My blade has scratches after cleaning. Why?

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KrunchyNacho

Joined
Nov 2, 2020
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I’m somewhat of a knife newbie, so forgive me if there is an obvious answer to this question. I just got a new knife. A traditional knife with 1095 blade steel. A knife is critical at my job, lots of opening boxes and Saran Wrap. My new knife had built up a lot of residue and grime after it’s first full day of use. So I took it home and cleaned the residue off using 91% isopropyl alcohol and some cotton balls. It got all the grime off fine. But immediately afterwards, I noticed both sides of the blade had multiple noticeable scratches that were certainly not there in the morning when I left for work. I did nothing at work that would have caused those scratches, and the blade is not rubbing the sides of the handle. Which brings me to the conclusion that it must have been my cleaning of the blade that caused the scratches. But from everything I’ve read, isopropyl alcohol is fine for cleaning blades. So what happened? Why is my blade now scratched?
 
The cardboard in shipping boxes is inherently dirty stuff and full of embedded grit - even from manufacture. And more so, the longer the boxes get moved around in & stored in dirty trucks and on dirty warehouse floors - it picks up everything, dirt-wise. As mentioned, it's likely where the scratches happened. Cleaning the blade likely just made them more visible. Clean & sterile cotton balls wouldn't do it, nor would the alcohol.

Good news is, 1095 steel is very, very easy to dress up & remove those scratches. A green Scotch-Brite pad, as found in the household cleaning section at the grocery store, works very well to apply a nice satin finish on simple blade steels. Could also use some SiC wet/dry sandpaper over a hard backing, to put a uniform 'brushed satin' finish back on the blade. But for a knife used for opening up cardboard boxes, the result would be short-lived anyway, and I'd think not worth the hassle. If it were mine, I'd likely just use the knife and let it accumulate the scuffs & scars that go with the territory. If it later gets 'retired to pasture' and takes up lighter EDC pocket duty at home, that might be the time to clean it up a bit.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
The cardboard in shipping boxes is inherently dirty stuff and full of embedded grit - even from manufacture. And more so, the longer the boxes get moved around in & stored in dirty trucks and on dirty warehouse floors - it picks up everything, dirt-wise. As mentioned, it's likely where the scratches happened. Cleaning the blade likely just made them more visible. Clean & sterile cotton balls wouldn't do it, nor would the alcohol.

Good news is, 1095 steel is very, very easy to dress up & remove those scratches. A green Scotch-Brite pad, as found in the household cleaning section at the grocery store, works very well to apply a nice satin finish on simple blade steels. Could also use some SiC wet/dry sandpaper over a hard backing, to put a uniform 'brushed satin' finish back on the blade. But for a knife used for opening up cardboard boxes, the result would be short-lived anyway, and I'd think not worth the hassle. If it were mine, I'd likely just use the knife and let it accumulate the scuffs & scars that go with the territory. If it later gets 'retired to pasture' and takes up lighter EDC pocket duty at home, that might be the time to clean it up a bit.
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Well that’s good news! Thanks for letting me know!
 
Just use it, and don't worry about it. The surface patina of simple carbon steel is forever changing anyway. Just cut some salami and cheese or fruit and get it over with.

My pocket knifes also get to share space with coins and car keys.

They are tools to me. A little oil and kept sharp is all that is required.
 
Cleaning a blade can cause scratches if the cloth you wipe it with has anything hard in it, like dirt or specs of fine metal dust (like in a work shop).

Paper towels can also have tiny particles of grit in them. It's not intentional, but they don't make them for polishing fine silver, they're just cheap, throw-away pieces of paper, some a lot lower quality than others.

It's a safe bet that any knife that gets used, or just carried, is going to accumulate scratches.
 
SOLEIL said:
cardboard and saran wrap are very tough on knives. that's where the scratches came from. a utility razor knife with replaceable blades may suit your tasks better.
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KrunchyNacho said:
I see. I guess I figured a knife was for cutting anything I needed cut. Guess that shows my ignorance. Thank you for the information.
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Yeah... It's not wrong. Opening boxes/packages is brutal on a knife. That's the reason box cutters are a thing.

The concept of a "beater knife" has some relevance here too.
 
If you open a lot of cardboard boxes with that knife, you'll need to get good, and fast, at sharpening it. Because it will get dull very quickly. Now, learning how to sharpen a blade is a good thing, but it will still take up some of your time. Maybe not such a good thing in the middle of a work day.

Try using a box cutter for a day or two, and you'll see how fast the blade gets dull. You'll need to change the blades frequently. That will cost a little money, but if you keep a supply on hand, you will never get caught short.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
The cardboard in shipping boxes is inherently dirty stuff and full of embedded grit - even from manufacture. And more so, the longer the boxes get moved around in & stored in dirty trucks and on dirty warehouse floors - it picks up everything, dirt-wise. As mentioned, it's likely where the scratches happened. Cleaning the blade likely just made them more visible. Clean & sterile cotton balls wouldn't do it, nor would the alcohol.

