If you smoke, the knife you sell is gonna smell bad......

[jbmonkey]

I stopped by my friends knife shop with the knives today....husband and wife team and the wife smokes.......she was admiring one of the knives and SHE said, "Wow, this really smells like cigarettes." Unprompted.

People need to face it...if they smoke, they're simply not capable of judging how bad the smell is.

NEVER act indifferent or dismissive of your buyer. I was trying to give information that will be important to them on future deals.

Fair statement. Truth be told I never even thought about it before your post. Probably good you brought it up.........learning ain't a bad thing I always say.

 

[Krav]

I have done mold remediation and a couple fire jobs. What we use on the fire jobs is a mild detergent on the non porous and semi porous surfaces. warm water, soap or some kind of detergent.

It's the semi porous and porous objects that the smoke may linger in. Fabrics, cloths, carpets, dry wall and so on.

 

[skyhorse]

Ya man,I once bought this Busse that smelled sorta like Tuna & cheap booze. Totally ruined my life !

 

[Rhinoman]

I heat treat knives for other makers and I can immediately tell when I open the package if the customer is a smoker. I immediately dispose of all the packing material. The blades don't usually smell or not bad anyway. Any smell definitely gets burned off in the furnace during H/T.
If the materials the knives are made of will not be ruined i suggest that you clean them with something like "Gun Scrubber" and re-oil them. As far as the sheath I would put it in a well ventilated area and in the sunshine if at all possible. A few days and it should freshen up and get back to normal. You could also do a light wipedown with denatured alcohol and re-oil the leather with some Neatsfoot oil, if you have some.

Thank you for the suggestions Darrin! I'll take baby steps with these knives and I'm sure that I can bring them back. I'm actually a person that can't live with the hint of cigarette smoke so I'm sure it will work out.

 

[ShepardCC]

Believe it or not but I had a knife sent in to me to pimp that had wood scales on it and as soon as I opened the box it was like someone blew cigar smoke right in my face. I cleaned it and let it sit out for a little while. Took about a week to loose the smell. I also put one of those gel odor absorbing air fresheners by it.
What material are the knife handles?

 

[Rhinoman]

Ya man,I once bought this Busse that smelled sorta like Tuna & cheap booze. Totally ruined my life !

So, then .... you know what I'm talkin' about!

 

[skyhorse]

So, then .... you know what I'm talkin' about!

Yep,last time I'll ever buy a Busse.

 

[amflud]

Wasn't the Busse I sold you, was it?

 

[skyhorse]

Wasn't the Busse I sold you, was it?

Is that you Jerry ?

 

[amflud]

Just making sure. I usually have my tuna and whiskey parties on the lanai.

 

[Getahl]

I bought a half dozen SAK Classics on the bay a few months ago. They arrived stinking of cigarette smoke. What worked for me was popping off the scales and cleaning EVERYTHING thoroughly with soap and water. Next, I took to the internet to find an additional solution, and it suggested soaking the affected materials in a mixture of water and baking soda for approximately half a day. Into the bath they went, and the next morning, nothing. Not even a hint of cigarette odor. I can see where this solution would not be an option for a lot of materials, but for a few Victorinox SAKs, it worked perfectly.

 

[A Justice]

You're overreacting OP.

The reason that smoke smell clings to things isn't the smoke, it's the incomplete combustion and soot that sends small particles of oil in the air with the heat. The gases aren't near as bad a problem as the particulate; smoke contains over 3,000 chemicals and many are very good binding agents. The problem wasn't that the seller smoked (at least not for a knife with just steel and Micarta), it was what he smoked. Properly dried tobacco smoke will not generally create the kind of smoke that can be ingrained in material - but wet tobacco and certain brands of cigarettes can. Cheap cigarettes are the worst - another culprit is ash.

For instance, cigarette smoke and wood smoke is much easier to clean than plastic smoke - burning carpet is one reason why house fires will ruin objects that the flames never even get close to.

