- Joined
- Sep 18, 2012
- Messages
- 198
Greetings Hogs,
I live in a pretty humid area (SE Houston) that flooded not too long ago, which destroyed my first-floor apartment, totaled two cars and caused my wife and I to move in with her parents for the foreseeable future (whose house took no water as they are at higher elevation than the crest of the floodwater, thank goodness, and they live only a mile away from my previous residence). Ever since moving in with them, I've been battling rust on my blades like my life depends on it. I didn't have humidity or rust issues at my apartment, but in the in-laws' house it's a different story.
Most of my Busses, Kin and other brands are coated, so it's not that big of a deal, but it's a pain in the junk to inspect, rub and oil them every other day. I read a long time ago that Burt's Bees (yes, the lip balm) is good at creating an effective barrier against oxidation (due to the beeswax), adheres pretty well/stays put since it's so viscous, and is foodsafe (and smells minty fresh!); this has proven to be true on my higher-carbon steel blades, but those are mostly coated as well, so I'll probably end up using that on my coated Busses/Kin.
However, I have two satin Busses and a tiny custom damascus necker that I don't exactly want to slather with lip balm (and a pet project BK-9 that I stripped and sanded). In the past couple days I've acquired a couple of glass-topped wooden display boxes in which to store my nicer blades, a sack of reusable silica gel packets (the blue-to-pink kind) and I'm waiting on a Tuf-Cloth (I have Tuf-Glide already). Within about 18 hours all four silica gel packets per display box had turned from blue to pink, indicating saturation, so I'm going to a nearby Container Store later on to grab some oblong airtight containers to house all but an 1111 and an RFO (basically a shorter AK).
While I'm planning to use the Tuf-Glide/Tuf-Cloth on blades I don't intend for potential food use, I don't know how it would affect, say, the "Story Book" handles on my CS Boss Jack if some crept in near the handle material, so I'm a bit reluctant to use it on that one in particular (the other uncoated blade being an EPDLE, which I think may have some rust forming under a section of G10, which scares the bajesus out of me, and I've had to address some very small surface spots already). Furthermore, I'd prefer not to coat at least the Boss Jack with a toxic substance (Tuf-Glide) because I plan to actually use it for camping/hiking/flashy kitchen use on occasion.
Lately I've been using ALG Go-Juice (a firearm lubricant--and a good one at that, mostly because I have it and it's nontoxic) as a stopgap oil since a leaky bottle of mineral oil under the sink was compromised by floodwater. It works all right, but I'm not entirely sure what it's composed of and it's more of a lubricant than a protectant. I also have a random assortment of oils and lubricants that might (?) work as well (white mineral oil, silicone lube, CRK fluorinated grease, M-Pro 7 Synthetic Grease), but I figured I'd inquire for some seasoned swine in Busse/Kin care and storage.
I'm sure this has been asked time and again, but what types of protectant do you gusy use to abate rust/oxidation issues on your finer blades? What methods of storage do you find work best? The absurdly long prelude about the living with my in-laws' was meant to say, I can't exactly invest in a humidity-controlled safe at the moment for cost and space reasons primarily, as that would be the ultimate solution here along with the use of desiccant and oil/protectant. Would airtight storage containers (think Tupperware) combined with silica gel packets combined with Burt's Bees or Tuf-Glide/Tuf-Cloth be sufficient? What about blades that simply cannot be stored in anything but open air due to size limitations?--(RFO and 1111)--sure, I can go beat them clean, but what about between beatings? What about uncoated/satin-finished blades? Blades with handles that aren't your usual micarta/G10?
Any input here is appreciated. I've been fighting this fight for almost three weeks and I feel like I'm losing. I can't keep baking reusable silica gel packs and inspecting all blades on a daily basis. It's exhausting.
Thanks for your time.
I live in a pretty humid area (SE Houston) that flooded not too long ago, which destroyed my first-floor apartment, totaled two cars and caused my wife and I to move in with her parents for the foreseeable future (whose house took no water as they are at higher elevation than the crest of the floodwater, thank goodness, and they live only a mile away from my previous residence). Ever since moving in with them, I've been battling rust on my blades like my life depends on it. I didn't have humidity or rust issues at my apartment, but in the in-laws' house it's a different story.
Most of my Busses, Kin and other brands are coated, so it's not that big of a deal, but it's a pain in the junk to inspect, rub and oil them every other day. I read a long time ago that Burt's Bees (yes, the lip balm) is good at creating an effective barrier against oxidation (due to the beeswax), adheres pretty well/stays put since it's so viscous, and is foodsafe (and smells minty fresh!); this has proven to be true on my higher-carbon steel blades, but those are mostly coated as well, so I'll probably end up using that on my coated Busses/Kin.
However, I have two satin Busses and a tiny custom damascus necker that I don't exactly want to slather with lip balm (and a pet project BK-9 that I stripped and sanded). In the past couple days I've acquired a couple of glass-topped wooden display boxes in which to store my nicer blades, a sack of reusable silica gel packets (the blue-to-pink kind) and I'm waiting on a Tuf-Cloth (I have Tuf-Glide already). Within about 18 hours all four silica gel packets per display box had turned from blue to pink, indicating saturation, so I'm going to a nearby Container Store later on to grab some oblong airtight containers to house all but an 1111 and an RFO (basically a shorter AK).
While I'm planning to use the Tuf-Glide/Tuf-Cloth on blades I don't intend for potential food use, I don't know how it would affect, say, the "Story Book" handles on my CS Boss Jack if some crept in near the handle material, so I'm a bit reluctant to use it on that one in particular (the other uncoated blade being an EPDLE, which I think may have some rust forming under a section of G10, which scares the bajesus out of me, and I've had to address some very small surface spots already). Furthermore, I'd prefer not to coat at least the Boss Jack with a toxic substance (Tuf-Glide) because I plan to actually use it for camping/hiking/flashy kitchen use on occasion.
Lately I've been using ALG Go-Juice (a firearm lubricant--and a good one at that, mostly because I have it and it's nontoxic) as a stopgap oil since a leaky bottle of mineral oil under the sink was compromised by floodwater. It works all right, but I'm not entirely sure what it's composed of and it's more of a lubricant than a protectant. I also have a random assortment of oils and lubricants that might (?) work as well (white mineral oil, silicone lube, CRK fluorinated grease, M-Pro 7 Synthetic Grease), but I figured I'd inquire for some seasoned swine in Busse/Kin care and storage.
I'm sure this has been asked time and again, but what types of protectant do you gusy use to abate rust/oxidation issues on your finer blades? What methods of storage do you find work best? The absurdly long prelude about the living with my in-laws' was meant to say, I can't exactly invest in a humidity-controlled safe at the moment for cost and space reasons primarily, as that would be the ultimate solution here along with the use of desiccant and oil/protectant. Would airtight storage containers (think Tupperware) combined with silica gel packets combined with Burt's Bees or Tuf-Glide/Tuf-Cloth be sufficient? What about blades that simply cannot be stored in anything but open air due to size limitations?--(RFO and 1111)--sure, I can go beat them clean, but what about between beatings? What about uncoated/satin-finished blades? Blades with handles that aren't your usual micarta/G10?
Any input here is appreciated. I've been fighting this fight for almost three weeks and I feel like I'm losing. I can't keep baking reusable silica gel packs and inspecting all blades on a daily basis. It's exhausting.
Thanks for your time.
Sorry no help here but am very sorry for your troubles and wish you and your family safe travels and speedy recovery! Esp livin w the inlaws!
