Smelly Carbon Blades

bdws1975

bdws1975

Joined
May 19, 2006
Messages
3,721
Hi all,

I LOVE carbon blades but am bothered by one aspect, besides the obvious rust issues. Whenever I cut fruit both the blade and the fruit get a weird rusty smell. It's not vile so much as it makes the fruit taste a bit weird.

Anyone else experience this and if so what are your thoughts?

thanks all,
Brett
 
I smell that to, must be a by product of the oxidation. In a sick way I love that smell, and I don't know why. Joe
 
I don't know that its the steel as much as it is the brass liners. Brass and copper have a distinct odor. I use carbon steel knives in the kitchen and don't notice it as much as I do when using slipjoints or knives with brass guards.

cs
 
I smell it sometimes too so i put a little 3 in 1 oil on the fruit and the knife stink goes away.:barf::D
 
I only have a couple carbon steel folders, a Boker and an Opinel. I notice this with the Opinel but not the Boker. I don't know why that would be but it rules out the brass as the source.
 
I can taste it too. Apparently some people are more sensitive to it than others. I don't like it, so I use a stainless blade for fruit.
 
It's why fruit knives often had silver blades before stainless steel was invented. I kind of like the smell too, in a perverse way, but I can do without the taste. Once when I was cutting an apple with a new Opinel, I noticed that black rust from the blade was actually getting visibly smeared onto the fruit. :barf:
 
I have noticed the smell, but I don't taste anything different. Does it taste like it smells?
 
I love carbon blades, but do hate the taste left on fruit.
There are lots of solutions here though :
1. stop eating fruit
2. ask your wife to cut the fruit (she 's more sensible than you and will use a ss kitchen knife. Or at least give you one)
3. use an Opinel inox
4. use wet sandpaper (500 grit or something) : put the Opinel blade on a flat piece of wood and rub both sides a couple of times (takes half a minute, once a week).
 
I believe it goes away after you get more time on them. All mine did that when they were new. As the patina gets darker and older it goes away. Put the blades in hot white vinager for an hour or so. Clean it up good after you finish. Do that a few times to prep the carbon steel. Hot vinager is a good deep cleaner for the steel.
 
Good way to add iron to your diet :)

I've been using carbon blades for many years, the smell/taste does go away after awhile. Seems to be more noticeable when the blade is developing a patina but goes away after the blades have darken real good.
 
Don Hanson III said:
Good way to add iron to your diet :)

I've been using carbon blades for many years, the smell/taste does go away after awhile. Seems to be more noticeable when the blade is developing a patina but goes away after the blades have darken real good.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:Dude your avatar is hilarious!:DIs that your cat?He looks pretty pissed.
 
Back in the 'old days', the dainty, well to do 'upper crust' used silver blades to cut fruit.

They weren't though enough for the taste of good carbon steel :D
 
i notice the smell and the taste; it doesn't bother me too much, only sometimes and i just eat it anyways.

i figure it adds some iron to my diet. the smell is a bit strange though, but i do get a kind of kick out of it like i do when smelling warm copper or brass.
 
I notice the smell, but never noticed a taste.
I also noticed that the smell slowly decreases then goes away, as the patina gets more established.

P.S. I also have had the patina smear on my fruit if I stop eating for a minute then come back to it. But I eat it and it doesn't bother me, but I also eat food off the floor, and eat without washing my hands after working on my car so...
 
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