help me with my disorder

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
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I know it's crazy,,, but I'm afraid of carbon steel...I'm afraid it's going to rust and corrode away to nothing...I thought if I invested in a good carbon knife it might change my mind....so a while ago I got a brkt mini canadian in a2 (just ordered the mikro 2 in stainless) I really like the mini c in terms of size but I only took it out once to whittle a bit with it's getting tarnished just form sitting in the sheath I can't even imagine how it would it would do out in the rainy bush for a few days.. yet I know I'm missing out on the benefits of it, and I know our society was built on carbon steel knives,,, I know it's a stupid ism... just looking for a little help maybe some words of wisdom that will aid me in trusting carbon... Thanks.
 
It's not crazy at all. Carbon steel is vastly overblown. Put them all in a box, I'll send you my address. ;)

Seriously, it only takes a little bit of care, nothing to worry about.
 
Uhhh...keep it clean and oiled...develop a patina...cold blue in a pinch... that's about all I can think of for "words of wisdom" right now. Patina from usage gives the knife some character. Don't be afraid of the rust, do your best to prevent it. Doesn't take much time and effort.


DEMONS OUT!!!! THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!!!! You are healed!
 
I like the looks of a patina, and carbon keeps an edge almost as long as the super stainless, but is way quicker to sharpen. Not to mention usually much tougher. There, help any? :p
 
Keep it oiled after use in wet conditions. Tough Cloth is good. Just remember:
"The oily bird catches the worm".
 
I Diagnose thee.....RUSTPHOBIC!...I myself am a recovering Rustphobic and through group therapy I know you can overcome it.
 
Even if heavily abused, a carbon knife should remain useful for a very long time.

I recall we had a home-made carbon steel knife in a shed by the sea for many years. It got a lot of use as a bait and filleting knife, and it was seldom washed in fresh water. The blade appeared to have been cut from a thin wood saw. The handle has fallen off it now but,as far as I know, the blade is still in one piece after about 35 years. I think the handle scales were secured with nothing more than a couple of thin steel nails.

Once in a National Geographic I read about a wood carver. He reckoned his pocketknives were no good without being given a special treatment. This process was to bury them in the ground until they were pitted with corrosion.

When I recently bought a khukuri, it had a fine polish. It just didn't look right to me. So I wrapped the blade in a vinegar soaked paper towel. It took on a nice grey patina once I wiped off the surface rust. Now it looks like it can cut.

I don't think I've ever had a carbon steel knife become useless because of rust. However I did once find a stainless steel knife when I was diving. When I bought it to the surface I found that while the blade was still shiny, the tang had corroded to powder inside the handle where the oxygen couldn't get to the stainless steel. Stainless steel generally needs to maintain a tough oxide layer to prevent corrosion as we know it....whereas with carbon steel you have something that will corrode at a known rate.

A little bit of unused cooking oil is all you need to slow the corrosion process right down.

I read somewhere that a decent [carbon steel] khukuri was said to last from 50 to 100 years in Nepal, depending on the sort of life it got.

Relax. Use and enjoy your carbon steel blade and don't get hung up about rust.
 
I've never had a carbon steel knife rust. I simply wipe them off after use and oil them. For non food use, 10W30 works fine.
 
Riley, I like both general types of knives, carbon and stainless. Stainless blades certainly have been improved over the past few decades, but, old fart that I am, I still lean toward carbon steels usually. It's just one of my anachronistic foibles I suppose. But think about it this way. If you use a carbon steel blade and it gets some "rust" on it, what's it going to hurt, just your feelings? Having beautiful, shiny objects we pass off as tools is a mostly recent phenomena I think. Men used to use their blades as they were intended, and any "battle scars" they acquired simply gave them character. That's why some of us apply an artificially induced patina to our carbon steel blades, though we might claim it's to provide some degree of protection to the steel. Hey, those "really old" old timers who used their carbon steel blades routinely would often just thrust them into some sandy soil to clean them off if they got too rusty or bloody or nasty. Then later they'd sharpen them up a bit and maybe rub on a little oil, grease, or animal fat -- whatever was handy and cheap -- to help protect them a little, or maybe they wouldn't, either. A knife or other carbon steel tool (or weapon) that shows signs of honest use actually has a kind of beauty all its own some of us think.

