Cleaning and care of hi carbon blades

[XSanguin8]

Hi all.

I have a few old chef/kitchen knives made from hi carbon steel.
They look very cool, feel good in the hand, and a few licks on the spyderco sharpmaker gets them wicked sharp. They're great for cutting chores in the kitchen, and I'd love to keep using them.

The problem is, they were stored for a while improperly, and they have turned dark and have some rust spots.

If you guys have any tips and tricks for bringing back a nice finish and ways to keep them looking good, I'd love to hear them. Let me know if you need further info about them to make a recommendation.

Remember, they will be used for food, so keep that in mind when recommending cleaning/polishing agents.

Thanks, and happy new year.

 

[MikeJackmin]

My experience here is limited, but I'd suggest:

1) First, clean and polish the blades using whatever method you prefer (I'm assuming these are not collectible knives).

2) Wipe them down with a little olive oil after every use. Olive oil is slightly acidic and will slowly turn the blades grey, which looks good (to my eye anyway) and which will help protect them from further discoloration. I usually just smear a drop or two on the blade with my fingers, then wipe it off with a paper towel.

3) The blades may turn various colors at first, before settling down to that nice grey sheen. This is normal.

The bottom line is, you need to coat carbon steel with *something* - either a chemical, or an ugly layer of oxidation, or a pretty layer. I suppose a paste gun blue might work, too, but I've never tried it.

 

[smitty0331]

On high carbon steel blades,I personally use steel wool, emery cloth (start coarse and go down to the finish you prefer) ,or scotch brite. Or any combination thereof. For food prep. applications, you'll want to coat ot with vegtable oil.