Good news is, 1095 steel is very, very easy to dress up & remove those scratches. A green Scotch-Brite pad, as found in the household cleaning section at the grocery store, works very well to apply a nice satin finish on simple blade steels. Could also use some SiC wet/dry sandpaper over a hard backing, to put a uniform 'brushed satin' finish back on the blade. But for a knife used for opening up cardboard boxes, the result would be short-lived anyway, and I'd think not worth the hassle. If it were mine, I'd likely just use the knife and let it accumulate the scuffs & scars that go with the territory. If it later gets 'retired to pasture' and takes up lighter EDC pocket duty at home, that might be the time to clean it up a bit.
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In the watch world we often use a green scotchbrite pad to restore the brushed finish to a stainless steel or titanium watch bracelet and/or clasp. Usually for my Omega or lesser watches, not my Rolexes, and maybe only 2-3x a year so as to not wear down the engravings on the clasp.

I agree about just using the knife and not cleaning up the blade's scratches that will just come back with use. Another option is the utility knife that was suggested. In fact, I picked up a few utility knife folders from Zach at JerryRigEverything via www.JerryRigKnife.com just for boxes and tape, where the blades are easily replaced but the blade holder and handle fold up so that it can be safely kept in a pocket.

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I'm not a *ucker of china merch sidehassled by youtube phone reviewer channel .
i have tons of utility knives (big small medium), the one i end up using the most is the
 
I work in the shipping/receiving department of a factory. For six years now I’ve used both super steels and more traditional steel knives. From 1095 and 12c27 to CPM-m4 and zdp. Doesn’t matter what you use it’s going to get scratches from cardboard. Even my my spyderco Caly in zdp has developed scratches, cardboard can be nasty stuff.

Box cutters and such are nice, but it’s more enjoyable to me to use my own knives. Just clean the tape gunk off and sharpen it up for the next day. I use this stuff called “goo gone” to clean the tape residue off my blades. One spray on each size and wipe with a paper towel. Comes off like it’s nothing with 1-2 wipes.

Scratches add character though 👍
 
Keep using it I say, that's what it's made for. Scratches are part of its character. If you like it much, even better, just add a copy as a backup and for Sundays.
 
DocJekl said:
I agree about just using the knife and not cleaning up the blade's scratches that will just come back with use. Another option is the utility knife that was suggested.
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kreisler said:
I'm not a *ucker of china merch sidehassled by youtube phone reviewer channel .
i have tons of utility knives (big small medium), the one i end up using the most is the
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Confused. But also see above. For now that utility knife just stays in the kitchen drawer, and I did say to the OP that I agreed on just using the knife and not worrying about it. Sure I gave him an option that works well in our house, YouTuber designed or not - he's obviously free to decide what he wants to use.

running bird said:
I work in the shipping/receiving department of a factory. For six years now I’ve used both super steels and more traditional steel knives. From 1095 and 12c27 to CPM-m4 and zdp. Doesn’t matter what you use it’s going to get scratches from cardboard. Even my my spyderco Caly in zdp has developed scratches, cardboard can be nasty stuff.

Box cutters and such are nice, but it’s more enjoyable to me to use my own knives. Just clean the tape gunk off and sharpen it up for the next day. I use this stuff called “goo gone” to clean the tape residue off my blades. One spray on each size and wipe with a paper towel. Comes off like it’s nothing with 1-2 wipes.

Scratches add character though 👍
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My son makes fun of how I've already marred or stained the blade's tan coating on my newest Benchmade Shootout OTF from opening boxes and cutting stuff with it. I told him, "If I'm not going to use it, then I'm buying something prettier with my money."
 
This is my favorite box / cardboard knife at home - it's the sheepfoot blade in my Case 6375 CV stockman. Beautifully thin, full-height hollow grind on the blade and I've thinned it behind the edge some more. It's the best cutter for cardboard I've ever used, even as compared to any box / utility knife I've used. Admittedly, it receives much lighter use than if I were doing it all day long on the job. But I can understand having a preference for using a favorite EDC blade over something more practical, like a box / utility knife. I feel like this blade, as it was made and as I've added my own touches to it, was MADE for this sort of work. It handles it very well. And the thin edge is that much easier to touch up when or if it rolls a little bit. And when it does, I often use the same cardboard to strop it back into shape.
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And for what it's worth, when I do use utility blades for more brutal work, I even sharpen those after I use them. I have a bunch of spare blades for the utility knife on hand, but I haven't changed one out in a long time.
 
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No problem with scratches but anything harder than steel gets in your cleaning cloth or is on your hands will scratch it. A good work knife should have scratches. Not having scratches on a knife that you are actually using alot will be difficult.
 
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