Carbon steel

Hotshot10

Hotshot10

Joined
Dec 23, 2012
Messages
341
I'm a relative newcomer to the world of knives, so I am reading and learning as I go. Excuse my ignorance, please.

I recently purchased a Mora Companion with a carbon steel blade to compare it to my Companion in stainless. It had a few spots of patina on it already, and I used some baking soda to remove those. From what I have read, development of a patina is really common. Accordingly, I have some questions. Feel free to answer some or all of them.

From what I've read, a patina on carbon steel won't affect the cutting performance of the blade. Is that accurate?

From what I've read, it is possible to oil the blade to keep it from developing a patina. Is that worth the effort? What happens to the oil as I use the knife? (i.e. does it need reapplication as soon as I use the blade?) Any suggestions on oils?

I've seen some videos about forcing a patina on a new blade. Should I try that?

Thank you in advance for your help.

P.S. I posted this in maintenance because I thought it was most relevant here. Mods, feel free to move if I am wrong.
 
Patina, not rust, does not affect cutting ability. Rust does of course.

Oils will prevent rust but not patina on blade surfaces.

Patina can also be referred to as staining.

Patina can easily be removed from a blade's surface easily. Tuff cloth, Miracle cloth are just two products.

There are numerous ways to "force" a patina on a blade, mustard, onion, or just a day in the kitchen cutting up veggies.

Fred
 
I have tried to do a forced patina once but I much prefer to let it occur naturally.
It doesn't take long, as Fred already said just cutting up fruit and veggies will give a good start.

As for protection, I use mineral oil and Frog Lube paste, both are food safe.

I was recently a bit lazy with a GEC 15 and when I opened it this weekend I could see my fingerprint embedded on one side of the blade.
When this happens I just get some fine auto sandpaper and take it down to bare metal.

Carbon steel isn't for everyone but I love the edge it takes and how easy it is to maintain that edge.
Moras are a great place to start with carbon steel, I still have a couple that are over 20 years old and still going strong.

But just recently I got myself and my son a couple Moras in their stainless and that stuff is very nice too.
 
Carbon steel is great stuff, and far more durable than people think in these days of being pooled by stainless. It's not going to rust overnight on you, even in damp conditions, with just a tad of care. The old Vikings sailed open boats across thousands mod miles of ocean without the swords and axes rusting.

This is a carbon steel Northwoods stockman that has been on and in the Chesapeake Bay here in Maryland. Thats a salt atmosphere. The blades darkened with patina, but no rust. It just got wiped down every night with a dry bandana. Once in a while a bit of mineral oil was rubbed on, but not often. It survived a year of boat duty fishing on the bay and the Potomac river just fine.
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Here's the remington/Camillus peanut jack that was in my pocket all last moth when we did a cross country trip to go trout fishing in Mammoth Lake California. It was used as a trout and bait knife, being plunged into fish bellies right up to the bolster for cleaning the fish we caught. Aside from some darkening of the patina already in place, it idd just fine. JUst got wiped off every night. Sometimes if got rinsed off in the lake, and a drop of oil in the joint that night.
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I actually prefer the carbon steel, old 1095 if I can get it, because I love how easy it sharpens up and takes a nice toothy edge. Holds that edge for a very respectable time, and can be touched up on the bottom of a coffee mug, top of a car window, or a small pocket hone in just a minute or two.
 
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Just get some fine sandpaper from autozone. Don't fight the patina. If you just absolutely cannot stand it then a knife that's more stainless might be more up your alley. Once you see that the patina doesn't affect anything, you'll probably start liking carbon steels even more. Having said that, patina does not protect against much, if anything. Just let it come, man. If you're storing the knife for awhile then do some searching for rust inhibitors and corrosion preventatives. I've found that the best defense against rust is use.
 
Thanks for the replies. I had read so much about carbon steel that I was kind of under the impression that, one day, I would pull the Mora from the sheath to find nothing but a handle and some flakes of reddish metal. :D (I exaggerate, of course.) I'm going to buy some mineral oil, but I'm not going to worry much about it. That was one of the reasons that I bought a Mora, actually. If carbon steel isn't my taste or if I don't take exceptional care of it, I haven't sunk several hundred bucks into a knife made of it.
 
jackknife said:
JUst got wiped off every night. Sometimes if got rinsed off in the lake, and a drop of oil in the joint that night.
Click to expand...

What type of oil?

Incidentally, I fish for trout a lot, myself. Around here, though, they tend to inhabit clear, cold streams.
 
Hotshot10,
Welcome to BF's.
Carbon steel has been around for hundreds to up to about 4000 years ago depending on different archeologists?

Modern Stainless steel is about 110 years old. Carbon works, it just takes a lot of perseverance compared to stainless. I make mostly culinary knives and live by the ocean and prefer stainless but as you expand your knowledge and usages of different steels you will find some work better that others for you're given chore.

Enjoy the difference
 
Hotshot10 said:
I recently purchased a Mora Companion with a carbon steel blade to compare it to my Companion in stainless. It had a few spots of patina on it already, and I used some baking soda to remove those. From what I have read, development of a patina is really common. Accordingly, I have some questions. Feel free to answer some or all of them.
Click to expand...
Will corrosion or patina affect cutting performance? Yes, and No I think. "Yes" because if the actual cutting edge corrodes then you'll lose a bit of the edge, and also because a corroded surfaces is not as smooth as a clean one. "No" because in the real world if the corrosion is just what we'd call "patina" then there's no appreciable difference in smoothness, and the it will be removed from the edge as part of normal sharpening. Just for fun here's a picture of two identical Frosts (Mora's food prep brand), bought the same time a few years ago. Guess which one lives on board the boat, and which one is used at home.

IMG_0075_zpsfqd5lyi8.jpg
 
I'm one of those who prefer a patina over a shiny steel blade, purely from an aesthetic perspective. Inhibiting rust is a nice plus also.
 
Hotshot10 said:
What type of oil?

Incidentally, I fish for trout a lot, myself. Around here, though, they tend to inhabit clear, cold streams.
Click to expand...

Any kind of oil will do. I like mineral oil, but I didn't pack any on the trip. Once I washed off the knife, I gave it a drop of olive oil back at the vacation condo. It did just fine. Back home I gave the knife a good scrub down with dawn, and then some mineral oil.

In a real pinch, you can use a drop of engine oil off the dip stick of the car. It lubes the pivot just fine. It's a knife, not the space shuttle, and any old oil will do. I don't oil the blade at all most times, just make sure it's clean and dry. A cotton bandana works well.
 
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