Rust in the woods.

Shoki

Shoki

Joined
Apr 10, 2007
Messages
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I've been getting ready for my annual April camping trip (all are welcome) and deciding on which blades will accompany me this time around. I'd like to bring a nice big chopper and I think I've decided on my MMHW DV8 instead of buying a cheap machete. My problem is that there is still a LOT of snow on the ground up here in April and my cutting implements tend to get wet pretty regularly. The DV8 is made of some high-carbon steel and rusts very quickly, even with just a tiny amount of moisture. I was wondering if you guys have any tricks to keeping your high carbon knives from rusting. I could bring some gun oil or similar with me but I'd like to avoid that if possible. Maybe a multi-purpose oil? I thought maybe olive oil or just wiping the blade down with my lamp oil-soaked dryer lint might do the trick. I did treat the blade with some gun blue today but I'm sure that won't do much to help with the rust.

The freshly-blued DV8:
IMG_0004-1.jpg

IMG_0004.jpg


The 'temper' line is fake. I just let the acid sit there longer, thought it would look neat. The blade is actually quite a bit darker than in the pics. :D
 
Just spray the entire thing with Day-Glo-orange RustOleum. That should fix it.

Just kidding. I wipe everything down with mineral oil, and don't have any problems. It works as well as anything else I know of.
 
If you are taking Olive oil for cooking anyway then yeah that will work fine !!!

Obviously Olive oil can go rancid so if the knife was stored for a long time then I'd be wary of using it for food prep without cleaning it but for a camping trip you'd have no worries.
 
pitdog said:
If you are taking Olive oil for cooking anyway then yeah that will work fine !!!

Obviously Olive oil can go rancid so if the knife was stored for a long time then I'd be wary of using it for food prep without cleaning it but for a camping trip you'd have no worries.
Click to expand...

I wasn't initially planning on bringing any but when I realized that I might need some rust-preventative oil I started to have visions of home fries and fried ham for breakfast at the camp site. :D

I've used olive oil to coat some of my old carbon kitchen knives that I knew I was going to use before the oil went rancid and it worked wonderfully. I'm leaning in the same direction for the camping trip. Besides, who doesn't love hot, fresh home fries on a spring morning?
 
i use tuf-cloth...works great and theres no oil or residue on your blade. it really helped me when i was doing landscaping on the coast of oahu.
 
Mineral oil (or your olive oil) on a small rag in a baggie. Then you can hold the rag by the baggie and oil your knives without getting your hands greasy!
 
I spray my machetes with TremClad (rust preventative paint). The parts that 'chop' wear the paint off, but it also keeps the rust off. The parts that don't chop, keep the paint.

Doc
 
i thought that mineral oil was not good for the skin? i use a little dab of olive oil when i store my knifes. but i find that in the field as long as your knife is dried completely before it goes into the sheath you should be fine for rust.
 
Wax.

It stays on, will not run, pool or migrate and forms a moisture shield better than oil. Bring a little cake if you need re-application after heavy chopping. Melting some into a chamois cloth would work.

If you want to prepare food with it, use beeswax or any other non-petroleum wax.

Works well for all your gear.
 
Mineral oil actually is good for the skin, and is a prime ingredient in many emollients. Mineral oil is odorless, tasteless, absolutely neutral, and completely safe for human consumption. Be aware, though, that it's also a laxative if you take too much: a couple of tablespoons will make you regular in a short time.

Mineral oil is to be preferred over vegetable oils, such as olive oil, because it never becomes rancid, and doesn't promote bacterial growth. Use it on you field knives, your kitchen knives, your cutting board, etc.
 
mineral oil = butcher block oil for cutting boards.
food safe and doesn't go rancid.
just like oil, wax will wear off the edge as soon as you start cutting, but does do a good job of sealing.
tuf cloth, gun cloth, or any other silicone impregnated piece of fabric also works well.

gun blue and brown will help protect from rust, but you would still need to oil the blade. (looks cool, though)
 
Mineral oil works good, but you have to reapply it often enough. A little mineral oil soak wrag in a heavy freezer ziplock works well for this.

However, what I tend to do now is force a patina on my carbon blades before I take them on a trip where I expect a lot of moisture exposure. I simply soak the blade in vinegar over night or do the potato or mustard thing a couple of days beforehand. My intent on these forced patinas is not to make a 'pretty patterned patina', but rather to just give it a good solid protective coating that will last the trip. After the patina, I touch up the edge to make sure that the edge is clean. When I get back from my trip, I then take a little 2000 grit wet dry and sand it back to shiny and make sure I get the edge back to where I want it.
 
An alternate view:

Dont worry about rust in the bush.

Use the piss out of it, enjoy camping, and clean it up when you get back.
 
I use mineral oil as well since I have a huge bottle for my butcher block. As far as olive oil going rancid, here is an interesting article. For those who don't want to click the link, "Rancid oil has fewer antioxidants but is not poisonous." Just quoting the net here, no scientific proof.
 
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