rust prevention for 1095/1080 steel

KarlMaldensNose

KarlMaldensNose

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Feb 3, 2009
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It's actually 1080 that I'm concerned with, but I think the two are similar and most people have experience with 1095 but not 1080. I know I'll get many recommendations but I was hoping someone has noticed that a particular product seems to work better on 1095/1080 than others. I have a ton of lubes at my disposal, and most people would probably say to just slap any of 'em on and forget about it, but I recall a couple older threads where someone tested many different popular lubes and rust inhibitors and they performed very differently in terms of rust prevention.

I'm especially wondering if Tuf-Glide/Cloth is really all that when it comes to keeping steel rust-free, or if a simpler basic oil or even wax product is more effective for carbon and tool steels. I don't think Tuf was one of the products that was tested.
 
I have one blade in 1084, it is parkerized though, so only the edge is exposed. For now I have put Klever-Ballistol on it, in case I use it on food.

Sometimes I use my knives on food and then remember I had Break-Free or something on the blade. :o

So far it seems to be fine....
 
IIRC rem oil was the winner in that thread but about any thick oil will work, motor oil for example....
 
I figured something thick would do it. This is a hatchet, not a knife, that I'm talking about here... although I can't see why that would matter... just thought I'd throw that out there.

It already developed a couple of patches of rust speckles (actually arrived NIB with the rust) and I hit it with some WD-40 and fine steel wool:eek:. Worked well getting the rust off, but scratched the heck out of the surface in some spots. I'm now wondering if those scratched spots will be more prone to rust than the rest of the polished surface.
 
KarlMaldensNose said:
I'm now wondering if those scratched spots will be more prone to rust than the rest of the polished surface.
Click to expand...

Yes, they certainly will be.

I recommend that you 'polish' the rusted surfaces with 0000 steel wool,
then use your preferred corrosion inhibitor on all of the exposed metal surfaces.

(I like using Tuf-Cloth, but there are many good corrosion inhibitors available.)
 
Try scotch brite instead of steel wool.
 
I nickel plated my 1084 and it does not rust. If the edge bevel is thin enough, the plating protects the edge too.
 
I use Marine Tuf-Cloth or Tuf-Glide on all my blades for rust prevention (with the exception of my scuba diving knives which get a coating of silicon grease.) I've never had any blade develop rust spots when using one of the Tuf-Glide/Cloth products, and have yet to die from eating my apples cut with my pocket knife coated with Tuf-Glide... although there is still time.

Stitchawl
 
I have some knives in 01 steel and use Flitz to polish and clean then coat it with mineral oil and it works good . If I cut anything like lemons or grapefruit with it I have to wash and clean it quick or it turns black . DM
 
Heat the steel until it hot with a blow dryer on high setting - appy a few drops of miltech-1, then continue to apply blow dryer for a few minutes and wipe off excess.

Let it cool off for awhile and repeat 1 or two more times and you're good to go.

This stuff seems to fill any pores in steel and lays down a barrier of protection.

I use it on my stripped and sanded Izula 1095 steel and water beads on it and wipes off nicely.

I haven't had a spot of rust in a month and I've had it immersed in water and dried off by just stropping it a couple wipes on my blue jeans....works for me anyway.

I use corrosion-x too but it really stinks!! (literally - smells bad)

The test results referenced are like watching a NOSS destruction test - a little unrealistic unless you're storing your blades in tubs of salt water. :D
 
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I have a forced patina on all my 1095. Deli mustard works well.

Beside that, I use gun oil for short-term storage, and olive oil for long-term. (The gummy texture it acquires with time is very useful if you can ignore the smell.)
 
Militec-1 is total crap, and they simply lie about what their product contains and does.

How about spray on silicone? Seems to work very well for preventing rust, and is easy to get. Or the pure silicone gel. I also use wax, either Johnson's Paste Wax or Renaissance, bot work well.
 
I like linseed oil on axes. It actually dries out slowly, & leaves a hard coating. Which is a great barrier. Many oils evaporate as they dry, thus losing protection.
 
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