Rule number one: Don't sweat the small stuff.

Rule number two: It's all small stuff.
 
Riley, look at it this way for a bit: In the old days before stainless steel, alot of old Colt's revolvers and sharps rifles got carried west under alot of bad weather. Alot of old buffalo hunters used carbon steel butcher knives to get the hides off the dead carcases of the animals they shot. they, like the mountain men with carbon steel Hawkin rifles and Green River knives got wet, bloody, but somehow the tools they used did not rust away on them. Heck, the Vikings and Conquistidors sailed across the ocean and managed to keep thier swords from rusting. The steel may darken and stain, but that gives it a bit of protection. So what if the blade gets a bit of a grey patina.

In my own life I've seen most of the men in my family carry carbon steel knives. When I was a kid, there was still alot of mistrust of stainless because of the large amount of junk stainless on the market back then. (1940's to 50's) My dad carried the same carbon steel Case peanut from 1937 till his passing in 1981. I have it today, and carry it on a regular basis. A few years ago I sent it back to Case to have a new main blade put in because it was worn down pretty thin. In 44 years of being carried on his person and used for just about everything, it was not rusty. I was well taken care of. Wiped off on a pant leg or bandana after use, stropped nightly, and a bit of Hoppys gun oil used once in a while.

Just take your carbon steel knives out and use the heck out of them. Let them develope a nice dark grey protective patina, and stop worrying. Carbon steel has worked for a couple thousand years, I doubt you'll hurt it unless you neglect the heck out of it.
 
I have carbon steel hunting knives that date to the late 1800's, and more from nearly every decade from then til now. None have been destroyed by rust. A few have small pits, most have a patina. But these are hunting, fishing, sportsman's knives from bygone eras and none were pampered their entire lives. Most spent some "time out" in a drawer, closet or toolbox... sometimes years on end. And they are all still quite fit to do their jobs in this new century. Even my own "over thirty" carbon steel hunting knife is as good as the day it was made.

I might suggest that you go to a pawn shop or even knifebay and buy an older Marbles or Remington fixed blade to try for a while. See if the character of the patina grows on you. What's the risk? A forty dollar investment vs. a life changing eye-opening experience?

Codger
 
Don't store the knife in it's sheath, if it's leather. Leather draws moisture, causing the knife to rust. Wipe the blade down with some type of non perishable oil and enjoy your carbon knife.
 
i have been using carbon knives,RAT exclusive and no problem,using rem-oil on my outdoor blades anf PAM spray-on cooking oil for the food prep knives,works good and taste like butter LOL !
 
I, was once like you, But with some professional help,I beat this problem,and All I want now is high carbon. They may not shine as much, but nothing takes a better edge.
 
coote said:
Yeah. Tell it Codger.
Click to expand...

Yeah to go further, it isn't so much that leather sheaths draw or hold moisture (they do), it is that most leather is acid tanned and remains acidic. I have four made by a custom maker in Texas, Paul Long, that are made from Herman Oak leather, vegetable tanned. It don't get much better than that!

Codger
 
A black smith lives behind me. He mostly makes carbon steel tomahawks but occassionally a knife ;). He uses 5160 steel which is "stored" outside and he will cut a piece out and pound it. The steel is corroded with rust. 5160 is also the steel he uses to make his chisels to cut other steel with. Some of that steel he inherited from his passed away father. It is old.

In fact, if there was ever a societal collapse he would never run out of material. Think of all that rusty 5160 spring steel on old trackers and cars. Also, L6 is one of the rustiest steels in the world (old blade saws) these are usually bright red from rust. L6 could easily be cleaned up and used and would out last 2 generations of people.
 
I suggest exposure therapy. Let one of your carbon knives rust. Buy a cheap one. Put it outdoors for a month then clean it up yourself and see it is still as good as it was.
 
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