M4 in Florida?

jimmyd1982 said:
I've let most of mine develop naturally so I can't really say. I experimented with mustard to make different patterns several years ago but ended up polishing it off. I know some people just stick them in a potato overnight.
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shinyedges said:
I've done both, I've had meats give a dark multi colored hue patina that was beautiful. I've also forced a patina by sticking a blade into a lime and letting it sit for awhile. That came out GORGEOUS. Start with whatever you'd like and just keep on building it up and it will get darker and have its own character.

I played around with mustard patinas as well you can force a "design" almost like an etch depending on where and how you place the mustard.

ETA: I like ribeye and so that's what I used. You can get a greenish purplish hue with meats with good fat content.
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Thanks for the replies fellas! I'll probably try a nice NY strip and see what type of coloration I get from that.

Step1: Actually buy the GB2..
 
have many m4 folders including the gb2 and live in florida swamps and no problems just wipe down and keep clean.
 
For me, its getting sweaty that does the damage. I worked as a maintenance supervisor for a big group of apartments. In the summer we get Florida heat and humidity. Normally m4 is just fine with nothing done to it at all. However, when moving furniture and getting drenched for hours, rust was a normal issue. I only carried m4 a few times because of this. My 810 Contego rusted on any exposed surface and my Bradley 2 rusted. Both were caught quick and easily fixed. Rarely, a tiny bit of easily rubbed off rust would form near the pivot of my Seb21. My sweat is hard on stuff and to me that makes all the difference.

I run with my 154cm Grip and mow yards with a s30v Sage or a 20cv Benchmade and they do fine with sweat. I rinse them when done. Modern stainless steels are really great. Traditional carbon steels are also good, it's just I don't want to put the work in when stainless does the same with so much less effort.

Just buy what you like and know how you're going to use it. M4 should be fine with light use and normal pocket time with occasional cleaning and wipe downs. If you are going to bask in your own juices or be cutting salty things, then get stainless steel.
 
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Honed_Edge said:
For me, its getting sweaty that does the damage. I worked as a maintenance supervisor for a big group of apartments. In the summer we get Florida heat and humidity. Normally m4 is just fine with nothing done to it at all. However, when moving furniture and getting drenched for hours, rust was a normal issue. I only carried m4 a few times because of this. My 810 Contego rusted on any exposed surface and my Bradley 2 rusted. Both were caught quick and easily fixed. Rarely, a tiny bit of rubbed off rust would form near the pivot of my Seb21. My sweat is hard on stuff and to me that makes all the difference.

I run with my 154cm Grip and mow yards with a s30v Sage or a 20cv Benchmade and they do fine with sweat. Modern stainless steels are really great. Traditional carbon steels are also good, it's just I don't want to put the work in when stainless does the same with so much less effort.

Just buy what you like and know how your going to use it. M4 should be fine with light use and normal pocket time with occasional cleaning and wipe downs. If you are going to bask in your own juices or be cutting salty things, then get stainless steel.
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Funny you say this because I'm just now doing a project over in Jax building a Hobby Lobby, mannnn is it hot in that building..I can take my laser heat gun point it at the ceiling and it reads 122! Maybe I will buy the GB2 but just not carry it for this job, I've been rotating my sebbie21 and G3 weekly
 
The key to keeping steel from rusting isn't frog lube or pre rusting ( "forcing patina") it's washing the salt or any other corrosive substance off your steel before it rusts. Also remember that the better the finish the easier it is to keep unrusted. Mirror polish is much easier to keep up with than stone wash in any steel. If you will do simple maintenance the rust isn't a problem. North Carolina has it's share of heat and humidity and it's the salt in sweat that causes most rust. I'd recommend a stainless knife if you don't want to keep up with the maintenance issues. If you want no maintenance get a "Salt" knife in H1 by Spyderco. Paste wax and to a lesser extent oil and grease are tricks that can help lower maintenance needs in some circumstances but don't think it's possible to put oil or anything else over salty sweat and have it keep the rust away. It's getting the corrosive stuff off that keeps the rust away not putting oil on top of it. Patinas? Nope. Don't like them and I'd rather keep my knife clean. Every now and then I re sand my knives into a hand satin when they get scratched up. Mirrors by hand take more time than I want to put into my every day knives. Whether M4 steel is for you is a personal preference. I have no problems using even rustier steels than M4 ( 1095, O-1, etc.)

