Protecting Carbon Steel

K

knife-kait

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Aug 25, 2017
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I'm curious about carbon steel. In that I would want a super long lasting sharp knife. I have used my friend's carbon steel knife and they love it to death. I'm willing to wipe / wash more frequently.

When stored and not in use; should I oil the blade and with that material? I have mineral oil for boards and that should work fine right? Or is there something more snobby I should consider? :D
 
So a patina or protective coating is important for maintaining a carbon blade. Patina while protective is usually in my opinion more for aesthetics and would still recommend keeping some type of coating on it. Mineral oil is a good choice as it is inexpensive and food safe along with not being prone to turning rancid. There are plenty of alternatives and depending how much you would or would not have it come into contact with food would determine if you need to concern yourself with features like being food safe.
 
Cutting board oil is fine for use on knives. It is a food-grade mineral oil. Are you talking about kitchen knives?
 
Thanks for the replies!! Yes it is food grade mineral oil for board maintenance but is there something that will 'adhere' to the blade better as I feel mineral oil is very thin?
 
Thin is what you want. Just needs a very light, almost invisible coating. I use light mineral oil for my carbon blades (all pocket knives). Just a small drop, spread onto the blades with fingers, then and excess wiped off lightly with a paper towel.
 
I have a microfiber cloth I use for rubbing the mineral oil on my blades and often the handles as well because it is such a versatile product.
 
It depends. If you have knives you are using daily (like in the kitchen), and you wash and dry and care for those blades and they are in a dry climate-controlled environment, I don't think they need a coating and never put any on mine. However, if you have something stored a long time, or in a humid or non climate-controlled environment (like tools in your garage or a carbon steel knife that lives in a bag in your vehicle), I use CorrosionX on carbon steel blades and tools. CorrosionX while not officially "food safe" (but it is non-toxic and made partly of mineral oil, and non-carcinogenic, etc.) is a very long-lasting corrosion protection, bonds to the metal, and last a LOT longer than things like mineral oil or WD40. If you need to use a CorrosionX coated blade for food prep, like when back-packing, just rinse and wipe it off beforehand. Then re-coat when done. I do this with all my carbon steel blades that don't live in my kitchen.
 
Ballistic would be good. After the sweat sock smell wears off. It's just mineral oil.

I've used a touch of olive oil before on kitchen knives. Finally gave up and went stainless. Someone would invariably use them to cut veggies on the granite counter top or a plate, throw them is the sink, sitting in a bowl of dirty water with soup residue and then run them through the dishwasher.

It's why I can't have nice things.
 
Sgt 127 said:
Ballistic would be good. After the sweat sock smell wears off. It's just mineral oil.

I've used a touch of olive oil before on kitchen knives. Finally gave up and went stainless. Someone would invariably use them to cut veggies on the granite counter top or a plate, throw them is the sink, sitting in a bowl of dirty water with soup residue and then run them through the dishwasher.

It's why I can't have nice things.
Click to expand...
You need your knives and the here use this set of knives
 
I use Obenauf's leather protectant. It's a bees wax blend that I apply for long term storage. Taste great too!
 
I have a blade in a2 and it always has some rust spots but that's because I only oil it once a week but after about 2 minutes of cleaning with a rag and some oil it looks good as new.

Also the oil I use is either mineral oil or olive oil just depends which one is closer
 
I use mineral oil, like others have suggested. It's protected A2, O1, 52100, L6, M4, and some I've forgotten about. Never had it fail yet.
 
I always force a patina and keep it coated with a thin coat of oil. Has worked for decades for me and always keeps the rust away!
 
Why not Cerakoat the whole thing?

All that can rust then is just a tiny line at the apex of the edge.

With the high resistance coatings that exist today, I would never put up with the trouble of an uncoated Carbon blade...

Gaston
 
I think Cerakote is a fair and legit question, worth asking if you have a favorite carbon steel blade that will be frequently exposed to the elements, like a survival knife in a bag, a tool in an unheated barn/garage, a camp knife, etc. I would seriously consider that for something like my ESEE Junglas knives, I have 2 of them, and one of them has been beaten so hard :-) it's losing all the coating and a constant battle to keep it corrosion free unless I reapply CorrosionX or some kinda oil every few months. I live in Pacific NW west side of Cascades, so at least 7 months a year, high humidity is a constant factor for a working blade.

Gaston: what are the options for a person to Cerakote a blade yourself, and actually do a good job if you don't have all the professional gear, to keep the cost down?
 
Also a related question for the forum. I noticed somebody said cutting board oil.

Let's say that it's an important requirement to you that you want to oil your blade 100% of the time, and you want it to be ABSOLUTELY food safe, no question about it. But you want something that maybe "sticks" a little better than mineral oil. What about these cutting board oils that contain mineral oil plus a wax, and are 100% food safe? Wouldn't that theoretically make a great, totally food safe blade coating that would last a bit longer due to the waxes in it? Like the following stuff for example. Never tried it myself, but for total unquestionable food safety, this would be better than my choice of CorrosionX, which is GREAT at corrosion protection, but a little iffy on the food safety aspect.

https://www.amazon.com/John-Taylor-Butcher-Conditioner-Mineral/dp/B004Z14EFM
 
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