Does M4 rust/stain as easily as plain 1095 carbon steel ?

[Squashfan]

I have just recently tried out carbon steel as an EDC on a vintage Imperial and was kind of shocked to see how easily carbon steel develops rust/patina when used to cut some things, like a banana. So, is this true of M4? Maybe M4 won't be quite so bad since it does contain some chromium.

 

[Vegas Blade]

M4 is pretty easy to develop a patina on. That's a nice way of saying yes, it stains. I was surprised when my Spyderco Manix in M4 developed quite the patina after working it's way through a rib eye steak. I mean by the time dinner was over, my knife was very "seasoned". I personally don't care though because M4 cuts amazing, so it's a worthwhile trade off for me.

 

[darkangel55555]

M4 doesn't rust out as fast as 1095. It'll still develop an oxide surface layer, but it's not as fast or as bad as a simple steel.

 

[K.O.D.]

No matter what the steel, if you take care of it, you can prevent rust.

 

[evanPGH]

No matter what the steel, if you take care of it, you can prevent rust.

Not exactly true.

I live in the northeast where the humidity is so high in the summer you can swim through the air.

You could give me a plain carbon blade and apply whatever rust preventer you fancy and I guarantee it'll rust in my pocket after a couple days of carry.

 

[Squashfan]

No matter what the steel, if you take care of it, you can prevent rust.

I also disagree. I have a carbon steel Imperial Stockman. Yesterday, I used it to cut the stem off of a banana so I could peel said banana. I peeled and ate the banana. Immediately after I polished off the banana, I went to clean the blade and was dismayed to see that there was already BLACK patina formed on the banana cutting part of the blade.
I COULD have cleaned the blade right after the cut but who wants to clean the blade after every cut? I also peeled and cut a mango the day before with the same blade on the same knife. The blade still looked shiny and brand new through the whole cutting process. I know I am being picking but this is my first carbon steel EDC knife. And it is a new experience.

 

[Huntsman Knife Co. LLC.]

M4 will not rust as easily as 1095 but it will rust I'd you don't clean it. Cerakote works wonders. My BM 810 was in my pocket every day for 6 months and never rusted. M4 is a great steel and it's tough to beat with cerakote applied.

 

[Squashfan]

M4 will not rust as easily as 1095 but it will rust I'd you don't clean it. Cerakote works wonders. My BM 810 was in my pocket every day for 6 months and never rusted. M4 is a great steel and it's tough to beat with cerakote applied.

I am actually very meticulous about my blades. If they get dirty I clean them but just how quick carbon steel rust was a shock to me. I got started with modern folders and their stainless blades so I am spoiled. That and I just felt heart sick to see that patina on such a nice vintage stockman. I actually thought that it was brand new when I bought it. I had to open it up and look it over to see that it wasn't new. That is how good the knife looked.

 

[lambertiana]

Based on how much less M4 develops a patina when cutting fruit, I would say that it is a lot less prone to rust than 1095. It will rust, but not as fast as 1095.

 

[actionyak]

I forced a patina with pickle juice on my super blue caly and I like it a lot. I do not own an M4 blade, but I'm considering it. Will the pickle juice patina work on M4 just as well?

 

[Cynic2701]

In my experience M4 is more rust/stain resistant than 1095. I actually had a difficult time developing a patina, and ended up having to leave it in a cup of vinegar overnight twice to get what I wanted.

Aogami Super Blue, on the other hand, started staining just from the first few fingerprints I put on the blade (Caly 3.5). A scant 20-30 minutes in a cup of vinegar developed a healthy patina.