The good news is, you can usually salvage anything - and a knife that was exposed to cigarette smoke should be easily salvaged. First off, remember that you're dealing with microscopic balls of oil. Wiping it is not a good idea, the first thing you should do is take a Vacuum with HEPA filter and vacuum it (not joking). Get as much of the settled oils that you can off. Then, you should dust it - then clean it with a solvent. I would recommend lemon juice, as it will bind to the oil particles and also cover up some of the smell. Finally, treat it with a fabric spray. The very last step is something someone already mentioned - ozone. Companies like Servpro complete the process of cleaning smoke damage by gathering all the objects in the smallest room it will fit in, closing the door and running an 03 generator (or several) for up to 14 days. I'm not entirely sure of the science (I don't know if the ozone binds and removes or neutralizes the odor particles), but it's by far the fastest and most effective way to get rid of smells. For a building they use a bunch of machines. It will eventually kill the smoke smell on anything. If you don't have access to an ionizer or ozone generator, use other technologies that people have used to clean the air. Charcoal works very well at filtering, and people have been putting baking soda in their refrigerators for a long time. Put a small fan in an enclosed space (smaller the better) with your items and let them set for a few days.

If it was subjected to enough smoke to hold on to the smell, airing it out isn't going to work like you think (you can't just let the smoke breathe out of the material). It isn't a gas you're dealing with, it's the oil and particulate that was deposited in and on the material. What can happen is the oils loose their odor over time.Ventilation will take away odorous particles, and the more that are taken away the less are available for you to smell.

Besides the brand of cigarette and whether it's pipe tobacco or properly dried, it also depends on ventilation of the home, and the habits of the smoker. For example, a smoker that holds their cigarettes as certain way or have bad personal hygeine can start to build up the odor on their hands. It combines with the oil and dirt of their hands (and the ash which retains a lot more oil than the smoke can transport through the air), and when they handle something the odor can end up being much stronger than if they blew smoke directly on the object. With an object like a knife, even the smoker should be able to detect the smell if it was bad enough to hang on during shipping.

You get the best results if you can clean the object before it settles. Usually after 3-7 days it gets a lot harder to clean smoke damage. If you can vacuum the top layer off before it settles you can shorten the time it takes to neutralize the odor by several days.

So 90% of smokers should not have a problem selling knives. A lot of custom knifemakers smoke cigarettes and even worse, cigars - however it is customary when selling something with fabric like curtains, a plush toy, or clothing to note if the home is smoke free. The few that create a problem probably already know it, and should either remedy the situation before they ship an item or make a note of it (if you have a problem when you receive the item, that is definitely something you should leave in feedback).

Good luck OP, but no need to hang smokers over the bad selling practices of one guy.

 

[amflud]

I was thinking baking soda or charcoal. Maybe put some in the box the knives are currently being stored in. Not directly contacting the knives, of course.

 

[MostMenAreRuthless]

OP--I totally relate to your post. I feel the same as you. I have a very, very strong sense of smell and I generally ask someone if they smoke before I will commit to buy an item from them. If they indeed do smoke, it is an immediate PASS.

 

[DarkPatriot]

That's a bummer, I quit smoking a couple months ago, hope my knives don't stink.

 

[Rhinoman]

You're overreacting OP.

The reason that smoke smell clings to things isn't the smoke, it's the incomplete combustion and soot that sends small particles of oil in the air with the heat. The gases aren't near as bad a problem as the particulate; smoke contains over 3,000 chemicals and many are very good binding agents. The problem wasn't that the seller smoked (at least not for a knife with just steel and Micarta), it was what he smoked. Properly dried tobacco smoke will not generally create the kind of smoke that can be ingrained in material - but wet tobacco and certain brands of cigarettes can. Cheap cigarettes are the worst - another culprit is ash.

For instance, cigarette smoke and wood smoke is much easier to clean than plastic smoke - burning carpet is one reason why house fires will ruin objects that the flames never even get close to.

