'Sterile' knife

F

Franco G

Joined
Dec 29, 2000
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399
I bought the used knife (a folder) and want to clean it. Since I do not know the previous owner I would like to make a knife 'safe', i.e. to 'sterilize' it. Not, of course, for surgical purpose, just to make sure I do not catch 'something'.
I cleaned a knife carefully with Ballistol and with soap&water.
Is it enough in your opinion? Should I use alcohol too? A blade is made of BG-42 steel, handles are Titanium (Sebenza).

I would appreciate your answers very much. Thanks,

Franco
 
You could always soak it in bleach or something if you're all that worried. I wouldn't be.
 
LOL..did it come to you sealed in an airtight bag, dripping with fresh blood?
 
I say you take off and nuke the entire knife from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.


:p ;) :D
 
if you did the hot soapy water and a thorough cleaning, then i'd say its good to go, being a knife nut i'd say your knife is probably cleaner than anything you'd get in a restaurant... relax and enjoy your new knife:)
i've bought flea market slip joints, cleaned the horrible gunk off it oiled it up and started using it to slice apples etc. no worries here:D
ivan
PS dont use any heat source to sterilize knives, or a dishwasher, but then you probably already know this;)
 
There isn't too much that can live on a knife for very long due to temperatures, other than organisms that either form spores or cysts. Bacteria and viri would probably die off within a matter of hours. But if you really feel worried about it, give it a dip in ordinary household bleach. Nothing known can survive that. That is what the CDC uses for disinfecting biohazard suits when its doctors are investigation outbreaks of diseases such as Ebola. The docs step through a shower of bleach and stand in a foot bath of it before they begin to take the biohazard suits off.

But really... relax. Ebola can't survive on a knife. Neither can AID's, SAR's, or Avian Flu. Unless its been turned into a bio-weapon, neither can Anthrax. I think you might be safe enough to just clean the knife with a little soap and water... Lysol or Dettol if you really feel the need.

Stitchawl
 
markksr said:
I say you take off and nuke the entire knife from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.


:p ;) :D
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+1 Hit it with M.I.R.V.S.
c-4-reentry0.jpg
 
Ozy, I know that we're upside down to you, but this isn't w&c. If you want to be silly, go over there to post.

Meanwhile, back on topic:
Rubbing alcohol won't hurt the knife and if it makes you more comfortable, go ahead and dunk it for a few minutes. (You might need to re-lubricate the knife afterward if you go in for such things. )
 
Rubbing alcohol or bleach will knock off pretty much everything except spores or prions. The big-league viruses aren't too difficult to kill -HIV in particular is a very weak virus- and bacteria uniformly die before alcohol or bleach.

It's doubtful that spores would be a concern, as there you'd be talking anthrax or botulism, neither of which is common. Same for prions.
 
Sword and Shield said:
Rubbing alcohol or bleach will knock off pretty much everything except spores or prions. The big-league viruses aren't too difficult to kill -HIV in particular is a very weak virus- and bacteria uniformly die before alcohol or bleach.

It's doubtful that spores would be a concern, as there you'd be talking anthrax or botulism, neither of which is common. Same for prions.
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Doesnt HIV die within 5 seconds after being exposed to an Aerobic environment?

*tries to stay on topic*
 
Ozy said:
Doesnt HIV die within 5 seconds after being exposed to an Aerobic environment?

*tries to stay on topic*
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Not a chance. The fluid it's present in has to be bone-dry first, and even then I'm none too keen on handling it barehanded. Even saying HIV can "die" at all is questionable, since viruses teeter on the edge of what can be considered life at all, but to say it's noninfectious after 5 seconds is flat-out wrong.
 
Sword and Shield said:
Not a chance. The fluid it's present in has to be bone-dry first, and even then I'm none too keen on handling it barehanded. Even saying HIV can "die" at all is questionable, since viruses teeter on the edge of what can be considered life at all, but to say it's noninfectious after 5 seconds is flat-out wrong.
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Ok, yeah 5 seconds seems too short

I've found some internet based research, dont know how true, but theres a common undertone http://www.ukcoalition.org/HIV-Virus/5995.htm
 
And Hep-C can stay viable for days. I'd say he's well-advised to be cautious. Clorox ought to do the trick, though.
 
Samael said:
And Hep-C can stay viable for days. I'd say he's well-advised to be cautious. Clorox ought to do the trick, though.
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No "ought to" on that. Bleach is one of the antibacterial/antiviral assassins of choice. It's as close as most people get to an autoclave.
 
As a graduate microbiology student, our lab decontamination protocols for non-autoclaveable materials are to soak the labware in 10% concentration of bleach, for several hours then rise with water. We then spray 70% ethanol or 70% isopropanol(isopropyl/rubbing) and let it air dry.

10% bleach will corrode steels. I see the metal screws that hold together some labware rusting when subjected to this decon protocol.

On the otherhand, I suggest you simply use 70% isopropyl. Using a higher or lower concentration ie. 90%, 99%, or 50% isopropyl is actually less effective at killing bacteria. The 30% water is just enough to keep the bacterial in a state where the alcohol has enough time to kill them before evaporating away.

I would take the knife apart and carefully clean them with detergent to get off any major debris, then douse them with rubbing alcohol and them them dry. Finally I would apply tuffglide with a tuffcloth.
 
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