Corrosion protecting my knives

T

thermalwedgie

Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Messages
33
I was wondering if I could coat my knives with wd40 occasionally to help protect it from corrosion, and if not, what else could I use?
P.S
I know this is bladeforums, not gunforums, but could I also use wd40 to corrosion protect my firearms? Would it be safe to use around the firing pin?
Thanks!
 
Mineral oil is good if you plan on cutting food, it's safe. Tuff-Cloth will dry and leave an invisable coating, may not be safe for food prep.
WD-40 is better than nothing for knife blades, but Vaseline, car wax, various greases, and other products can keep the rust away. Just depends on what you have or want to use.
I cannot say about WD-40 and guns.
 
Don't use WD 40 for protection on firearms. It's not that it won't work okay, but rather given enough time and heat it can start to varnish up in crevices (like say inside the firing pin channel) It'll work in a pinch though, and if your gun gets soaked in rain it's one of the best products to use to displace the moisture and lightly protect the metal short term. The most important thing is regular maintenance.

I've used ... LOTS of various products ranging from wd40 to motor oil to japanese sword oil to boutique gun and knife lubricants. The thing is on a regularly carried item holster/pocket/handling will remove the protection in a fairly short period of time. Reoil the outside surfaces after handling or at the end of the day if you use them, and you can use practically any oil out there.

Regarding favorite/worst products. I like Weaponshield CLP for general purpose lubrication and protection. Fantastic lubricant, good but not great protection. Militec 1 is another popular product, I dislike it for a number of reasons. Regardless of any ad copy its not good at protecting steel in the presence of moisture. Breakfree CLP is a long time standby, okay lubricant and good corrosion protection. Ballistol is okay stuff but smelly as all get out.

If WD 40 is what you have though, then use it. Just don't spray it into firing pin channels or tight fitting moving parts. If you want a cheap general purpose lube that you can get locally, Mobil 1 0w40 and synthetic ATF's work better than most of the gun oils out there. Don't over lube, apply a thin film and wipe off the excess.
 
Wax. Use wax. It stays in place and protects metal and other surfaces. Car wax is good, Johnsons Paste wax is good, beeswax has been used for millennia to protect weapons and armor.
 
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yoda4561 said:
If you want a cheap general purpose lube that you can get locally, Mobil 1 0w40 and synthetic ATF's work better than most of the gun oils out there. Don't over lube, apply a thin film and wipe off the excess.
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Totally agree!

~Gnarly
 
Same here I use break free on my knives seems to work fine for me, I hear rem oil and flitz also work well.
 
Fluid Film is made with "wool wax", that's lanolin. There's no secret high tech ingredients.

Why do people always need to make things more difficult for themselves?

Go straight to wax.
 
Because most, if not all of my knives will be used on food at some point, I use either USP mineral oil or Vaseline. I apply a thin coat and wipe the excess off with a tissue.

The next product I'm going to try is pure beeswax.
 
is mineral oil good for knives that are used for food prep? beeswax sounds like a good one.
 
CWL said:
Fluid Film is made with "wool wax", that's lanolin. There's no secret high tech ingredients.

Why do people always need to make things more difficult for themselves?

Go straight to wax.
Click to expand...

How is it "more difficult" exactly? And also where do you suggest getting pure lanolin? I'm sure it would be cheaper than buying fluid film, that would be good. Also telling people to go straight to wax is a misnomer. "Wax" as most people know it isn't related to lanolin.

ETA: Figured I should clarify that my post isn't meant to be rude in any way. I re-read it and it kind of sounded rude. My questions aren't meant to be malicious. Just curious.
 
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CWL said:
Fluid Film is made with "wool wax", that's lanolin. There's no secret high tech ingredients.

Why do people always need to make things more difficult for themselves?

Go straight to wax.
Click to expand...

I used Johnson's Paste Wax for years with good results. The only difficulties I had were when you scratched it in parts and went over it again, it would tend to build up, which required a full strip and re-application. Otherwise, I have no problems with it and if it is Carnauba based, it should be food safe, as is Fluid Film.
 
CrimsonTideShooter said:
How is it "more difficult" exactly? And also where do you suggest getting pure lanolin? I'm sure it would be cheaper than buying fluid film, that would be good. Also telling people to go straight to wax is a misnomer. "Wax" as most people know it isn't related to lanolin.

ETA: Figured I should clarify that my post isn't meant to be rude in any way. I re-read it and it kind of sounded rude. My questions aren't meant to be malicious. Just curious.
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No offense taken.

I mean "more difficult" because people will ignore the simplest and cheapest solutions but will get all excited if somebody posts "I have found a new and expensive secret formula to protect my knife, it is the BEST!" The more numbers and letters in a product name, the more people want to believe that it is better...

As for Fluid Film, I just wanted to point out that there is nothing space age to it, it is merely composed of an organic compound, lanolin, which is a "wax" by definition.
 
Brian1095 said:
is mineral oil good for knives that are used for food prep? beeswax sounds like a good one.
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as long as you get USP mineral oil which is also used as a laxative (in spoon sized amounts). you can get USP mineral oil at your local pharmacy for a few bucks. i use USP mineral oil most of the time but i also use vaseline every once in a while. i going to get some 100% pure beeswax today and try it on all my carbon steel.
 
jimnolimit said:
as long as you get USP mineral oil which is also used as a laxative (in spoon sized amounts). you can get USP mineral oil at your local pharmacy for a few bucks. i use USP mineral oil most of the time but i also use vaseline every once in a while. i going to get some 100% pure beeswax today and try it on all my carbon steel.
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awesome let us know how it works for you
 
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