- Joined
- Aug 9, 2006
- Messages
- 718
We are currently experiencing our monsoonal wet season here in Northern Australia. There is not a lot to do outdoors in this kind of weather. Road access is limited off the major highway and heat and humidity discourage much activity.
It is a time of the year when rust and mould are major issues around the house and yard.
Out of curiosity, I tested the protective effect of a few things that I use on knives, tools, fishing gear etc. For the purpose of this exercise I used some bright finished 75mm (3.75inch) bullet head nails. The nails were carefully scoured in hot soapy water, dried, degreased with alcohol and hammered into a pine batten. They were then coated with the various substances detailed below. I wore disposable gloves to avoid any accidental contamination of the metal during the setup. All up I used eight nails. The batten was left outside in the weather for four days.
The protectants chosen were selected because I already had them lying around the house and shed (this was a big budget exercise). Three of the substances were aerosols – Inox, WD40 and Lanoshield. Instead of spraying the nails and risking cross contamination, I sprayed the stuff on a clean piece of cloth and wiped it on to the nail.
Lanotec and Lanoshield are lanolin based products. I get them from a boating supplies place and they are heavily used in the fishing industry in this part of the world. I use them on my boat and trailer, particularly to grease bolt threads.
Conditions during the four days were harsh. Relatively humidity rarely dropped below 80%. Temperatures ranged between 26 degrees Celsius (79F) and 35 degrees Celsius (95F). It rained on and off for the four days and there were numerous squalls and thunderstorms.
The protectants used and the results are summarized below. Worst corrosive effect is number 8 through to least corrosive result (or best protective effect) at number 1.
8 – No protectant. This was the control. Within 24 hours the nail was coated in light rust. At the end of the four days it seriously rusted with no bright metal visible.
7 – Mineral Oil – this came as a bit of a surprise as I have been using this stuff on knives that are regularly handled for years. Corrosion after four days was quite severe with only minor signs of bright metal visible in some spots. It had the least protective effect of all substances I used.
6 – Gunstock Wax – this was a Carnauba based wax. I applied three coats to the raw nail. Rusting after four days was quite noticeable and the protective effect, although observable was not good.
5 – Inox. This is an aerosol based lube and protectant. This nail had a good covering of rust spots – plenty of bright metal visible but the amount of rust was also quite significant. Another surprise for me as I have used this stuff for a long time on guns, especially black powder firearms and have found it effective as a protectant for guns stored in a safe.
4 – Olive Oil. This was commandeered from the kitchen. The nail had some rust after four days but it was relatively light and patchy. It performed a lot better than the mineral oil and the Inox.
3 – WD40. Some rust but surprisingly little. Overall protective effect was very good.
2 – Lanotec Grease. A small number of rust spots observable but of a minor nature.
1 – Lanoshield – Two minor specs of rust visible, otherwise the nail showed no effects of the exposure to the elements. Overall, the best result.
There were a few surprises there for me. I will probably keep using mineral oil for carbon steel knives that are in regular use and may be used for food preparation but I would have a serious lack of confidence in it for harsh environment useage. I don’t usually use Inox on knives but do use it for axes, machetes etc – I will switch to Lanoshield for these. I have used Lanotec grease for long term storage of knives for many years and will continue to do so.
Let me acknowledge up front that this was a casual exercise based on my own curiosity. It dealt only with passive exposure to climatic elements and included none of the other things that may impact on knives such as exposure to blood, leather, sweat, salt water etc, nor was the persistence of the protective substance challenged as the nails were not handled after the protectant was applied. I am not a scientist or researcher and plead guilty up front to any methodological shortcomings.
I will leave the nails in place for the next month or so and continue to observe.
It is a time of the year when rust and mould are major issues around the house and yard.
Out of curiosity, I tested the protective effect of a few things that I use on knives, tools, fishing gear etc. For the purpose of this exercise I used some bright finished 75mm (3.75inch) bullet head nails. The nails were carefully scoured in hot soapy water, dried, degreased with alcohol and hammered into a pine batten. They were then coated with the various substances detailed below. I wore disposable gloves to avoid any accidental contamination of the metal during the setup. All up I used eight nails. The batten was left outside in the weather for four days.
The protectants chosen were selected because I already had them lying around the house and shed (this was a big budget exercise). Three of the substances were aerosols – Inox, WD40 and Lanoshield. Instead of spraying the nails and risking cross contamination, I sprayed the stuff on a clean piece of cloth and wiped it on to the nail.
Lanotec and Lanoshield are lanolin based products. I get them from a boating supplies place and they are heavily used in the fishing industry in this part of the world. I use them on my boat and trailer, particularly to grease bolt threads.
Conditions during the four days were harsh. Relatively humidity rarely dropped below 80%. Temperatures ranged between 26 degrees Celsius (79F) and 35 degrees Celsius (95F). It rained on and off for the four days and there were numerous squalls and thunderstorms.
The protectants used and the results are summarized below. Worst corrosive effect is number 8 through to least corrosive result (or best protective effect) at number 1.
8 – No protectant. This was the control. Within 24 hours the nail was coated in light rust. At the end of the four days it seriously rusted with no bright metal visible.
7 – Mineral Oil – this came as a bit of a surprise as I have been using this stuff on knives that are regularly handled for years. Corrosion after four days was quite severe with only minor signs of bright metal visible in some spots. It had the least protective effect of all substances I used.
6 – Gunstock Wax – this was a Carnauba based wax. I applied three coats to the raw nail. Rusting after four days was quite noticeable and the protective effect, although observable was not good.
5 – Inox. This is an aerosol based lube and protectant. This nail had a good covering of rust spots – plenty of bright metal visible but the amount of rust was also quite significant. Another surprise for me as I have used this stuff for a long time on guns, especially black powder firearms and have found it effective as a protectant for guns stored in a safe.
4 – Olive Oil. This was commandeered from the kitchen. The nail had some rust after four days but it was relatively light and patchy. It performed a lot better than the mineral oil and the Inox.
3 – WD40. Some rust but surprisingly little. Overall protective effect was very good.
2 – Lanotec Grease. A small number of rust spots observable but of a minor nature.
1 – Lanoshield – Two minor specs of rust visible, otherwise the nail showed no effects of the exposure to the elements. Overall, the best result.
There were a few surprises there for me. I will probably keep using mineral oil for carbon steel knives that are in regular use and may be used for food preparation but I would have a serious lack of confidence in it for harsh environment useage. I don’t usually use Inox on knives but do use it for axes, machetes etc – I will switch to Lanoshield for these. I have used Lanotec grease for long term storage of knives for many years and will continue to do so.
Let me acknowledge up front that this was a casual exercise based on my own curiosity. It dealt only with passive exposure to climatic elements and included none of the other things that may impact on knives such as exposure to blood, leather, sweat, salt water etc, nor was the persistence of the protective substance challenged as the nails were not handled after the protectant was applied. I am not a scientist or researcher and plead guilty up front to any methodological shortcomings.
I will leave the nails in place for the next month or so and continue to observe.
