Long term knife storage

R

Roefisher

Joined
Feb 20, 2005
Messages
535
Hello

This is a matter I have been wondering about, have looked at a few opinions about, and have found out several different methods and solutions.

Basically, the question is in the title

How would you keep your knives long term at home ?
Would you keep them in the boxes, and white paper ?
Would I need to air them now and again?
Would they need to be oiled or any other preservative applied ?

At the moment, I have mines, which are not being used, in their boxes wrapped up in the white tissues. There are several knives with wood inlays. They are all in a large safe, with very little air circulation.

What do you do ? and do you have any recommendations for storage ?

Thanks

Mark
 
Oil them bad boys up and stick 'em back in the small plastic bags they came in, then throw them in whatever packaging you have. You may want to wipe down your wooden inlays with linseed oil or something.

You may also be interested in picking up one of those dehumidifiers/oxidation preventer thingies. Golden Rod @ Cabelas
 
Heavy oil.

Cosmoline would do it. Although an old technology and very messy, it prevents corrosion very well. There are a number of other oils / corrosion inhibitors that would work. Cosmoline is can be difficult to remove so I'm not sure I should advocate it. There are all sorts of oils and waxes worth checking out.

Store in a cool, dry place. Heat and moisture are obviously bad for steel. I think original packaging would be acceptable - keep in mind that acidic paper tends to mess things up over time when there is direct contact. I imagine that wrapping in well-oiled cloth wouldn't be a bad idea.

Keeping original boxes and papers depends on why you are storing them. Is it collector value? Are we talking about brand new or well-used knives? I agree with underaged! - keeping them in the plastic wouldn't hurt. Keeping them directly in the boxes (metal in contact with cardboard) probably wouldn't be good.

I don't see how airing would be necessary but it wouldn't hurt to check for problems now and then.
 
If you have a fireproof safe beware! They build up humidity from the fireproofing materials. I found out the hard way when some of my guns started exibiting rust spots. I now put them in the appropriate sized baggies with dessicant inside. I also put a large cannister of dessicant in the safe itself and periodically renew it every so often by putting the cannister in the oven overnight at the lowest heat setting to renew it.

In any case, a dehumidifier along with a good metal protectant will help immensley.
 
There are three schools of thought to long-term storage.

1) massive oil to cosmoline
2) desicated storage
3) wax

Oil and cosmoline are messy and oil can eventually run off the blade leaving it unprotected. Oil and cosmoline are also inappropriate for many handle/insert materials.

Desicated storage requires constant vigilance since all desicators require maintenance. One of the worst horror stories I've ever heard was on rec.knives years ago of a man who went on extended travel and therefore put all his stuff into storage. He put his knives into one of those airtight ammo boxes and added a bunch of desicant packs. When he got back about a year later, he found all his knives hopelessly ruined bu rust. The culprit? The desicant packs. They don't make water go away, they just absorb it much like a sponge. But, like a sponge, they can release that moisture under the right circumstances, specifically a dramatic temperature change.

This is why I worry about using desicants and dehumidifiers in a safe. The walls of a safe are lined with gypsum which is a desicant itself. It absorbs and stores water. Under the right circumstances, the heat of a fire, the gypsum releases its stored water cooling the contents of the safe. But, if you put a desicant inside the safe, it could pull the water out of the safe's walls leaving them depleated in a fire.

Electric dehumidifiers in safes especially mystify me. Electricity is a leading cause of house fires. Why bring it inside the safe?

Waxing is, IMHO, the best approach to most knife storage situations.
 
There are three schools of thought to long-term storage.

1) massive oil to cosmoline
2) desicated storage
3) wax

Oil and cosmoline are messy and oil can eventually run off the blade leaving it unprotected. Oil and cosmoline are also inappropriate for many handle/insert materials.

Desicated storage requires constant vigilance since all desicators require maintenance. One of the worst horror stories I've ever heard was on rec.knives years ago of a man who went on extended travel and therefore put all his stuff into storage. He put his knives into one of those airtight ammo boxes and added a bunch of desicant packs. When he got back about a year later, he found all his knives hopelessly ruined bu rust. The culprit? The desicant packs. They don't make water go away, they just absorb it much like a sponge. But, like a sponge, they can release that moisture under the right circumstances, specifically a dramatic temperature change.

This is why I worry about using desicants and dehumidifiers in a safe. The walls of a safe are lined with gypsum which is a desicant itself. It absorbs and stores water. Under the right circumstances, the heat of a fire, the gypsum releases its stored water cooling the contents of the safe. But, if you put a desicant inside the safe, it could pull the water out of the safe's walls leaving them depleated in a fire.

Electric dehumidifiers in safes especially mystify me. Electricity is a leading cause of house fires. Why bring it inside the safe?

Waxing is, IMHO, the best approach to most knife storage situations.
 
I was also curious as to the proper methods for storing knives. I don't have any good custom or collectors knives. I do have a few production knives, nothing spectacular, a couple SOGs and CRKTs (my best being a KaBar Thorn). Since I have invested the money in them, I would like to keep them in the best condition possible.
I live in an area that has fairly drastic climate changes from the cold to the warm seasons. It is very humid during the summer months and very dry during the winter.
I purchased a CRKT large storage case a couple months ago and have my knifes in there for now. Will this give good protection to my knives? Also are the oils and waxes you folks use on your knives available at retail stores? If not could you please tell me where they can be purchased on the internet?
 
What about grease?
I've heard of perfect condition WW2 handguns found packed in grease.
 
Yes, if you need to bury your knives in the ground for a few years, pack them in heavy grease or cosmoline/vaseline...
 
I would have no problem preserving in grease if I never wanted a user but instead just wanted to pass on to my descendants in perfect condition.

However, if I wanted to be able to retrieve a knife or gun as a rotational edc then grease removal could become problematic.

Probably better off with a less viscous protectant.
 
Most of the stainless knives made today are pretty easy to store long term with little worry. Some of the older knives like the CV steel Case and others similar are a bit more tricky and need to be taken out and inspected routinely, wiped down and cared for.

My dad used to store ammo long term by warming up the ammo boxes with the lids off. He'd stick them in the oven on like 200 degree heat until they got good and warm. I mean warm enough that you needed a pot holder to pick them up but not hot. Then he'd store the ammo in them the way he wanted and pop the lid on them making sure it was a lid with a good rubber seal. The cooling down process formed a small vacuum making it seal up even better by sucking in some.

When my dad died some of the ammo cans we unpacked had been sitting stored this way for over 25 years. I have yet to run into an old round that has failed to fire and nor have my brothers. So, it must work pretty good. It is a pretty cheap way to store things sensitive to moisture I think.
 
The US Military Edged Weapon Museum uses wax. Specifically Butcher's bowling alley wax. The owner has blades of all shapes, sizes and ages and none have rust. Rennisance Wax is also used by many. Oil is second best and mineral oil is pobably the best.
 
I should change my storage practices. My fixed blades are stored in the sheaths, my gentlemans and smaller folders are stored in a knife roll, my EDC's are left in my truck and on my shelf, and my bigger user folders are stored in sheaths.
 
Apply some renaissance wax to the blades, then put them in a box, on a shelf, in a cool, dry, dark, safe place.
 
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