H1 does NOT rust BTW.
 
Aquaholicc said:
So I just got done reading the thread about the "best" way to force patina and a lot of guys seems to take the acidic fruits route but some mention the use of steak? I for one would much rather buy steak and force my wife to grill out with me rather than cut apple or oranges for her..hahah.

Any input on which gives better results or is it all preference as it seems to me the fruits darken the blade whereas the protein gives it different colors ?
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I swore up and down in another thread that M4 doesn't seem to rust for me. I live in a dry climate but I mean the last time I was in that thread I washed the knife in hot water, flicked it off (didn't towel dry it) and put it in my pocket and latter there was no rust on it. To be perfectly candid there was a rust line right in the corner where the blade bevel grind meets the sharpening choil. No patina there I suppose but I have never seen a speck or let alone a haze of rust on the rest of the blade(s).

I have the GB 1 and the Spyderco Military in . . . my favorite steel . . . M4.

My favorite patina maker is fresh tomatoes so maybe that will work better for you than fruit. The reason I like tomatoes is it leaves not only a dark patina but it has a blue cast to it like gun blue. Cool sheeeet.

I'm probably all wet (not); no humidity here and no salt air. Hahaha can't get any further from that than the high dessert of Colorado. If you like low oxygen and cracking skin in winter THIS is the place for you.

PS: the patina is tricky to photograph these two pics were taken with in minutes of each other and I was sitting in the exact same spot. Same side of the Military M4 blade. Hard enough to see the patina let alone the blue but it is there.



PPS: my Gayle Bradley hardly takes any patina for some reason even though I have had it for six or seven months longer than the Military which is about a month old.

I took these two just now; can see the blue. Before attempting to patina these blades I had washed them thoroughly with soap and water and alcohol. I recommend some hard core solvent. It seems they have something on them from the makers. See the streaks on the MILLIE. I wiped the blade all over the surfaces, evenly, with the food stuffs I was cutting up (roast chilies, lemons, tomatoes etc.) . . . I left the blades coated with the juice for more than half an hour . . . sometimes for more than an hour. Still there are these weird streaks as if I just used the knife and washed it off right away. Iduuunoh.



 
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Honed_Edge said:
My sweat is hard on stuff and to me that makes all the difference.
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Agreed ! ! !
One of the biggest, baddest issues I fight on the equipment I repair is human sweat dripping and running down into the mating / clamped surfaces. Can form a layer that is very similar to a soldered joint or an epoxied joint. Some rust but here it is mostly a white or light green layer of corrosion. An electrolytic reaction really. Like on battery terminals and is usually on and at its worst between to different metals like steel and aluminum . . . but I have even had some serious examples with carbon fiber parts. Gentlemen and Ladies put Vaseline on sports equipment that you drip on with your sweat for long and often repeated periods of time.
 
Wowbagger Wowbagger thanks for the info man! Sadly I'm not looking for any other alternatives as far as knives go. I've got what I need in that respect, I can barely get the PM2 in m390 to ride in my pocket with this new L21. It's really ruined my rotation up big time!

Seems like I'll just have to buy a GB2 and see how it fairs in this salty humid hell hole I call Florida
 
Those purple pants.... Damn. LOL Burn them.
Wowbagger said:
I swore up and down in another thread that M4 doesn't seem to rust for me. I live in a dry climate but I mean the last time I was in that thread I washed the knife in hot water, flicked it off (didn't towel dry it) and put it in my pocket and latter there was no rust on it. To be perfectly candid there was a rust line right in the corner where the blade bevel grind meets the sharpening choil. No patina there I suppose but I have never seen a speck or let alone a haze of rust on the rest of the blade(s).

