I'm thinking most of the people of BladeForums are more than a little extreme when it comes to storing our favourite blades. I myself like glass cabinets for some of the prettier ones, and of course museum wax to protect the blades from all kinds of nastiness. But surely there are more simple ways for relatively safe storage.
Most people store their knives in their sheaths, most often made of leather, and although leather as an organic material can gather moisture and the acids left in the leather from the tanning can cause corrosion and tarnish, a lot of knives stay fine in their leather sheaths, even after years of storage. Mostly people leave blades in their sheaths because it's easy and practical, even though it isn't the best way to store them. Most people never oil their blades, because that takes time. People are lazy.
But surely there are practical and still simple ways to store blades for longer periods, months and even years, without spending much time and money on it. I have to admit I haven't given much thought to this subject before, but some things do leap in mind now that I think about it.
1) Most fixed blade knives, be they from Ka-Bar or Fällkniven, come from the manufacturer in cardboard boxes, with the knife outside of the sheath and its blade wrapped in a plain cardboard slip (or wrap or sheath if you prefer those terms). I wonder, isn't this a pretty safe way to store blades? If you clean the blade and make sure it is dry, is there any reason why you couldn't put it back in the original cardboard slip, stuff it in the original packaging and toss it in a box in a room with normal humidity and temperature levels? I can't think of a reason why this wouldn't be safe, even with carbon steel blades. This would be simple and easy to do. I must admit I don't know whether cardboard can be corrosive - some papers can get acidic with time, but whether this applies to cardboard used in the knife packaging I do not know. It would, however, make sense to assume that storing knives in their original packaging is safe. After all, the knives have to spend a lot of time inside that packaging before they get to the buyer's hands.
2) Would wrapping blades in normal kitchen baking paper for storage work, or is that kind of paper potentially corrosive? I have no idea.
These two silly ideas may or may not work, but I'd bet someone has a simple yet relatively safe way to store knives without expensive waxes, weekly oiling and climate-controlled rooms or airtight packagings. There has to be a way that any John Doe can afford the time and money to use, that we could recommend to them when they come to us asking why their knives are rusting.
Any ideas?
Most people store their knives in their sheaths, most often made of leather, and although leather as an organic material can gather moisture and the acids left in the leather from the tanning can cause corrosion and tarnish, a lot of knives stay fine in their leather sheaths, even after years of storage. Mostly people leave blades in their sheaths because it's easy and practical, even though it isn't the best way to store them. Most people never oil their blades, because that takes time. People are lazy.
But surely there are practical and still simple ways to store blades for longer periods, months and even years, without spending much time and money on it. I have to admit I haven't given much thought to this subject before, but some things do leap in mind now that I think about it.
1) Most fixed blade knives, be they from Ka-Bar or Fällkniven, come from the manufacturer in cardboard boxes, with the knife outside of the sheath and its blade wrapped in a plain cardboard slip (or wrap or sheath if you prefer those terms). I wonder, isn't this a pretty safe way to store blades? If you clean the blade and make sure it is dry, is there any reason why you couldn't put it back in the original cardboard slip, stuff it in the original packaging and toss it in a box in a room with normal humidity and temperature levels? I can't think of a reason why this wouldn't be safe, even with carbon steel blades. This would be simple and easy to do. I must admit I don't know whether cardboard can be corrosive - some papers can get acidic with time, but whether this applies to cardboard used in the knife packaging I do not know. It would, however, make sense to assume that storing knives in their original packaging is safe. After all, the knives have to spend a lot of time inside that packaging before they get to the buyer's hands.
2) Would wrapping blades in normal kitchen baking paper for storage work, or is that kind of paper potentially corrosive? I have no idea.
These two silly ideas may or may not work, but I'd bet someone has a simple yet relatively safe way to store knives without expensive waxes, weekly oiling and climate-controlled rooms or airtight packagings. There has to be a way that any John Doe can afford the time and money to use, that we could recommend to them when they come to us asking why their knives are rusting.
Any ideas?
