Preserving carbon steel blades?

F

fallknivener

Joined
Sep 7, 2009
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26
Hi guys.
Can you help me in this DIY?

I am ordering a kukri (my first carbon steel blade) but the problem is that it will probably rust because of the weather.

Do you have an advice on how to protect a blade from rusting?

I have read about oxidizing the blade with lemon juice, tomato juice, ketchup, mustard etc.

Please help
 
I like to use onions or gun blue though the gun blue is not as effective at keeping the rust away. Lots of food products will work it just need to be acidic.
 
Just use it. When you are done, clean it, oil it. Make sure the scabbard stays dry, keep it in a dry place. Don't worry about patina or the like. Keep it in a dry place. Shouldn't be a problem.

Andy
 
Andrew Colglazier said:
Just use it. When you are done, clean it, oil it. Make sure the scabbard stays dry, keep it in a dry place. Don't worry about patina or the like. Keep it in a dry place. Shouldn't be a problem.

Andy
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+1
I live ~3 miles from the beach. None of my carbon steel knives rust, though I will say I don't store them in the sheath.
 
Andrew Colglazier said:
Just use it. When you are done, clean it, oil it. Make sure the scabbard stays dry, keep it in a dry place. Don't worry about patina or the like. Keep it in a dry place. Shouldn't be a problem.

Andy
Click to expand...


the problem is that there is a high probability of using it in salty and acidic environments (orchards).
 
Like Andrew said, clean it and oil it when you are done. It may form a patina, which is surface oxidation (or corrosion). There's nothing wrong with that. What you need to avoid is pitting corrosion. Cleaning and oiling after use will prevent that.
 
fallknivener said:
the problem is that there is a high probability of using it in salty and acidic environments (orchards).
Click to expand...

No problem, really. Just don't put it away with wet sap on the blade, or into a damp or wet scabbard.

If mine get really wet, I scrub them in hot water with a stiff brush and dish soap. Then I dry it, spray it down with WD40, wipe it down, and put it away.

Andy
 
Andrew Colglazier said:
No problem, really. Just don't put it away with wet sap on the blade, or into a damp or wet scabbard.

If mine get really wet, I scrub them in hot water with a stiff brush and dish soap. Then I dry it, spray it down with WD40, wipe it down, and put it away.

Andy
Click to expand...

Thank you guys for the advices ;)

I'm planning to order an 12" survival kukri from kukri house with a different handle (classic knife handle) and use it as a heavy duty chopper while hiking and mountaineering (and pruning in orchards)
We usualy go in teams and not everybody can afford a good quality blade (unlike me. I'm a knife freak :D) so I usualy lend some of my knives. People take really good care of them but there is always a risk of abuse like using it to chop vegetables and forgetting to oil it (girls are used to kitchen stainless knives).
Can't wait to see the poor girls face when I, instead of giving her something small as a fallkniven s1, lend her the 12" monster :D:D:D

p.s. sorry for the bad english
 
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Spray it down with WD-40 whenever it gets wet and after you use it, a patina will also help, you can force it by wrapping the whole blade in a cloth soaked with vinegar.
 
If you are using the knife for food then use Mineral Oil, as it is food safe.
Mineral Oil is Baby Lotion in the pharmacy.

If you are in the field, then carry a film canister with a small piece of cloth soaked in Mineral Oil. Once the knife is clean, then a simple wipe down will protect the blade from rust. The cloth will last for a long time.
 
Can't really go wrong if you keep the blade clean and dry after each use. Oiling is probably a good additional step, though I'll confess I don't do it with many of my more frequently used blades.

Once cut a tree down in the pouring rain with a khukuri... took a while, was a sizable tree. Anyway, even after exposure to all that water and sap for all that time, I didn't have any rust. Zip. Still gave 'er a wipe later and dried 'er off.
 
Damn it... I was thinking about your great advices BUT... I stumbled upon a youtube clip that demonstrated the results of forcing patina on carbon steel blades and this one blew my mind

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1968660F68759766&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&v=IFYEj2dRVBY

The pattern is beautiful.
As I can see it, he basicaly wrapped a piece of cloth soaked in vinegar around the blade and left it for 40 min. Would it be more efficient to threat the whole blade with vinegar for about 20 min and then do the cloth wrapping (with adding space between the cloth coils)?

Any advices or "how to's"?
 
I soak my blades in vinegar, then play with them a bit.

This one developed a sort of hamon patina I like a lot.

IMG_9842.jpg


That cloth wrapping bit was pretty cool, I wonder if adding space lessens the amount of protection you'd get?
 
just use your knife. It will take hundred of years of using it in an orchard to ever degrade. People see carbon steel blades and think they will turn to dust if any rust gets on them. I got a machete that has seen duty near salt water all its life and it is still stock thickness, no damage. This rust thing on carbon is so overblown.

Use it, wipe it down with an oily rag and 500 years from now some space dude will find it and use it for another 500 years.
 
Josh K said:
That cloth wrapping bit was pretty cool, I wonder if adding space lessens the amount of protection you'd get?
Click to expand...

I was wondering the same thing. That's why I suggested the "whole blade soaking" prior the cloth wrapping.
The thing is, will it work?

Thanks for the pic, it looks like a workhorse :thumbup:
 
Bushman5 said:
500 years from now some space dude will find it and use it for another 500 years.
Click to expand...

I know that I seem to be frightened when talking about carbon steel. The thing is that I don't have any experience and I would like to read and learn from your excellent advices.

I believe, thanks to all of you, that the carbon steel will perform outstandingly. The vinegar discussion is purely aesthetics related. It looks awesome.

P.S. The sci-fi analogy... ROFL :D ;)
 
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I can't view the clip currently, but the description of the blade wrapped in vinegar saturated cloth gives me an idea of the end result... makes me wonder why I didn't think of that before!

If one was concerned about gaps in the patina, no reason you couldn't do the cloth wrap twice.... possible complexifying any patterns in the steel.

Another method for a patterned patina is applying mustard to the blade and letting it dry. I did a two-time patterned mustard etch on my bendo for fun:

Bendo20090329b_smDetail.jpg
 
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For food use I dry after using and put on a little mineral oil. The ones I use outside I polish with eagle one nano wheel polish once in awhile. No rust.

I have a kukri and machete with factory black spray coats. Once in awhile after I clean/sharpen them I spray them with flat black paint just so I know they'll be 100%, even if they get rained on a few times before I use them again.
 
C.S. Graves said:
I can't view the clip currently, but the description of the blade wrapped in vinegar saturated cloth gives me an idea of the end result... makes me wonder why I didn't think of that before!

If one was concerned about gaps in the patina, no reason you couldn't do the cloth wrap twice.... possible complexifying any patterns in the steel.

Another method for a patterned patina is applying mustard to the blade and letting it dry. I did a two-time patterned mustard etch on my bendo for fun:
Click to expand...

you should watch the clip. I was wondering how to achieve that pattern of patina.
This is how I would do it:
1. Wrapping the entire blade to get the primary patina
2. Wrapping strips of cloth (with gaps in between) to get more darker pattern
 
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