How do you store your knives?

Atlas Knife Company

Atlas Knife Company

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Feb 16, 2010
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I'm gonna revive this old, near-dead thread instead of asking the same question again. There's a lot of good info about oiling that some newer makers might find educational. However, I'm going to be more specific:

Do you store your knives in a glass case, cardboard box under the bead, rolled up in a towel? I've now got about 20 knives that I really don't have a designated place to store them.

I'm not really much of a collector. I've mostly made kitchen knives and their storage is obvious. However, I keep getting knives in KITHs, trades, hammer-ins, etc., that aren't stainless kitchen knives. What's the best kind of oil to wipe the blade with for long term storage? Is there anything I can put on them to allow them to be stored in the sheath? If I put them in a glass front china cabinet, how often to I need to oil them?

Thanks

Here are the two most recent ones. I traded an etching machine for them. I love the skull and crossed swords etching on it!
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I've gone to a wax coating whenever possible but it's too soon to tell if that works better than the oil I've used previously. I tended to use a wipe down with something like the Remoil wipes or a clean cloth and some Slip2k. Refresh anytime the knives get messed with... The advantage of a hard finish wax is that unless you somehow damage the wax simple handling won't be an issue.
 
TW-25B grease. It's a synthetic grease, about the same texture and consistency as bacon grease. It wipes on easily and *stays* on. It was designed for long-term storage, does not go rancid, does not run, does not evaporate, is non-toxic, and has no shelf-life. There are a few different companies that make it. I use it on *all* my knives. I use the Mil-Comm stuff, but there's other brands that are the same thing. It's pretty cheap, too. A little, one-ounce tube should last a LONG time since you only need a dime-sized dollop to do one knife.

Never store a knife in the leather sheath. Every year or two, you might wash the knife blade with warm, soapy water, dry completely, and re-grease with a light coat of TW-25B. Put a little 100% neetsfoot or mink oil in the sheath. You should be good for your lifetime.
 
I generally use sunflower oil for food related oiling. Knives/boards/handles/sheaths because it's one of the few that doesn't go rancid or turn solid as it dries out. Plus, it's cheap and readily available. I use Shoji oil on every thing else. I'd rather wipe off fingermarks and re-oil than have a wax covering, because to me that's just one step removed from spraying it with laquer (probably a hang up from my brass musical instrument days). I think a collection should do more than just sit in a display case looking pretty and it's difficult to fondle a knife without looking like a bit of a nut, if you don't have the "oh dear, that knife needs a clean and re-oiling" excuse. This does wear a bit thin if you've actually given all your knives names.
 
Earlier this blade magazine had an article about this very subject. I remember a wax called rennasaince wax was one of the items mentioned for long term storage.
 
Carl: If you don't mind waiting a couple weeks. I need a couple parts and want to try a new design, so I'll be making two anyway.
 
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I keep them laying all over the house! I like to put ballistol on them and put them in the sheath if it is kydex. Renaissance wax works well too.
 
My finished ones are laying on a window sill in my family room :p

Other than that I keep my knives out of sheath in a drawer in my room... honestly never had any of my 1095 production blades pit or rust and I have never oiled them. My O-1 knives that I make however... will rust in fingerprints if I'm not careful about oiling them right away after they are done... I've just been using mineral oil and they seem to be fine.
 
I'm gonna revive this old, near-dead thread instead of asking the same question again. There's a lot of good info about oiling that some newer makers might find educational. However, I'm going to be more specific:

Do you store your knives in a glass case, cardboard box under the bead, rolled up in a towel? I've now got about 20 knives that I really don't have a designated place to store them.
 
My brother keeps the hunting knife I made for him (1084) in the sheath thrown in a duffle bag full of survival crap. Thanks bro! I've reminded him a dozen times not to store it in the sheath. The blades I've made that are waiting to be assembled into knives are in a glass front cabinet with a light coat of WD-40.
 
I like the Tuf Cloth...it is handy and easy to use.

on long term storage I actually use silicon...the kind divers use.... Once the silicon is on the blade ....it is not rusting.

In the shop I use WD 40 and it works great when I set a blade down for the day. Even a couple weeks later it is fine.
 
Is ren wax a bad idea on high carbon kitchen knives? It is not a food safe wax is it...I may have answered my own question, in that case what is best way to completely remove ren wax?
 
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