I have the GB 1 and the Spyderco Military in . . . my favorite steel . . . M4.

My favorite patina maker is fresh tomatoes so maybe that will work better for you than fruit. The reason I like tomatoes is it leaves not only a dark patina but it has a blue cast to it like gun blue. Cool sheeeet.

I'm probably all wet (not); no humidity here and no salt air. Hahaha can't get any further from that than the high dessert of Colorado. If you like low oxygen and cracking skin in winter THIS is the place for you.

PS: the patina is tricky to photograph these two pics were taken with in minutes of each other and I was sitting in the exact same spot. Same side of the Military M4 blade. Hard enough to see the patina let alone the blue but it is there.



PPS: my Gayle Bradley hardly takes any patina for some reason even though I have had it for six or seven months longer than the Military which is about a month old.

I took these two just now; can see the blue. Before attempting to patina these blades I had washed them thoroughly with soap and water and alcohol. I recommend some hard core solvent. It seems they have something on them from the makers. See the streaks on the MILLIE. I wiped the blade all over the surfaces, evenly, with the food stuffs I was cutting up (roast chilies, lemons, tomatoes etc.) . . . I left the blades coated with the juice for more than half an hour . . . sometimes for more than an hour. Still there are these weird streaks as if I just used the knife and washed it off right away. Iduuunoh.



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So frog lube paste is the best option for rust prevention for the m4?
I was leaning towards the liquid but do not have any experience with both.
 
Perhaps not the very best option (i.e. sending it out to Ionbond/Rowan for coating), but FrogLube is certainly is one of the better food-safe, rust preventative options available. I prefer the paste as it is easier to control along vertical surfaces and simplifies cleanup versus the liquid. The paste also forms a waxy shell around treated component as it cools, further aiding in visual confirmation of a successful application.
 
Brusiedmeat said:
So frog lube paste is the best option for rust prevention for the m4?
I was leaning towards the liquid but do not have any experience with both.
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i can show you a cruwear and k390 i used frog lube on and it did nada to stop corrosion. its on the bottom of the choices for stop rusting from experience using it.
 
Aquaholicc said:
Hmm I wonder if the humidity in CA is that different from Florida. Thanks for the post man!
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There's no humidity in CA. And man, it doesnt get more humid than florida in the US. But if you live by the ocean in CA, that salt from the Pacific is horrible for knives
 
I m sure that along with the salt air, one of my problems with rust on my GB1 was perspiration. I carry my knife IWB and uasually sweat working outside. I know , with dedicated maintenance, I could maintain the m4, perhaps with a dark patina and nightly care. But do I want to spend that much effort maintaining a tool when comparable tools in cts 204 or m390 are available and relatively maintenace free?
Still have one deep red rust spot on my GB1 blade that hasn t been completely rmoved.
 
whp said:
I m sure that along with the salt air, one of my problems with rust on my GB1 was perspiration. I carry my knife IWB and uasually sweat working outside. I know , with dedicated maintenance, I could maintain the m4, perhaps with a dark patina and nightly care. But do I want to spend that much effort maintaining a tool when comparable tools in cts 204 or m390 are available and relatively maintenace free?
Still have one deep red rust spot on my GB1 blade that hasn t been completely rmoved.
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Yeah I'm outside about 40% of the time so, the only thing left to do is just keep my eye on the exchange for a good deal and try it out I suppose.

Anyone got a GB2 for sale ?! ;)
 
Sentry Tuf cloth or even Marine Tuf cloth would be a good idea. That said, a knife in CTS XHP might be a good choice, similar wear resistance as M4, cheaper and fairly stainless in sensible use.
 
Eezox has worked well in Florida on D2, 1075, 1095, 1095 CV, 52100, S7, and INFI. It's not food safe but it will protect your tools. For food safe protection, I've had good results with canola oil but it has to be frequently applied.
 
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