Project II

[Roller]

I went to a gun show today and was lucky enough to find a new Project II. I was wondering how much work it was to take care of this knife. Is A2 steel very rust resistant? What coating is on Chris Reeve fixed blade knives? I have a Small Sebenza, but this is my first CR fixed blade. Any info about maintainance is appreciated. I always use Rem Oil on my knives.

[This message has been edited by Roller (edited 03-16-2001).]

 

[SALTY]

The coating is Kalguard and appears to be more durable than other "black" coatings in its ability to resist wear.

The A2 is a carbon steel and therefore not as corrosion resistant as stainless steels.

Rinse it with water after use, especially contacts with salty or acidic material. This includes fruits and other "innocent looking" things that we cut.

For use other than food, I like motor oil. That's right, motor oil as it has many good things in it that fight corrosion. For a knife that will cut food, I am partial to mineral oil from the pharmacy. Tuff cloth and marine tough cloth are also good products and have a following with Forumites.

I think that rinsing and wiping, as a habit, is a good practice with all knives, especially carbon steel blades. A coating of oil, as aforementioned, is good practice paying special attention to the grind area that is not Kalguard protected.

I'm no expert, but this works for me. Note: I do not use my CRK One Piece Range Knives in and around salt water (i.e. diving, fishing and the like). This is not to say that you can not, only that my experience are void of this type of use.

Happy hunting.

 

[Chris Reeve Knives]

Perhaps a little easier to use than motor oil is good old WD40. That is what we treat the knives with before they are shipped. We buy it in liquid and apply it with a cloth but the spray version works just fine. We use the liquid because it is much more economical, given the quantity of knives we treat.

Kalgard is a very good all round coating for the knives and is one that we can do in-house. If we chose any of the coatings, we'd have to send the knives out and we have less control over what is going on. Each knife is sandblasted to "rough-up" the surface and the Kalgard is applied with a spray gun set on low pressure. The Kalgard has a low surface tension and keys into the tiny hollows created with the sandblasting. The knives are "baked" (just like cookies!) which cures the Kalgard. The result is a coating that will not peel off, although it will scratch against hard objects (rock or metal). It will also wear on the high points (cross guard) as the knife goes in and out of the sheath. What wears is the outer surface, but you still have the protection where the Kalgard keyed into those minute hollows.

Hope this information helps!

Anne