Does carbon steel taste funny?

Offered by a couple of different makers, too, if I remember correctly.

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Yeah most acidic fruits and blood from game will speed up the patina on a carbon steel blade. Once it has that nice patina all over the funky taste seems to fade.
 
Yes there is a serious taste difference between stainless and carbon steel. Personally though I actually like the taste of the carbon vs the stainless. (then again I'm also one of the few that still swallow the carbon steel blades.)
 
I've been eating steak "n" eggs with RemOil and 1095 for years with no ill effects. I've kinda grown to like the taste alot but haven't noticed a particular smell with the combination of 1095 and RemOil.
 
Is anyone else disgusted by the look of patinaed carbon steel kitchen knives? My grandmother used them and it always looked unsanitary to me.
 

Jim Stewart Custom in A2 used for kitchen duty.


As other's have stated, once the blade develops a patina any reaction to the steel will be reduced.




Big Mike
 
Stelth said:
Is anyone else disgusted by the look of patinaed carbon steel kitchen knives? My grandmother used them and it always looked unsanitary to me.
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Not disgusted as such, but I do wonder if the tiny corrosion pits and oxide layer might harbor bacteria.
It's not something I'd be too worried about, and it's probably just overthinking, but I do think there's a reason why most kitchen knives are stainless.
It holds an edge just fine for kitchen duties, and the lack of staining makes it look 'cleaner' to my eye.

I shave with straight razors, and one of the theories behind straights going blunt is that the edge corrodes microscopialy.
Of course, we're talking about an edge considerably finer than the edge on a pocket or kitchen knife, but I often wonder if the benefits of carbon steel outweigh the drawbacks.
Don't get me wrong, I am fond of carbon steel, but I prefer stainless for most tasks.
Straight razors are different, and carbon steel is my preference.
I can hone a carbon steel razor, but (so far) I just can't get a good edge on a stainless razor.
Of course, I would never allow a patina to build up on a razor, so any concerns real or imaginary that I have about patina harboring bacteria are moot.
 
The wood handles on them ol' hickorys would be more likey to harbor "bad things" than the steel I would think. I still use em', about the best "cheap" kitchen knife for the money.
 
I use a few 01 and 1095 kitchen knives. I just let the patina develop with normal use. Watching the patina develop and change as the knife is used is fascinating to me. I try to remember which foods produce the stronger smell, darker stains, or colored stains. As others have said, the taste/odor decreases as patina increases.

Sometimes if I get a scrape on my arm, I can actually smell the "iron" smell from the blood. Its somewhat like the smell of grinding 01 to me.

Ric
 
My uncle used to be a butcher, and told me that he had to stop using his favorite knives (victorinox I believe) because of a change in health regulations. They had wooden handles, but he had to switch to plastic.
He said he never managed to find replacements that he was 100% happy with.
 
jamesbeat said:
My uncle used to be a butcher, and told me that he had to stop using his favorite knives (victorinox I believe) because of a change in health regulations. They had wooden handles, but he had to switch to plastic.
He said he never managed to find replacements that he was 100% happy with.
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I would imagine there are plenty of people that would have been happy to remove his wooden handles and craft some synthetic ones that would work, no?
 
Kentucky said:
The wood handles on them ol' hickorys would be more likey to harbor "bad things" than the steel I would think. I still use em', about the best "cheap" kitchen knife for the money.
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yea well the one my mom gave me had the handles like 90% rotted off, i replaced them with homemede mountain cedar scales, and now not only does it smell good, it keeps bugs out of the drawer! i know mountain cedar kills a lot of stuff... wonder if its an antibacterial wood? that would be cool... very resistant to rot though, its what most fenceposts are made of here in the Texas hill country.
 
The bacteria thing isn't really as big of a concern as people think, at least as long as the handle/blade get time to fully dry. There was a study done on cutting boards a while back to see if plastic or wood was more sanitary--turns out they were equal. The capillary action of wood draws moisture to the surface, where it dries. Once dry, the vast majority of bacteria die. Plastic has no such action, and so while easier to thoroughly clean, if you do a poor job then germ-harboring moisture can become trapped in cracks, fissures, or nicks in the plastic's surface.

Just cook your food properly and any germs will die anyway. :p
 
I have a titanium backpacking spork at work and it tastes nasty. think it is from the acid in the mouth/fillings thingie. Bleah.
 
Modoc ED said:
I've been eating steak "n" eggs with RemOil and 1095 for years with no ill effects.
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That you know of. Things like cancer take time. Eat petroleum products at your own risk.

Kentucky said:
The wood handles on them ol' hickorys would be more likey to harbor "bad things" than the steel I would think. I still use em', about the best "cheap" kitchen knife for the money.
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Actually the opposite. Wooden cutting boards have been shown to harbor less bacteria then synthetic ones because wood has natural anti-bacterial agents. The key is to make sure they get dried otherwise they'll mold.
 
MT Borg said:
I have a titanium backpacking spork at work and it tastes nasty. think it is from the acid in the mouth/fillings thingie. Bleah.
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Huh...I thought Titanium wasn't supposed to taste weird? My LMF Ti spork doesn't taste like anything.
 
Titanium should have no taste at all. Possibly the metal used to finish or cut out the spork is leaving behind a taste. I drilled a hole in my Titanium Spork (near the base of the handle for securing), and the edges of the hole had a carbon steel taste, which I attributed to the drill bit. This taste soon disappated and hasn't come back, no matter what I'm eating with it.

I actually like the smell/taste of carbon steel blades. I also enjoy smelling the brass liners. Maybe I need more Iron and Copper in my diet. Or maybe it just reminds me of my Dad's old pocket knives which he would use to slice apples for us as kids.
 
Carbon steel oxidizes (especially cutting fruit), and Iron oxide taste kind of like blood. sometimes after a long days grinding when I smell almost like I am smeared with blood. I used to think it was just because I cut/scrapped/ground my hands so much that there was significant dried blood on them.

Also some really finicky "gourmet" chefs use silver, or the like for caviar and other delicacies.
 
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This is what most of our "ol hickory's" get used for..Worst part is the scrapping..Scrapping sucks..The handles on the knives smell like boiled hog hair..
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