Maintenance of non-stainless knives

S

swatman

Joined
Jul 20, 2006
Messages
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I have been buying stainless steel knives exclusively because I don't want to worry about rust. Now there are many nice non-stainless knives that I want such as Swamp Rat, Becker, and Ontario RAT lines. I have newb questions regarding non-stainless knives:

- Do I need to keep cleaning and putting oil on the non-coated part of the knife all the time?
- What's the best oil or greease to use?
- If I use the knife for kitchen duty, do I need to worry about the knife oil contaminating the food?

Thanks ..
 
It depends on the enviroment, if where you live is very hot and humid you may need to keep oil on the knife as it may indeed rust just from the moisture in the air. However in most cases just keeping it dry will work fine. If you use an oil you can eat like lard or coconut oil then there is no problem with using it on food.

-Cliff
 
You will be missing out on a lot of good knives if you limit yourself to stainless steel. I have a RAT in 1095 steel, just wipe it after use and do not have any problems. I might wipe the blade with oil if I did not plan to use it for a while. I have a few 1095 steel kitchen knives [Old Hickory] I wiped the blades with vinegar to form a protective patina against rust. If you dry the blades after you wash them you should not have any problems with kitchen duty knives.
 
I agree, too many people are overly concerned about rust. Even here in sweaty Japan its not so big a deal for dry blades left in storage.I EDC a carbon steel pocketknife and havent had any issues at all.
 
Clean knive after use. DRY!!!!! Rub on LIGHT coat of olive oil, wipe off excess.
No sweat, no hassle, no rust.:D

Ben
 
As the knives,(non stainless) get older they develop a patina, an oxidized layer that protects the blade to some degree, I've heard many old timers tell me how they ran a brand new carbon steel blade through an apple, "So as to get a skin on the blade".
 
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