Southeast Asia, Africa, etc., without any problems. And those blades are not babied in any way. They certainly won’t stay looking pristine, but that is not their concern.

Jim
 
Billy The Blade said:
N NapalmCheese ...What is this 'nose grease' that you speak of ?
Click to expand...

If you haven't showered for the last couple of hours, run your finger on the side of your nose from nostril to bridge and back then wipe it on a mirror. That area of your face secretes a lot of oil. Also useful for lubing up the top end of a bow drill should you feel so inclined.
 
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