confused about knife care

[curious2003]

ok being the new guy i have looked at various posts about knife care. yet i still have many questions unanswered. i'm guessing knife care is like car care. each person does a different process and nobody has really done any empirical testing to see which actually works better. it's all a matter of taste correct?

i see many people like militec-1 out there that was originally made for gun care correct? it's intended use was to be with heated treatment yet many say it works for knives that are normal temperature too. i was wondering if ANY grease/oil would serve the same purpose and if one could tell in a blind test. or is militec really THAT good?

also there seems to be what is called militec grease. How is that different than normal Militec-1? do both basically do the same thing?

I plan on getting two BT2 coated knives in near future...one in D2 and one in M2. I figure I have to care for them somewhat to avoid corrosion but am at a loss as to what I have to do. Wiping the blades dry with a normal towel is not enough?

So do I have to wipe the blade with Sentry Solutions' Tuf-Glide?

Militec is not for G-10 handles, or the actual blade correct? It's just for pivots and mechanical parts of the knife?


Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am mighty confused

 

[TheMightyGoat]

Originally posted by curious2003

I plan on getting two BT2 coated knives in near future...one in D2 and one in M2. I figure I have to care for them somewhat to avoid corrosion but am at a loss as to what I have to do. Wiping the blades dry with a normal towel is not enough?

D2 has enough carbon in it that it's considered semi-stainless: not stainless but not quite High Carbon either. Wiping it off should be enough most of the time, but you should oil it every now and then too.

 

[brownie0486]

It's chromium that makes steel stanless [stain resistant]. Over 13% is considered the cut off.

D-2 can be found up to 13%. I had a piece of D-2 made for me in Jessup, Pa. from Jessup steel that was 12 1/2% chromium. It's now the Brown Bowie.

As to care of D-2, I keep them coated in CLP breakfree and in knife rugs. Many have been that way for years. Once in awhile I'll take them out, wipe them down and reoil. The Brown Bowie has been stored that way since 1991 with no problems.

A 52100 ball bearing forged knife from Ed Fowler sits for years new the same way. This steel rusts like crazy fast. The CLP has kept everything pristine.

In a reguarly used knife, crisco coated blades do well keeping rust at bay until used.

Brownie

 

[frank k]

There is a guy who has done some testing of Militec-1 (both heated and unheated application) in a 100% humidity chamber you can see the results for yourself here -

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/crufflerjj/lst?.dir=/Corrosion+Test/Corrosion+9-11+Days+Exposure&.view=t


The unheated Militec seems to have done little better than the unprotected control sample and the heated Militec only slightly better (Eezox and CLP look to have prevented rust the best of those tested). When comparing the samples, ignore the heavy rusting on the right side end of some of the samples as this was caused by the fixture they were held in and is not part of the test.

BTW, you can request free a sample of Militec from their site.


- Frank

 

[fiver]

That is fascinating...

I have personally never use Militec, but had been planning on getting a bottle -- mainly becuase of several recommendations from others.

So, I guess my question is, where did Benchmade, several branches of military and law enforcement, and others go wrong? I've seen dozens of tests and articles from (supposedly) independent sources that Militec does work, and does stop rust. It seems to me that if stuff was rusting up, the Navy would eventually figure it out and stop using it...

Did the cruffler who posted these pics write up an essay or report about what methods he used and what his findings were? I'd love to hear more about this.

Originally posted by frank k
The unheated Militec seems to have done little better than the unprotected control sample and the heated Militec only slightly better

 

[frank k]

I have not used Militec yet either, so I cannot comment from experience. There is a lot of information on Mititec’s site -



http://www.militec-1.com/sitemap.html



I have not had a chance to wade through it all, but it seems that most of the positive reports are based more on Militec’s use as a lubricant than as a rust preventive. I don’t know what Benchmade has to say except for a short press release on the Militec site – I would like see any of their test results if they are available.

Here is the thread about the tests that I originally posted, procedures used, results, etc. -


http://www.gunboards.com/forums/UltraBoard.cgi?action=Read&BID=5&TID=107396&P=2&SID=875338


You don’t have to resister to post/ask questions there.



- Frank