M4 maintenance

J

Jack3dBrett

Joined
Jan 1, 2016
Messages
198
What are you guys using to take care of your M4 steels? I have the BladeHQ PM2 but have been reluctant to make use of it due to complaints of it not being stainless.
 
I use to be paranoid of nonstainless, but i got over it. If it rusts a bit of flitz to remove the rust, if your scared of rust...wax, oils, silicone...take your pick. Course there is the patina fans....im not a fan myself unless it happens from cutting things and use...then i dont care.
 
jbmonkey said:
I use to be paranoid of nonstainless, but i got over it. If it rusts a bit of flitz to remove the rust, if your scared of rust...wax, oils, silicone...take your pick. Course there is the patina fans....im not a fan myself unless it happens from cutting things and use...then i dont care.
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I do not care for patinas either, in fact I think they look ugly. And I hear M4 will do it rather easily
 
It only patinas easily compared to a stainless steel. Its much more resistant than a straight up carbon steel like O1 or 1095. I've found its not too far off from 3v, in terms of corrosion resistance. Though 3v does have more chromium content.
 
M4 wont patina so easily but it will. Just wax , oil, silicone, whatever product you like and have good experience with, and youll never have an issue.....if you do flitz brings it back to shiny again.
 
Have you ever had an old knife in 1095 or any other basic carbon steel?
M4 isn't nearly as reactive.

Like JB monkey mentioned, there's no reason it should create paranoia or hesitancy to use a tool.


But, if patina is somehow going to visually bother you, it sounds like you should stick with one of the many great stainless options out there instead and you'll be happier.
 
I was wondering this as well since I'm not a fan of the patina either. When not carrying it, would putting it in the box with a desiccant help? Or is that just a silly idea?
 
Carried my GB quite a bit, never had an issue with rust. It developed a light patina before I got sweat on it. My Mantra however got my sweat on it before it had a chance to take a patina and started rusting right away. I was able to clean it off fairly easy then forced a patina. It has been good since.
 
I m just going to use my pm2 m4 and see what kind of patina develops naturally.
 
i find that coating my GB 1 at least once a week with a light coat 3 in 1 oil seems to hold off rusting spots!or you probably could use any type of oil! i live near the seashore and its always damp or wet weather hear and proper to say it ideal for rusting knifes!but not if you follow my advice though.
 
I lightly tuff-glide my two M4 EDC'd knives once a week. Just a dot of lube and I spread it over the blade with my finger before a very light wipe on a rag. No stains or rust in 2 months now.

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk
 
I just use it. I put nothing on it. It's already developed a light patina from use.
 
It's m4. Meant to be hard use. Any patina or usage marks it as original. If u fear it getting damaged or losing its factory state it's no longer the tool it's meant to be. I bought one also, but mine will be used. I wont buy it if it won't be used or damaged.
 
I live in a dry climate, but I find if I wash and dry M4 straight after use on food, I have no issues with rust. If you can keep it dry and the pivot oiled you have won most of the battle.

Where corrosion did catch me out before was hidden moisture in the pivot. I now make a point to not get my non-stainless folders soaking wet and to keep water out of the pivot. I give it a good strong blow-out everytime I rinsed the blade as a precaution, and it is telling that I usually discover a few small drops of water that somehow sneaked in between tang and scale.

I've had good results with Tuff Glide on my first M4 knife (a GB) to limit a patina from forming, but it is not permanent treatment, and you have to reapply it occasionally. I like a natural patina, so I do not bother with that anymore.
 
I've had a Spyderco Gayle Bradley for years, and it never developed a patina. But we have seen patinas on other GBs. So it seems to depend on environment, usage, etc. M4 will develop a patina, but not as easily as other steels. I don't like the look of patinas on modern folders, and am 50/50 on cancelling my M4 Para 2 order just because I don't want to deal with a patina.
 
I find that M4 doesn't patina as well as the more common carbon steels. It's not like an instant reaction like O1 or 1095. I've cut meat and veggies with mine for a week now and all I'm getting is slight purple hues and a grayish galvanized color to it. I would worry so much about corrosion as long as you wipe off your blade after every use!
 
Steellove said:
It's m4. Meant to be hard use. Any patina or usage marks it as original. If u fear it getting damaged or losing its factory state it's no longer the tool it's meant to be. I bought one also, but mine will be used. I wont buy it if it won't be used or damaged.
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that's the way i think! most are meant to be used' under my roof any way.;)
 
NjMS said:
I lightly tuff-glide my two M4 EDC'd knives once a week. Just a dot of lube and I spread it over the blade with my finger before a very light wipe on a rag. No stains or rust in 2 months now.

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


That's what I've been doing. I have a Tuf-Cloth ( not the Marine Tuf-Cloth) and I wipe it down before I put it away at night.

I carried mine yesterday and was sweating quite a bit. Every now and then I took the knife out and wiped the sweat beads off the side that faced my leg. I was expecting rust spots but don't see any.
 
91bravo said:
I find that M4 doesn't patina as well as the more common carbon steels. It's not like an instant reaction like O1 or 1095. I've cut meat and veggies with mine for a week now and all I'm getting is slight purple hues and a grayish galvanized color to it. I would worry so much about corrosion as long as you wipe off your blade after every use!
Click to expand...

This is my exact experience. I've been using it for everything and it has not really taken that much of a patina yet.
 
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