help me with my disorder

I've seen very little rust on knives that have been stored in sheaths....although I do recall some heavy, green verdigris-type corrosion on the brass bolster of a Schrade lockback I'd kept in a leather pouch for a long time. It didn't affect the usability of the knife though.

Stainless steel knives are great, but I generally know what to expect with a carbon steel blade. If somebody told me that I had to choose one knife for an important task, chances are it would end up being made from carbon steel.

There is a wharf that I helped to build on the sea coast in the mid ninteen-seventies. Might have been '74. It has a steel ladder and steel fastenings. The outside of these things rust pretty quickly, but after the rust builds to a certain stage, the corrosion seems to slow right down. This year I am about to replace one 1/4" thick fastening plate....the first one that I think will have been replaced since the wharf was made.

With constant use in salt water, without regular washing and oiling, your carbon steel fixed blade knife might crap out relatively quickly (maybe within a decade or two). But in normal "inland" use, even if you never cleaned it, I would not be surprised if it outlasted you.

How are you feeling RR? Are we making headway?
 
chrisaloia said:
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.
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If I'm not mistaken, my Gerber Mark I is made from L6. The first time it tasted steak, it stained like crazy.

Doc
 
Thanks guys.... I'm willing to take the first step....That's a start... No seriously I'll take it out and beat it up a little Thanks..
 
Got a regular Mora with carbon blade, that I put in the sheat soaking wet. After a few days, it had some serious rust on it. I cleaned it up with very fine steelwool, and sharpened it. It's shaving again, with some spots from the rust.....nothing more. Knife is 100% functional.

CZ
 
I've got a couple of carbon blades, one of them a HI khuk. I got to thinking, this thing started out as a leaf spring, which means that it rode around under a truck in India for who knows how long, and was still in good enough condition to make a blade out of.

I also use cast iron pans in the kitchen pretty much every day. It's a little different I know, but like carbon knifes I find that they require a lot less care and protection than most people think.
 
chrisaloia said:
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.
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Exactly. Raw carbon steel in salt water takes years to decay, let alone a knife used and maintained a bit.

If you are anal enough to not want any pitting, patina or surface rust and a polished look for your high carbon safe queens then carbon is not for you.

A bit of surface rust never hurt anything if its a user.

Skam
 
if rust bothers you keep it oiled otherwize buy a buffer or as i used to do on the farm stick it into a haybail abought 50 times and presto like new. for me a dark blade looks honest and used. use the heck out of it and enjoy
 
I don't own a single fixed blade anymore that is stainless. The users (like the NWA below) take on such a cool patina, that further protects from rust and gives your well travelled friend some nice character. If you absolutely hate any discoloring, then more care and polishing will be in order. But for me, the benefits of simple carbon steel blades out weigh the downsides.
 
Most of my blades are carbon steel. I use them and abuse them. I clean and sharpen them. I oil them and I have no rust what so ever. Don't worry about the rust and enjoy the knife.
 
I am opposite to you Riley and have a fear of stainless blades, they are nice and shiney but I find I cannot put all my trust in them the same as with my Carbon steel blades !
Take a look at some of my previous posts showing my MOD4 knife, I use it all the time during the winter to make my smaller kindling for my stove, before I re-sheath it I give it a quick wipe down and if I remember I give it a coat of mineral oil or WD40 maybe once every few weeks....it shows no signs of rust and the knife is at least 20+ yrs old !!!
I have noticed a slight discolouration on a couple of my other knives just along the edge but as soon as I cut some more wood the edge is once again shiney !
A light layer of surface rust is nothing at all to worry about, it is only if your steel is prone to pitting that it becomes an issue. Some steels such as CPM3V are prone to pitting and so a little more care is required. You only have to look around an old Blacksmiths shop to see how long good old Carbon steel lasts.With very little care a good Carbon steel knife will not only see you out it will also see your kids out and even their kids and most certainly it will see those new fangled stainless blades out that are difficult to sharpen and chip with moderate use !!!
 