The good news is, you can usually salvage anything - and a knife that was exposed to cigarette smoke should be easily salvaged. First off, remember that you're dealing with microscopic balls of oil. Wiping it is not a good idea, the first thing you should do is take a Vacuum with HEPA filter and vacuum it (not joking). Get as much of the settled oils that you can off. Then, you should dust it - then clean it with a solvent. I would recommend lemon juice, as it will bind to the oil particles and also cover up some of the smell. Finally, treat it with a fabric spray. The very last step is something someone already mentioned - ozone. Companies like Servpro complete the process of cleaning smoke damage by gathering all the objects in the smallest room it will fit in, closing the door and running an 03 generator (or several) for up to 14 days. I'm not entirely sure of the science (I don't know if the ozone binds and removes or neutralizes the odor particles), but it's by far the fastest and most effective way to get rid of smells. For a building they use a bunch of machines. It will eventually kill the smoke smell on anything. If you don't have access to an ionizer or ozone generator, use other technologies that people have used to clean the air. Charcoal works very well at filtering, and people have been putting baking soda in their refrigerators for a long time. Put a small fan in an enclosed space (smaller the better) with your items and let them set for a few days.

If it was subjected to enough smoke to hold on to the smell, airing it out isn't going to work like you think (you can't just let the smoke breathe out of the material). It isn't a gas you're dealing with, it's the oil and particulate that was deposited in and on the material. What can happen is the oils loose their odor over time.Ventilation will take away odorous particles, and the more that are taken away the less are available for you to smell.

Besides the brand of cigarette and whether it's pipe tobacco or properly dried, it also depends on ventilation of the home, and the habits of the smoker. For example, a smoker that holds their cigarettes as certain way or have bad personal hygeine can start to build up the odor on their hands. It combines with the oil and dirt of their hands (and the ash which retains a lot more oil than the smoke can transport through the air), and when they handle something the odor can end up being much stronger than if they blew smoke directly on the object. With an object like a knife, even the smoker should be able to detect the smell if it was bad enough to hang on during shipping.

You get the best results if you can clean the object before it settles. Usually after 3-7 days it gets a lot harder to clean smoke damage. If you can vacuum the top layer off before it settles you can shorten the time it takes to neutralize the odor by several days.

So 90% of smokers should not have a problem selling knives. A lot of custom knifemakers smoke cigarettes and even worse, cigars - however it is customary when selling something with fabric like curtains, a plush toy, or clothing to note if the home is smoke free. The few that create a problem probably already know it, and should either remedy the situation before they ship an item or make a note of it (if you have a problem when you receive the item, that is definitely something you should leave in feedback).

Good luck OP, but no need to hang smokers over the bad selling practices of one guy.

No, I'm not overreacting. I paid someone $684 for two knives and they arrives reeking of cigarette smoke. I let the seller know and he acted like it was no big deal. I told him that I was trying to help him out with future problems and he didn't care.

That sucks.

I've dealt with cigarette smoke problems in the past and I'll try to wade through your dissertation.....at the end of the day, a smoker sent me stinking knives. I'm dealing with that a I created a thread talking about it. I didn't call out the seller and I didn't condemn smokers. I said that letting buyers know that your knives stink is fair....

 

[A Justice]

I stopped by my friends knife shop with the knives today....husband and wife team and the wife smokes.......she was admiring one of the knives and SHE said, "Wow, this really smells like cigarettes." Unprompted.

People need to face it...if they smoke, they're simply not capable of judging how bad the smell is.

That's because of habituation. Smell is subject to conditioning more than any other sense. It's an evolutionary trait that we are startled by the smell of smoke (you would smell smoke before you saw the flames of a forest fire), so it was important to notice it more at the time it was introduced into our environment than hours later, even if the smoke was still around. In the case of two equally detectable odors, you will notice the newest odor the strongest. Also, smoking affects your oflactory receptors.

