Oils and cutting food?

I've heard the advice to take a rag full of mineral oil (just damp--not soaking, of course) into the field to wipe the blade after use, and it sounds like a good idea. I'll do that next time I go camping. Up until now, I've just wipe my blade after use with my shirt or handkerchief, and it works okay. All the knives I've used in the woods so far (besides small pocket-knives) have been fixed-blade, high-carbon steel knives in 5160, 52100, 1095, and O1. I have to admit that in damp conditions (constant rain, for example), they will rust and even pit. IMHO, 52100 is so good (the best steel) and so bad (rusts if you look at it wrong). Just today, I sharpened an O1 knife, and it literally started to rust around the ricasso while I was sharpening it. That was my fault for not wiping it off between stones, but yeah...

I haven't used stainless in the field, but I hear good things about 154CM, D2, etc. I need to get a bushcraft-style knife in one of those good stainless steels and try it out.
 
alfred mcdougal said:
Hello everyone.

I'm looking for a knife that would be designed for general tasks while on the trail and camping. I'm leaning towards bushcrafting(ISH) knives. It seems these types of knives tend to be made out of carbon steels that require oiling. One task that I would do is cutting meats and vegetables. If I can avoid it, I'd rather not ingest petroleum residues. Are there plant based oils on the market that are designed to maintain knives? Are there bushcrafting knives on the market that don't require frequent oiling?
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There are stainless alternatives, if one should prefer. For example, I think that the Case 'American Workman' Sod Buster is an excellent woods folder for those who are comfortable using a knife without a lock. Here it is next to a BK-2...

beckersod01.jpg
 
use extra virgin coconut oil. its basically like a wax when you buy it. once it gets a little heated while being smeared on the blade it turns liquid. its my favorite thing so far. no fingerprints on the blade, and its a soluble, so your body will disolve it, but not acidic
 
Another good thing about coconut oil is that it will never gum up or go rancid. It is a naturally saturated oil and very stable, unlike most other vegetable oils.
 
I need to clarify the term "food grade." If a mineral oil is food grade, would a producer say as such on their packaging? I've called Whole Foods, Gander Mountain, the local hardware store, the local Walgreens, and a local specialty cutlery store and no one knows what "food grade" mineral oil is. I've found mineral oil that can be ingested, but not a single marketed product with the words "food grade mineral oil" on the packaging.

Is there a difference between mineral oil and "food grade" mineral oil? If so what?

Is the mineral oil used to coat cutting boards "food grade" even if it doesn't say it on the packaging? The cutlery store employee seems to think so. Wikipedia specifies there is a difference between mineral oils.

Thanks.
 
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