Drying out a SAK?

12 years ago I used my Vic' Champ fish scaler on a mess of Brim (Blue Gill to you yankees), you talk about a messy knife it was FULL of scales.

All I did was open all the blades, blast it out with a pressure hose, then wipe off and re-oil.

I have lost track of the number of Vic' SAK's I have owned and have NEVER seen one rust yet.

The only way I think they would is from longterm neglect of never being wiped off and re-oiled.

BTW I carried that same Champ as an EMT and it has literally been covered in blood many times...still no rust.

It is on it's second set of plastic scales though...the factory ones developed so many cracks from use that they wouldn't stay on.
 
Keith Mayton said:
I'm soaking one in salt water right now just to see what will happen.
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This should be interesting, how long you gonna soak it?

You know your a real knife nut when you treat your knives to a sitz bath!
 
Keith, I may be wrong :footinmou , but I don't think it will start rusting until you take it out of the salt water and let it interact with the oxygen in the air...

(I always heard that lack of oxygen is what keeps sunken ships intact on the bottom of the ocean for so many years...)

Just a thought, -Alex
 
Okay, I've soaked it for 24 hours -- about 1/2 cup of water with about 1/4 tsp of salt -- and nothing has happened. I just took it out and I'm letting it sit, wet, on my desk. I'll let you know what, if anything, happens.

If no rust results by tomorrow, I'm going to soak a rag in the salt water and wrap the knife up in it, similating a knife left in a wet pants pocket.

SAK torture, gotta love it! ;)
 
SAK's are fairly good stainless steel. My first SAK my dad gave me, I believe it was about 1982. I lost it while walking through the neighbors yard. never found it. years later like about 1987. My neighbor found it "half buried" in his yard. It had been run over by his lawn mower. The scales were pretty chipped away, but the knife, backsprings, etc. had absolutley no rust on them. If you feel you have to use anything use a hair drier, you would be better off. The suggestion about opening up the blades, toothpick, tweezers, etc. and setting it on end is good. If you seen on Victorinox.ch site they suggest, and in their other care suggestions, that you boil warm water when trying to free "sticky blades". So if they suggest dipping it in hot water (when the blades stick), its got to be pretty good stainless. Mine sat outside for five years and the only thing that caused harm to it was the lawn mower running over it!!! :)
 
After letting it sit and dry out for a day, the blade had patches of dry salt on it. The largest salt spot had a faint tinge of yellow just in the center (I used only salt and clean water -- no jokes about soaking it in pee, okay?). I assume this was a slight hint of oxidization. It all came off with one wipe of a dry paper towel. There's no hint of rust, pitting or staining of any kind on the blade. (This was a small Victorinox pen knife.)

Last night I took another SAK and soaked it in a cup of water with 1 tsp of salt. I then took it out, leaving it wet. Tnen I soaked an old cotton sock in the salt water. I placed the knife inside the sock and rolled the sock up. I then put the sock in a plastic bag, but left the bag open. My idea is to create a humid, salty environment for the knife. I'll check it in about a week. (This is the Wenger I mentioned above.)
 
wash it shake it dry put it away...and as far as the sak goes..you can do the same.
 
ABN said:
(I always heard that lack of oxygen is what keeps sunken ships intact on the bottom of the ocean for so many years...)
Click to expand...
If there were no oxygen in the water at all, the fish would all be dead. At the bottom of the ocean there are layers without oxygen, so materials last longer down deep. Water in a pan with a knife sitting in it over night is full of dissolved gases, including oxygen.
 
That was a great story, and it sure makes me feel even better about my SAK's rostfrei-ness :D. I was semi-happy to be able to share my stories, though what mine faced wasn't near what yours did. I just love SAK stories.
 
I left my salt-water-dipped Wenger in the salt-water-soaked-rag for a week. I put it in an open plastic bag just to keep it from drying out completely, but air could get in.

Result: No sign of rust whatsoever on the blade or any of the tools. But, the aluminim liners showed some corrosion.
 
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