However, if the smell was pungent enough for you to make a thread over it, it would have been detectable by the smoker, and he would know that his clothes and hands smell like smoke. Since the odor is strong enough to travel in the mail and adhere to the objects hours after you have washed them and set them aside, it is strong enough that the guy could move his jacket sleeve or hand closer to his nose and would pick up the smell. It's not something that he has never noticed, like a smoker that doesn't have the same problems smoking one cigarette in a ventilated area - they wouldn't be able to detect the smell immediately after smoking, but a non-smoker that just entered the environment would.

 

[Rhinoman]

That's because of habituation. Smell is subject to conditioning more than any other sense. It's an evolutionary trait that we are startled by the smell of smoke (you would smell smoke before you saw the flames of a forest fire), so it was important to notice it more at the time it was introduced into our environment than hours later, even if the smoke was still around. In the case of two equally detectable odors, you will notice the newest odor the strongest. Also, smoking affects your oflactory receptors.

However, if the smell was pungent enough for you to make a thread over it, it would have been detectable by the smoker, and he would know that his clothes and hands smell like smoke. Since the odor is strong enough to travel in the mail and adhere to the objects hours after you have washed them and set them aside, it is strong enough that the guy could move his jacket sleeve or hand closer to his nose and would pick up the smell. It's not something that he has never noticed, like a smoker that doesn't have the same problems smoking one cigarette in a ventilated area - they wouldn't be able to detect the smell immediately after smoking, but a non-smoker that just entered the environment would.

Again, fascinating stuff....my knives stink of cigarettes and now my house does too. That's all that really matters to me at this point.

Smokers can be odd (and I was a smoker). Growing up, the woman that lived next door tried to hide her smoking by only smoking in her car. She really thought nobody knew.....

You're a smoker?

 

[A Justice]

Again, fascinating stuff....my knives stink of cigarettes and now my house does too. That's all that really matters to me at this point.

You're a smoker?

No, but I was before New Years, and you'd never get a package from me that smelled like smoked because I smoked outside, not heavily, and I wash my hands several times per day. I made it a point to keep smoke smell out of my home and out of my clothes especially.

I gave you some good information, and if you'd listen you could fix your problem. My house burnt down last year and I was able to salvage a lot of things. I had to do a lot of the work myself because I didn't have renters insurance and didn't have a spare $10,000 to hire Servpro. Some of the items I saved were fabric, had a layer of soot on them and spent 2 weeks being treated with Ozone - they were worse than a smoke smell from cigarettes could ever be, except I had the opportunity to treat them 4 days later from damage that was incurred was in a single incident. It's a lot easier to clean smoke if you know what you're actually cleaning though, and I spent the time to write the post to help you get your stuff cleaned. Do yourself a favor and try some of the things - you won't do as much good trying to bake the smell out in the sun.

 

[Rhinoman]

No, but I was before New Years, and you'd never get a package from me that smelled like smoked because I smoked outside, not heavily, and I wash my hands several times per day. I made it a point to keep smoke smell out of my home and out of my clothes especially.

I gave you some good information, and if you'd listen you could fix your problem. My house burnt down last year and I was able to salvage a lot of things. I had to do a lot of the work myself because I didn't have renters insurance and didn't have a spare $10,000 to hire Servpro. Some of the items I saved were fabric, had a layer of soot on them and spent 2 weeks being treated with Ozone - they were worse than a smoke smell from cigarettes could ever be, except I had the opportunity to treat them 4 days later from damage that was incurred was in a single incident. It's a lot easier to clean smoke if you know what you're actually cleaning though, and I spent the time to write the post to help you get your stuff cleaned. Do yourself a favor and try some of the things - you won't do as much good trying to bake the smell out in the sun.

I'm certainly not going to be overly open when you begin you communication with me by saying that I'm overreacting to my situation. Why go there? I've responded appropriately and calmly and now, due to your insightful posts as well as others, we've learned something about the steps that can be taken to deal with stinky knives.

Some smokers may even learn that they may well be sending people stinky knives.

Win/win.



P.S. I'm very sorry to hear about your fire....