Uncoated 1055

C

Charyou Tree

Joined
Mar 23, 2010
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I wasn't sure where to post this so if this isn't quite the right forum then I apologize.

I've been having fun turning a small Cold Steel spear point machete into a light bowie.

In the process I've murdered the black coating.

I know that 1055 will rust, but so will 1095 and I have plenty of that stuff uncoated and its fine with a little oil. Does anyone know if an uncoated blade of 1055 is too rust prone to be practical? If so then I'll just throw on some duracote. I just think I'd prefer the raw steel.
 
You just need to maintain it. People went 3000 years with neither stainless or polymer coatings and unless you were putting it away wet, knives lasted for generations. They find Seaxes (or Scramsaxes) that had been sharped to slivers...wear that would have taken probably two or three generations to accumulate before the thing finaly broke at a narrow point or some poor guy lost it out hunting or fighting or whatever.

Leave that steel raw or force a patina on it with yellow mustard (or any other acidic food product) mixed with a little dish soap. A thinner application works better than a thick one because the patina needs oxygen to form chemically.
 
Rust is not an issue with a utility blade, as long as you keep the edge sharp. Keep it oiled and you won't even need to worry about that. It will stain and patina, and you might get some speckling here and there when you get lax with maintenence, but not a big deal at all. 1055 in my experience rusts less than 1095, and doesn't pit as bad when it does.
 
Charyou Tree said:
I wasn't sure where to post this so if this isn't quite the right forum then I apologize.

I've been having fun turning a small Cold Steel spear point machete into a light bowie.

In the process I've murdered the black coating.

I know that 1055 will rust, but so will 1095 and I have plenty of that stuff uncoated and its fine with a little oil. Does anyone know if an uncoated blade of 1055 is too rust prone to be practical? If so then I'll just throw on some duracote. I just think I'd prefer the raw steel.
Click to expand...

All knives have to be cared for. There is no such thing as "stainless steel". There are "corrosion resistant" steels, that's all.
I have used lots of carbon steel knives without having any rust, and I have once neglected a "stainless" knife so badly I had to have it repolished.

Remember: Those who get rust deserve it.
 
Yes.
Carbon steel with age will get a patina that no stainless steel in my opinion can rival, from an aesthetic point of view.
SS is cold, harsh.
Patina'd carbon steel is warm and friendly.
Just my two cents.
:p
 
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