Heavy sweat on stainless folding knife blades

[Andrew Colglazier]

MSM, I live in N. TX also. I work in the heat on a regular basis and have had no issues with corrosion with any of those steels. In fact I carry carbon steel blades quite often as well and as long as they are used regularly experience no problems, although patination does occur.

Andy

 

[goodeyesniper]

Also, I feel like the people who have "problems" with their stainless knives "rusting" are actually just getting a few love spots.... Which is very far from a problem. Sure, if you want your knife to remain spotless and brand new looking, then it might be a problem. Then again, cutting up cardboard, whittling, sharpening, construction work will probably all mar your knife's finish at some point. So even the famous H1 won't be safe from these hideous signs of usage!!

I think if you carry around something like 1095 for a few months of dirty work, you'll realize that some love spots won't hurt your knife, and might just add character, and will give you a whole new outlook on these stainless knives.

 

[jbmonkey]

depends on your sweat, not all these other folks commenting.

for example.....i can make 4116 krupp, 13c26, 14c28n, aus8 and other stainless whether bead blasted, stone washed, satin finished, and even polished......... rust spot from a few hours in my pocket in the florida heat and humidity. my sweat is like battery acid.

point is....it doesn't really matter what these others experiences are like, including my own. cause everyone's sweat is different enough. the proof is i rust spot stainless in a few hours of sweat others don't rust spot carbon steels like 1095 in a whole day of sweating.

that said....i've had good luck with satin finished or polished...VG-10, 8Cr13MoV, and 440a and 440c though, and this is coming from a battery acid sweater.

 

[Mud Shrimp Moe]

I have managed to make most every hardenable stainless steel rust by sweating in hot weather. Fortunately most of the rust is superficial and is easy to remove if you get after it right away. I sometimes avoid the problem by carrying Stellite, ceramic, or Titanium blades in the summer.

This is my strategy, then. I'll carry my Delica or Rescue 79mm (which is linerless and therefore lighter ... better for shorts) and sweat like a hog with them. If I see any signs of rust, I'll order a Salt 1 and immediately retire this experiment. I think the risk is minimal.

And I practice normally accepted maintenance on my quality folders, including rinsing, drying and use of a Tuff Cloth. The Tuff Glide is supposed to be an effective rust preventative. And liner/pivot rust is actually my worst fear. Superficial blade rust is almost always correctable, if addressed as soon as it first appears.


EDIT: And, yes, just spending ~$55 on a new Salt 1 would eliminate worry. But I don't really need another H1 knife and like my VG10 Spydercos just fine. Just hate spending money only to cure a "problem" that I'm not sure is even a problem.