I don't know about the rest of you, but my grandparents did not keep their knives rust free. I remember my grandpa's pocket knife as a ground-down old stockman's knife. The blades had that dark carbon steel patina. I don't think he worried in the slightest what it looked like. I remember him teaching me to peel and core apples with that knife. The only cleaning he gave it was to wipe it on his pants.
Grandma's kitchen knives started out as chrome plated carbon steel, but 80% of the chrome was gone. Grandpa kept them sharp for her, but no one in our family suggested that these were treasured heirlooms and needed reverential care. When you're born on a farm you don't go out of your way to find extra maintenance jobs.
My uncle's Case hunting knives got better care, but even an avid hunter doesn't have to spend a big fraction of his life caring for a knife.
The old knives that survived so well are actually a select few. I used to frequent second-hand tool shops and most of the old knives that came through were more like my grandpa's old knife than my uncle's.
The new steels will last a lot better. I don't know if that's important, but it's true. I think my sons can but their own knives, but I expect to leave a lot behind, whether I oil them or not. Even my kitchen knives that never see oil look to last more than my lifetime.
