Re: Stains on Victorinox Stainless Steel?

C

Carloxicus

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Oct 3, 2011
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So the other day, I washed my Victorinox SwissChamp using hot water and soap. Afterwards, I rinsed it in hot water and dried it thoroughly with cloth and cotton buds. Afterwards, I put some WD40 on the joints. Then I realized that WD40 is toxic, so the next day, I repeated the process, but put cooking (canola) oil instead. So I thought things were fine.

Today, I noticed that the SwissChamp had some discoloration. Not on the blades, but on the metal dividers that separated the blades. What was once silvery steel now has a tinge of brassy-brown on them.

Questions are, is this rust? I thought even the metal dividers were stainless steel just like the blades. If not, how could it rust when I dried them thoroughly? Or am I not supposed to wash em? Or put WD40or cooking oil on em? Or is this normal? If not, how do I remove them and prevent them from coming back? Will it eventually ruin my knife?

Please tell me what I did wrong if indeed I did something wrong so I can stop it. Thank you.
 
The dividers are made of aluminum or brass. Likely aluminum. Aluminum will start to discolor when put in contact with even extremely mild acidic substances if left on for more than few hours, and canola oil does have some acidic content.

Use mineral oil. Food safe and inert.
 
Polyunsaturated oil, like canola, can get rancid and sticky. Mineral oil (the kind used as a laxative) is probably best, although I've also used olive oil (which is monounsaturated) with no problem.
 
The discoloration is actually oxidization. It will require a mechanical removal by scrubbing and even then it will not all go away. I suppose you have tested the area to see if it scrapes off easily? I would try some toothpicks or other wooden material that will not damage the liners. Perhaps a Popsicle stick wrapped in some kind of Emory cloth(super fine grit)?
 
have you tried wash it in warm water and soap? you have to dried it throughly after the washing...
 
dfwcowboy said:
The discoloration is actually oxidization. It will require a mechanical removal by scrubbing and even then it will not all go away. I suppose you have tested the area to see if it scrapes off easily? I would try some toothpicks or other wooden material that will not damage the liners. Perhaps a Popsicle stick wrapped in some kind of Emory cloth(super fine grit)?
Click to expand...

If its oxidization, anyone whose familiar with cpf knows of deoxit--its used to keep terminals nice and shiny on flashlights,etc for ultimate connections! Just google it...thats if it is oxidization...
 
It is a tool after all, don't worry about it. Heck, I'd think it would add some character.
 
Okay, now that I used mineral oil (I used baby oil), for some reason, blackish gunk has appeared in the nooks and crannies of the SwissChamp. :/ did I do something wrong again?
 
Carloxicus said:
Okay, now that I used mineral oil (I used baby oil), for some reason, blackish gunk has appeared in the nooks and crannies of the SwissChamp. :/ did I do something wrong again?
Click to expand...

Nope. The mineral oil has started to work all of the dust and dirt that was in the joints out.
 
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