Ever had a really strange smelling knife ????

C

Cyblade

Joined
Aug 16, 2001
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I just bought this little cheap folder that has mircata handle scales and I put it down to scratch my nose I noticed a strange metallic smell on the hand that I was holding the knife in. I picked up the knife and took a sniff, it's a really weird smell and it rubs off on my hands if I'm holding it for awhile. I took it over to the sink and gave it the once over with some dishwashing soap and a brush, rinsed it in really hot water and it still smells bad. Anyone have any clues as to what could cause this.
 
I just got a Chinook II in a trade and it has a relatively strong smell to it - I noticed because I was holding it right up to my face to look into the lock mechanism. It doesn't smell bad - it smells like G10, I guess, but it's the first knife that I've ever noticed had any kind of smell at all. Weird.
 
my emerson specwar CQC8 had very strong G10 smelling G10 grips when new but it soon went away, FWIW


greg
 
Cyblade said:
I just bought this little cheap folder that has mircata handle scales and I put it down to scratch my nose I noticed a strange metallic smell on the hand that I was holding the knife in. I picked up the knife and took a sniff, it's a really weird smell and it rubs off on my hands if I'm holding it for awhile. I took it over to the sink and gave it the once over with some dishwashing soap and a brush, rinsed it in really hot water and it still smells bad. Anyone have any clues as to what could cause this.
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I had a similar thing happen. I bought a cheap liner lock over 10 years ago. It was a copy of a Michael Walker folder. The handle was aluminum with rubber handle inserts. I opened the box and a strong chemical solvent smell came out. It was from the rubber. It lasted a couple of months.

I am betting the metalic smell you get is from perhaps a handle made of Cast Zinc. or a bronze or brass made with zinc. Zinc is used because it is fairly strong, light, cheap and casts below 900 F. It can be diecast with lots of detail, (Think Hotwheels cars). Zinc reacts with the acids in your sweat and skin and makes a funky metalic smell.

When I did Etching in college we used zinc plates. I had that smell on my hands a lot.

Drew
 
There was a thread last year (?) about Talonite. The author mentioned that - in his opinion - Talonite had a faint odour of... ahem... manure!

I immediately dug out my Camillus CUDA EDC in Talonite and took a sniff. There is a faint, not unpleasant "farm-yardy" smell to it.

Is that what you're detecting?

maximus otter
 
Steel or Talonite don't have any volatile chemicals so you couldn't smell the metal. You probably smelled an oil or preservative grease. On the other hand the plastic or resins of a handle may smell.I had a agrussell knife that I returned because the nylon handle smelled and it wouldn't wash off .
 
Macarta has only one bad quality, depends on where it came from it can smell like fish, crap, rotten eggs, etc., etc.

If the knife is made here in the USA there's less chance of getting a stinky handle but I avoid buyng micarta handled knives over the internet for this reason. :barf:

Collecter
 
My Spyderco Viele micarta handles also have strange smell. :grumpy:
 
I've traded for a couple of smelly knives. One smelled like cigarettes and the other smelled like the inside of a tackle box. Both of the knives were new with no boxes. I washed both of them with dish soap.
 
My Spyderco Persian has that funny Micarta smell, but it's not too bad. The other Micarta-handled knives that I've owned didn't smell weird though.

I used to have some Micarta handgun grips that had a completely overwhelming odor. If you handled them for a couple of minutes, then you'd have the smell in your nose for days.
 
Just a question... if one does perfer the "Butt Carry" as is being discussed... Do you prefer "Tip Up" or "Tip Down" carry?
 
Many ppl have posted about micarta handled knives smelling of cat urine...

My Spydie Ronin smells like WD-40, but I think thats because eric must use it when he makes his rigs. My Lum Tanto doesn't have any smell to it.
 
I knifesterbated with my Benchmade 943 for what seemed like hours.....then it had a real stank afterwards......it smelled alright before-hand though. :confused:


Nothing a good cold shower couldn't cure. :)
 
The only knife that I noticed that had a bad odor was a A G Russell Featherlight one hander that had a FRN type handle and it smelled like shorted electrical wire. I've had it for several years and it still smells.
 
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