Cleaning the blade

Beastchopper

Beastchopper

Joined
Jun 23, 2018
Messages
320
I have a few big blades (convexed SP53, Junglas, condor bushcraft parang) that I like to do a lot of chopping on very hard dead wood. I tend to collect material from the wood itself directly on the side of the blade steel, especially on convexed edges. It doesn't entirely come off with water or even a little vodka. I put some wd40 on the blades after wiping them, but that wood fiber/resin or whatever it is is still showing. Will this lead to rust or damage to the steel? Is there a good way to remove it or scrape it off? Should I not worry too much about it? Thanks, any advice is appreciated.
 
not sure what type wood you are cutting but try a bit of mineral oil on the blade before you cut ... it helps keep some of the sap from gumming up and helps the blade glide through and not bind as much too ...

0000 steel wool or Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner pads with kroil oil or similiar works great to remove sap and even surface rust from metal ... would work great on non coated blades ... I have never used them on coated blades but assume they would work ... might scratch or remove some of the coating if scrubbed hard but the coating is probably scuffed and wearing off already if you are chopping alot and having stuff stick to your blades.

Even scotchbrite pads can remove alot of that ... I find kroil oil or ballistol helps break it down some.
 
Goo Gone is especially good with tree sap or pitch. I've used it to remove Juniper sap from my hands, tools & other items. Just spritz it on, wait maybe 5 minutes and wipe it off. On tools & such, don't be afraid to thoroughly wet it down; on your hands, just a little on a paper towel usually works. Sometimes a little bit of rubbing/scrubbing will help too, but give the stuff a few minutes to loosen up the gunk first.
 
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https://imgur.com/a/lim8WBc

Thanks guys! 40 juniper trees came down years ago during hurricane Sandy and they're rock solid and full of resin, so it is pretty rough on the blades. Thanks again for the pointers though, I will try them out.
 
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