How best to store knives?

abbydaddy

abbydaddy

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A friend of mine inherited a knife collection recently, and he would like to know how best to store the knives. I have to admit that I don't know that much about preserving knives. A lot of the knives he inherited are unused old custom knives and some are carbon steel. They are pretty much just going to live in safes, but how best to protect them.

I know tat they should be stored out of their sheaths, but is there a protective grease that should be put on them? Any guidelines, or old threads that i am missing on this topic would be appreciated.
 
Lightly oil the blades and any other metal on the knife. Then put a desiccant in the safe. Check the knives a few times a year for any signs of rust, pitting etc. Check more often the first year to be sure moisture is being kept from getting to the knives. Replace the desiccant as necessary.
 
I clean my 120 or so knives every 2-3mos. I use regular gun oil. I do not leave oil residue on the knives because it may dry and leave a difficult to remove, yellow film. I have had this happen with my rifles. Heating and air conditioning will help keep moisture down.
 
If it were my collection the blades would be wiped down with a tuff cloth and kept in a low moisture environment. The only sheaths i worry about are leather. I would check them periodically and reapply tuff glide as needed. If storing in a basement or in humid states i would invest in a dehumidifier for the room or a few good desiccant packs in with the knives.
 
I don't about the oiling, however depending on the steel it cannot hurt, but a sealed confined space with desiccant is a good move.
 
Besides oil, there are products intended to protect metal in storage such as Sheath by Birchwood Casey. I have heard of people using Renaissance Wax. I have heard of people using a combination of oils and such called "Ed's Red", and including Lanolin or Lee Alox for the preservative. If you search you can find threads where people have done impromptu tests of various protective oils by coating nails or strips of metal and then leaving them exposed in the elements. Some of these tests show good performance from certain products.

I think it helps a lot to store inside the house, in the air conditioning. Un conditioned air in the garage will be more humid in the summer. Some parts of the country will obviously be wetter than others, and certain steels need more protection than others.

Anything of value deserves to have good protection applied and it should be checked periodically.
 
I would periodically wipe them off with a light oil.

Renaissance wax is a very good coating for storage. It needs to be applied to an oil free surface as do all waxes. It doesn't take much to coat a knife.
 
abbydaddy said:
A friend of mine inherited a knife collection recently, and he would like to know how best to store the knives. I have to admit that I don't know that much about preserving knives. A lot of the knives he inherited are unused old custom knives and some are carbon steel. They are pretty much just going to live in safes, but how best to protect them.

I know tat they should be stored out of their sheaths, but is there a protective grease that should be put on them? Any guidelines, or old threads that i am missing on this topic would be appreciated.
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Use desiccants for the safe. Once a month, take them out and oil them. I use frog lube, bit on the expensive side but its excellent at corrosion resistance.
 
Off to Gadgets and Gear. Try searching the topic, there are several really good discussions on the topic that have happened in the last 16 months. My nice displays, storage boxes, and secure ideas for keeping you items safe.
 
wooden machinist chest is my preference. Nice to keep out on display and works great.
 
avoid fire-proof safes, especially the lower end ones. they rely on the insulation containing a large amount of moisture, which wouldn't be great for the knives.
Another thing to look into is vapor deposit corrosion inhibitors. they can be found at high end wood-working stores (I know Lee Valley has had them for a while) they might be worth looking at for a large collection.
 
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