How do YOU prep your knife prior to food prep in the wild?

rugershooter16

rugershooter16

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Mar 2, 2007
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Ok, so with a small camping trip coming up, I am going to use some of my knives for food prep while on the trip, but i do not know how. So if you were out at your camp site and going to start using your knife for the food prep, how would you do it properly? You would first have to clean the blade. I don't think you would use alcohol to clean it, so what would you clean the blade with? I have also heard that people put something like a vegetable oil on the blade as a coating, then start the food prep, am I right?:confused:

When you are done, then clean the blade, oil it with what and put it away. I guess you could put a coating of milspec or tuffglide back on, but then when you stop to make food again, you have to clean the blade.

Thanks a lot!
 
I don't really worry about it that much..as long as I havn't cleaned a bunny or a trout with it I wipe it on my pants and go to town if I'm really concerned I'd wipe it down with some purell and let it dry...as far as vegetable oil that's mostly for carbon steel blades if you want to avoid them becoming discolored.. but I belive that discoloration or "patina" as it is called adds charechtar to a knife...I worry more about cleaning my knife when I'm done using it..if it's a fixed blade I wash it with some soapy water in a cup or pail and get the scuzz off with a bandana if it's a folder I'll do the same but I'll use an old toothbrush to get at the insides...have fun on your trip
 
I use food grade mineral oil. It is food safe and does a good job of protecting my non stainless blades.
 
kamkazmoto said:
I use food grade mineral oil. It is food safe and does a good job of protecting my non stainless blades.
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yeah, me too. i store my non-stainless blades with a coat of mineral oil. in the field i just clean them like any utensil, usually just with water and dry it off. apply the mineral oil when i get back home.

mineral oil is cheap and available at any drugstore. works great, doesn't go rancid, and is safe to ingest. :thumbup:
 
If I got it nice and dirty, a little camp soap and water. Other wise I just wipe it on my pants.
 
i usually just give it a little wash with some warm water... i'll add some soap if it's available...
 
Whats the big deal?

Just wipe it down with soap and water, then use it. When done do the same thing.... knives are made to be used...
 
The only time I do more than wipe it down is when I've been cutting raw meat with it. Then I'll make sure it gets cleaned with soap and water. If there's not soap available I rinse it well, preferably with hot water, and wipe it down with hand sanitizer. I don't see any reason not to use alcohol or alcohol based hand cleaner to disinfect it. After the hand sanitizer has had some time to work I wipe it down and rinse it again before I use it to cut anymore food 'cause the sanitizer doesn't taste too good.
 
Nah, just wipe it off on your armpit. Yer camping, fergawdsake. The giglahoozies out thar iz gonna get ya before yer knife doz. If yer gonna be reel fastidious, tho', a drop er two of CampSoap and some hot soapy water won't hurt.
 
ok, so it is a bit easier than I though! Thanks for the replies guys. I did not know it was going to be that easy!
 
Use common sense with sanitation and food prep. However, food bourne illnesses are more likely a result of how you prepared and preserved your food when packing them rather then spoiling them via your knife.

Think about that coffee cup on your desk at work, mine gets cleaned like once a month, I just keep filling it up with coffee (although I drink mine black)...
 
I usually just clean it with soap and water, no matter what the blade. If it is a carbon blade, I just clean it, use it, clean it again and then care for it after the trip with a good oiling. I don't really care how my blades look after they go to work. Sometimes, if in very humid areas, I'll put a light coat of vegetable oil on it. However the last few years, I've been using an oil that bonds to the metal (supposedly), so I don't treat my stainless knives with it, and I don't trust this oil on my carbon blades not to leech out during food prep because it is synthetic and I don't want it tainting it if at all possible.

So, I carry my carbon knife for everything but food prep and I carry a good quality, light, thin stainless knife for food prep only and don't worry about it any more. Usually I use the Mora 2000 for that.
 
I store my blades clean, with no oil on them. But before a trip, I wash them with hot water and dish soap and they are good to go .
 
I haven't used it but plan on buying some for my carbon blades. It's called Ballistol Lube and it's supposedly food safe, biodegradable and can also be used to clean wounds, so it should be a useful multi-use item. I've heard several people on other survival forums rave about it. It's available over at Ragweed Forge, amongst other places I'm sure.
 
kage said:
I haven't used it but plan on buying some for my carbon blades. It's called Ballistol Lube and it's supposedly food safe, biodegradable and can also be used to clean wounds, so it should be a useful multi-use item. I've heard several people on other survival forums rave about it. It's available over at Ragweed Forge, amongst other places I'm sure.
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There are a lot of claims out there about Ballistol; some of them magical in appearance. They say it is non-toxic, but it is still interesting; not sure if I buy it though. This is from Ballistol-lube.com:

• BALLISTOL: INTRODUCTION

BALLISTOL has been around in Europe for over three generations. Originally invented for military use it became a household word in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Millions of users have experimented with BALLISTOL and found new surprising applications for it, some of which reach into the field of veterinary and even human medicine. In the United States the law prohibits a seller to advertise or recommend a product for use as a drug in human or veterinary medicine, unless the Food and Drug Administration have approved it for these uses. BALLISTOL has not been submitted for approval by the FDA as a drug. In Germany a modified formula of BALLISTOL, NEO-BALLISTOL, is admitted for use in veterinary and human medicine. NEO-BALLISTOL is not sold in the USA, Canada or Mexico.

WARNING: BALLISTOL MUST BE USED AS INDICATED IN THE CONSUMER INSTRUCTIONS ON THIS PAGE AND ON THE REVERSE PANEL OF ITS CONTAINER. DO NOT USE BALLISTOL AS A DRUG. BALLISTOL IS NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION
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