REN Wax on titanium

[jmclfrsh]

I received my new KnifeArt exclusive large Carbon Fiber Insingo Inkosi today. What a simply beautiful knife!

I just wondered if anyone had applied Renaissance wax to a new CRK scale before, the blasted Ti, and what the result was if so. Would you do it again?

I typically wax the blade straight off on a satin finished knife, but never tried CRK Ti to see what the result was.

I’ll post pics tonight when I get home.

 

[jmclfrsh]

I refrained from putting it on the Ti scale, and just did the blade and the carbon scale.

I’ll say one thing; don’t wait 3 minutes for it to dry, you’ll never get it back off. Put some more on your fingers, reapply then wipe off after a few seconds. It will already be hard, but you’ll be able to buff it off now.

 

[Lapedog]

I received my new KnifeArt exclusive large Carbon Fiber Insingo Inkosi today. What a simply beautiful knife!

I just wondered if anyone had applied Renaissance wax to a new CRK scale before, the blasted Ti, and what the result was if so. Would you do it again?

I typically wax the blade straight off on a satin finished knife, but never tried CRK Ti to see what the result was.

I’ll post pics tonight when I get home.

I’m sure you likely already know this too but;

Be very careful applying Ren wax to any steel surfaces or any that might corrode. Make sure they are completely dry and clean before applying.

The reason is the wax layer is impermeable to water and oils so anything under it is trapped up against the steel. The wax prevents air from reaching the surface mostly which helps prevent very bad corossion; but I have seen tiny pepper spot fleck marks from things like a tiny bit of spit being trapped under the wax when the person applying it was talking while applying.

Ren Wax is really 10/10 stuff though.

 

[brownshoe]

I've used Ren wax on my polished Ti graphic and blade. Make it shine and helps keep the fingerprints off.

 

[Wavicle]

I would never put Renwax on the bead blasted titanium. It will be extremely difficult to get a decent surface finish unless you go too thick and then it will whiten over time creating a disaster you’ll want to remove.

 

[Lone_Wolfe]

I would never put Renwax on the bead blasted titanium. It will be extremely difficult to get a decent surface finish unless you go too thick and then it will whiten over time creating a disaster you’ll want to remove.

^^^ This.

 

[Mo2]

Titanium isn't going to rust. No need for it. If you want to prevent snail trails and scratches, I dunno. Didn't really think of that one off hand. I mean you could just get a spa treatment from crk later. They re bead blast them iirc.

I use my knife art cf large sebenza 21, never applied anything to them at all. No problems. Snail trails give it character. I have used wax for long term storage for avoiding rust. And oil on tool steels to avoid patina.

 

[jmclfrsh]

Thanks for the replies, all. And yes, it would be a PITA on the titanium. I got a little spot on the ti that I was able to get off with alcohol - but to have done the whole thing would have been a big mistake!

 

[Stumpy72]

Thanks to all for this thread. I recently got some Ren wax and I was going to get around to coating some blades with it. Now I know enough to make SURE the blades are absolutely and totally dry. If/when I go to apply any Ren wax, it’ll be after I’ve cleaned and thoroughly dried the blades--and then worked them over with a hot air hair blow-dryer just for good measure.

 

[Wavicle]

Thanks to all for this thread. I recently got some Ren wax and I was going to get around to coating some blades with it. Now I know enough to make SURE the blades are absolutely and totally dry. If/when I go to apply any Ren wax, it’ll be after I’ve cleaned and thoroughly dried the blades--and then worked them over with a hot air hair blow-dryer just for good measure.

And for what it's worth, I did put Renwax on a CRK Damascus blade once-- and never again. Besides removing some of the etching and thus lowering the contrast, it left some surface topology that distracted from the Damascus when viewed from certain lighting angles. I did not pre-warm the blade, which may have helped to prevent that, but it was the the last time I used Renwax on Damascus.

It works fine on most wood inlay materials if they are sealed smoothly before the Renwax goes on.

 

[Stumpy72]

And for what it's worth, I did put Renwax on a CRK Damascus blade once-- and never again. Besides removing some of the etching and thus lowering the contrast, it left some surface topology that distracted from the Damascus when viewed from certain lighting angles. I did not pre-warm the blade, which may have helped to prevent that, but it was the the last time I used Renwax on Damascus. It works fine on most wood inlay materials if they are sealed smoothly before the Renwax goes on.

Damn! Thanks a million for that tip! A couple of the blades I was planning on waxing are CRK damascus, and both were kick-in-the-head expensive LE’s. Each is a stunningly expensive “1 of 10” LE safe queen and I’d never do anything that’d jeopardize their NIB condition. I’m glad I stumbled across this thread and didn’t end up ruining $3K worth of knives because of my well-intentioned ignorance.

Just out of curiosity... Would a very light wipe with mineral oil be OK for CRK damascus blades that I want to keep NIB but still protect?

 

[Wavicle]

I have heard that CRK uses Renwax on Damascus blades before they leave the factory. However, I have more than a dozen factory new models in my collection and have never seen traces of Renwax on any of them. If they do use it, it must be applied from a Renwax-treated cloth and not the actual microcrystalline emulsion applied to the blade.

I have used a silicone oil in an extremely light application to protect the Damascus in storage. It will immediately enhance contrast which then fades over time. I would think mineral oil should do the same.

 

[Lady1911]

I have heard that CRK uses Renwax on Damascus blades before they leave the factory. However, I have more than a dozen factory new models in my collection and have never seen traces of Renwax on any of them. If they do use it, it must be applied from a Renwax-treated cloth and not the actual microcrystalline emulsion applied to the blade.

I have used a silicone oil in an extremely light application to protect the Damascus in storage. It will immediately enhance contrast which then fades over time. I would think mineral oil should do the same.

I contacted CRK by phone a few months back and was given that same information about them using a light coat of Renwax on the Damascus blades before they leave. In fact, she told me that the blades are wiped down with WD-40, then given a light coat of renwax. (If I recall correctly, it was Alycia that i spoke to.)

Like you, I couldn’t detect any traces of it, but I wouldn’t expect my untrained eyes to see any residue of anything on the Damascus. I’ll still continue to put a light coat on the wood inlays, but in the future, I’ll leave the blades alone.

ETA - One thing I’ve learned about mineral oil is that like most other oils and waxes, it can trap small amounts of lint, dust, or dirt on the surface of the blade that can become problematic if it’s not clean and dry when applied. But a little goes a long way, and it can’t hurt to apply it sparingly. I use it on a regular basis.