Oiling bone covers

O

ottolenghi

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Apr 6, 2024
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Does anyone oil bone covers?

I accidentally spilt a bunch of Super Lube Lubricating Oil (CLP) on one of my bone covers GECs.

I wiped it off for the most part. But are synthetic oils bad for bone?
 
To be fair my Milwaukee fastback is a better tool than any of my gecs.

Gecs are not that great a tool. Fun though
 
Over the decades I've never intentionally oiled my bone (or wood) covered knives.
However, they are no strangers to new/fresh and ... "well traveled" ... oil, transmission fluid, hydraulic oil, grease, etc., both "natural" and synthetic. (neither were my sandwiches, during lunch break, Monday through Sunday, when I worked as a fabrication welder, mechanic, and a few other positions to age 62 . 😇)
I just wiped them off with a (somewhat) "clean" rag.
I never had any problems with the covers swelling/shrinking/warping/softening. Over time, the did discolor, however.
 
there was a period of time where I stored my first soup bone tc in a ziplock bag with mineral oil to protect the soup bone. it wasnt like soaked, but it had a good coating. i was told it protects the bone. in certain environments it can be important. ive come to learn my storage situation does not require that.
 
Whenever I oil the joint of a knife, I rub the little that invariably gets on my fingers into the bone covers. Hasn't seemed to hurt them any.
 
Bone won't be harmed by the oil, per se. But over time, very light colored or white bone might yellow a bit from oil. Some oils like 3-in-1 can leave a greenish tint behind. But some change in color will likely happen anyway, just from handling it over time. It's essentially part of the 'patina' that it'll acquire with age and use.
 
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ottolenghi said:
To be fair my Milwaukee fastback is a better tool than any of my gecs.

Gecs are not that great a tool. Fun though
Click to expand...
There's more to tool quality than utility, and utility depends on context. I can think of contexts where a GEC would be more appropriate and more useful than a Milwaukee fastback. "X is a better tool" seems weird when the tools are made for different purposes and such. The value of the GEC isn't highly linked to its utility as a tool, though, that's true, the utility accounts for a fraction of it.

As far as oil and bone, I do the same that others have said, excess oil from the pivot or blade gets wiped into the covers, I haven't noticed ill-effects. People say neatsfoot oil is better than mineral oil if you're going to soak bone or horn covers, not sure if that's evidence-based but it sounds good.
 
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