Consider that saltwater sailors used carbon steel knives for centuries. That's salt water, my friend -- out in the spray (and worse). I own such a knife. It was made in London in the 1860's (I'm told) and "Wolf" carried it and carved his name into the stag scales. It's a nice plum brown and cuts like the Devil. The only concession to the salt is a copper shackle.

The patina on my carbon steel knives is evidence of good times in the outdoors.

(Blood is the same salinity as salt water, and you know what folks did to carcasses with carbon steel.)
 
With carbon, I've found the more you use it, the easier it is to keep it from rusting.

A patina develops from use, and you usually wipe it dry after use, so it gets more attention. A carbon knife is more likely to rust if it is sitting in a sheath somewhere getting ignored.

If it does rust, no worries, it cleans up easily enough and won't affect it's function whatsoever.

Consider this, in the taping world(sheetrock taping/texturing) the best knives(more like a putty knife or spatula, not a cutting knife) for finish work are the carbon knives. IF they rust, which they do a lot, a couple of passes with a sanding sponge brings them right back. And believe me, with finish work, especially smooth wall, the knives have to be completely free of defects as to not leave any dimples or scratches in the wall. If rust affected the usability of these knives, they would not be used, but as it turns out they are preferred over the stainless ones.
 
stingray4540 said:
With carbon, I've found the more you use it, the easier it is to keep it from rusting.

If it does rust, no worries, it cleans up easily enough and won't affect it's function whatsoever.
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Exactly. Lots of carbon lovers around here.....wonder why? :D

Check this out....I made a his and hers o-1 kitchen knives about two and a half years ago. They get used on a daily basis and have developed the desired patina. I should restate the last comment. One gets abused and one gets used. :rolleyes:

So the abused one (ahem not mine) gets left out on the counter after use all the time and just now had two small rust spots. I should have used steel wool and maybe wd, but I already had the palm sander out (not in the kitchen) with some worn 220 grit. About 10 seconds of sanding and about thirty seconds on a dmt stone and she is back in good order, less the patina
:(


Anyways...nothing to be worried about. Carbon is not going anywhere, even if they don't get the best care.

Later,
Clark
VV
 
Carbon good. Other steel yucky.
 
Alright I'm taking the plunge... going camping next week for 2 days and am bringing only carbon steel blades....Brkt mini-c and a ontario 12 inch machete....Still got some questions though Was wondering if it was possible for a blade to develop a slight patina from the acids in the leather of a sheath..(cause I think that might be whats happening to my barkie) also is it ok to store the blade in the leather sheath when not in use?? and how often do you oil'em if at all... Thanks??
 
RescueRiley said:
Alright I'm taking the plunge... going camping next week for 2 days and am bringing only carbon steel blades....Brkt mini-c and a ontario 12 inch machete....Still got some questions though Was wondering if it was possible for a blade to develop a slight patina from the acids in the leather of a sheath..(cause I think that might be whats happening to my barkie) also is it ok to store the blade in the leather sheath when not in use?? and how often do you oil'em if at all... Thanks??
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It's just common sense really Riley, if you have just been using your knife in the rain or around water then give it a dry and a coat of oil before you put it away. If it's a dry sunny day and you have been cutting some dry wood then obviously there is very little reason to oil it !!!
If you leave a knife in a leather sheath and the sheath is damp, then yes a patina or rust will develop, however after a while you will find that your leather sheaths absorb so much oil from the oiled blade that they act like a mini oil-bath and coat your knife each time you re-sheath it !!!
 
RR,

What I do to machetes is spray paint the blade with Tremclad or some other rust preventative paint. Obviously the paint will come off on the parts that contact the wood, but because it does contact the wood on a regular basis, it hardly rusts at all, and the areas that don't come in contact with the wood, retain their paint coating.

Also, I never store knives in their sheaths.

Doc
 
I've been using my barie (01) exclusively since I started this thread been using it on some food prep as well starting ot get a cool patina.... this could be alright,
 
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