How far before its too far

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ShaiHulud

Joined
Jul 21, 2022
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First off, I hate making new threads but no one is asking, and I've been fiercely curious about this for some time.
The question is thus--- How far would you let your knives "go" before cleaning it off?
Some I imagine want it cleaner than an NSF stainless steel counter, others are ok with their knife looking like a used Native indian trade knife
 
elde66 said:
The blade of every knife I use is cleaned both prior to going into my pocket in the morning and prior to being put away in the evening. Religiously.
Click to expand...
Mm, ah, I bought a condor Woodlore and just kind of let it go, left tape residue, dry food stuff and non specific and non generic debris on it, my only rule, no moisture, didn't clean anything else off--- let's chalk it up as a science experiment, all of that stuff I left on eventually created a bond and a coating on its own and sort of mingled with the developing Patina. I think the findings were valuable. Turns out leaving refuse on the knife doesn't cause corrosion or compromise the steel at any molecular level. This isn't advertising for condor, this is an observational report of 1095 steel that was neglected
 
I clean mine after each use, at least a few swipes on my jeans before putting it back in pocket and I usually clean before use especially when cutting food stuff. I don’t like leaving them dirty but I’ll admit that sometimes working in a rush I wait till I’m done with the job and then give it a good cleaning.
I also thoroughly clean, lube and touch up the edge if needed at least once a week.
 
I won’t leave anything on a knife that’ll really rust or pit the metal. I refuse to leave blood on a hunting knife for instance, even a stainless blade. I seen wild hog blood pit the crap out of a very nice Buck 475 blade once. I don’t usually cut my food with my carry knife unless I have nothing else and even then I clean it first so it’s a non issue for me
 
My daily carry folder, not often. Pretty much whenever I think about it. It’s currently crusted with cheese I cut up a few days ago, tape residue, and some cardboard fibers.

I clean my traditional after every time I cut food on lunch with it (daily).
 
I keep a sterile blade at all times. Soap and water, followed by isopropyl alcohol. Repeat after each use, plus once daily. I carry a second 'dirty' knife that only gets cleaned once in the evening.

Of course, I also clorox everything I touch. Phone gets an alcohol bath at least once daily.

I avoid handshakes.

They call me crazy but it seems quite normal to me!
 
Depends on the knife. Some get cleaned, some I'm too scared to use on anything that might mark up the blade or leave a residue.

Some get cleaned when the tape goo starts to create too much drag when I try to cut more tape.

Oh. Some get the tape goo cleaned off by cutting down the rest of the box.

I don't do much with my knives.
 
Interesting practices and priorities. I use to avoid carbon and tool steels like a plague squirrel, one day I sold all my magnacut and m390 and went carbon and tool and never went back, currently waiting on a Dawson damascus with a blend of 5160, 50n20, 52100 and Nickle. while I also don't leave compromising residue or stuff on it but I'm definitely enjoying learning to let go of the stuff I use to be so OCD about
 
I generally will wipe a blade off off with some cleaning agent if it's gets dirty before I put it in my pocket. On the jobsite it may have to wait until I get home to literally wash it out in the kitchen sink. That's pretty rare.

Most of the time, if it's water based residue then a quick wipe down with a paper towel or on my jeans. Something more corrosive means it's gets wiped immediately and then at least hosed off in the bathroom sink.

Pretty much all of my EDC knives get a weekly wipe down/blow out regardless of use to keep the lint and grit out of them.

I don't let many of of my tools go dirty, honestly. My dad used to make me wash the mud off the shovels on the jobsite when I was a kid. Not because he cared about them, but what you were using to shovel mud one day might be needed to shovel wet concrete the next and dirty shovels foul concrete.

Proper maintenance doesn't have to be OCD, but just keeping things mostly clean just feels better to me.
 
I always wipe down after any "dirty" cutting, to prevent rust and prevent gumming up the action.
 
I wipe the knives I carry (lately I've been carrying 3 folders every day because I'm wearing cargo shorts in the summertime and like to play with my knives) every day when I get home. I prefer wiping them down with a little iso alcohol on a paper towell, but we've been buying disenfectant wipes lately and they're in the kitchen and handy. I cut 1 wipe in half and use it to wipe down my 2 phones and my 3 knives. I get grease on my hands throughout the day from moving conduit and MC wire around so I don't like having greasy knives or phones once I get home and wash my hands. The one thing about that is my micarta never gets that nice patina from hand oils that I see in some of your guys' pics, but it's the price I have to pay because I hate transferring the grease from my knives onto my keyboard and everything else. I kind of have a thing where I have to have clean hands unless I'm doing something dirty or greasy, I don't mind that at all as long as I have a chance to clean up afterward.
 
It all depends which knife. I will keep my EDC knives and SAKs food safe and maintain safe action.
I carry a handkerchief so I don't have to use my shirts as tea towel.

But nothing can harm Spyderco Salts, using them for gardening daily, they don't need to be clean, just sharp.
On my machetes and Hultafors beaters, I don't mind a little bit of tree sap. I will only clean them before sharpening, to protect my stones from the gunk..
Also, I encourage patina on my blades, so there is no point in keeping everything squeeky clean.
 
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