noob maintenance question

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ferramentum2013

Joined
Jan 22, 2011
Messages
8
Hello all,
I'm a complete rookie to this whole knife scene. I recently received a Kershaw Leek with the DLC coating (1660CKT) as a gift. My question is this, do you apply a light coat of oil to the black DLC blade just as you would a non-coated blade for protection?


Thanks in advance and apologies if this is a really stupid question.
 
No such thing as a stupid question, so far as I'm concerned.

If I'm not mistaken, your knife's blade is 440A stainless. Even without the DLC coating, that steel is quite rust resistant. There's absolutely no harm in lightly oiling the blade if you want to, but for the most part, I personally don't think the blade (as a whole) needs it. It's always a good idea to lightly lubricate the pivot, but otherwise, just keeping the blade clean & dry, when you put it away, will accomplish the most in preventing rust.

Welcome to the forum, BTW.
 
Thank you. The Kershaw website lists the blade material as "14C28N" - is that the same thing as 440A? You'll have to excuse my ignorance here...I did a web search but didn't find much info on the 14C28N.


Thanks again!
 
ferramentum2013 said:
Thank you. The Kershaw website lists the blade material as "14C28N" - is that the same thing as 440A? You'll have to excuse my ignorance here...I did a web search but didn't find much info on the 14C28N.


Thanks again!
Click to expand...

Looks like I found an older link to reference the specs. I think you'll still be fine. Same advice applies.

Kershaw has had a few rust troubles with some earlier bead-blasted finish blades using the Sandvik steel (I think it was 13C26, not the 14C28N). That had more to do with the finish on the blades at the time, as opposed to the steel itself. The bead blast finish they were using was apparently creating some voids in the surface which trapped moisture more easily, making them prone to rust spots on the blades. With the DLC coating, I don't think that will be a problem.
 
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