vaseline vs superlubes 4 rustproof

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tikkidaddy

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Jan 1, 2012
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ive tried them all... in my experience if youre rustproofing high carbon blades 4 Long term storage a medium coat of good old vaseline works just as good if not better than superlubes. On my benchmade skermish ballistol seems to dissolve/polish the bronze/copper pivot spacers. I use breakfree which may also present problems.
The Skermish i carry seems to be off center in the handle compaired to its black-bladed counterpart. Any suggestions?
 
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tikkidaddy said:
ive tried them all... in my experience if youre rustproofing high carbon blades 4 Long term storage a medium coat of good old vaseline works just as good if not better than superlubes. On my benchmade skermish ballistol seems to dissolve/polish the bronze/copper pivot spacers. I use breakfree which may also present problems.
The Skermish i carry seems to be off center in the handle compaired to its black-bladed counterpart. Any suggestions?
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A traditional protective coating for knives, swords, guns, machine parts, etc. is "cosmoline" which is a less-refined version of petroleum jelly. Slather that stuff on there and it makes a right mess, but protects the heck out of your steel items. A paste wax like Renaissance Wax works very nicely as well, but without requiring messy cleanup when the item is taken out of storage.
 
RIG preservative grease is something I've used for many years for guns , knives and tools. A thin layer is all you need and things like guns will function without need for removing the grease first !
I often use that with the paper that produces a vapor that is rust inhibiting [There are two types , one will not damage copper alloys.]
 
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And that's all I have to say about that.
 
tikkidaddy said:
I use breakfree which may also present problems.
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Just curious, what problems have you had with Break-free? I've used it for years on my handguns (for daily use and long term storage) and now it is what I use most on my knives.

FortyTwoBlades said:
A paste wax like Renaissance Wax works very nicely as well, but without requiring messy cleanup when the item is taken out of storage.
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Seem like any time I see a discussion of long term or archival storage of knives it is always mentioned and frequently highly recommended.

Was just about to type that it was odd that not a lot of knife dealers seem to carry it, but figured I'd check the big gorilla of online sales, and sure enough they sell it.
 
never seen/used fluid film. I stand corrected. Ren Wax seems hard to find...whos got the biggest jar 4 the $?
 
tikkidaddy said:
never seen/used fluid film. I stand corrected. Ren Wax seems hard to find...whos got the biggest jar 4 the $?
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The one I see is $17.13 for 65ml. Probably better prices around.
If you couldnt figure out my source reference from above, email and I'll send you the link. Not sure if mentioning them would be considered an infraction.
 
Alann45 said:
Was just about to type that it was odd that not a lot of knife dealers seem to carry it, but figured I'd check the big gorilla of online sales, and sure enough they sell it.
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That actually reminds me that I need to add it to my site. I keep meaning to but then forgetting. :p It's distributed in the USA by CAS Hanwei.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
That actually reminds me that I need to add it to my site. I keep meaning to but then forgetting. :p It's distributed in the USA by CAS Hanwei.
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Sounds like a good idea.
Same company also makes a "non-abraisive" cleaner callled PRE LIM. Picked some up at Blade last year, but have not tried it yet. Might be worth checking out and addng too as long as your putting together an order.
 
I have a jar of it that I'm only a third of the way through and I got it 7 years ago. It's amazing how little of it you need!
 
A couple of years ago a buddy of mine who works at Boeing Military introduced me to BOESHIELD - a preservative invented by Boeing, specifically for aircraft. It applies as a liquid, and turns into a protective waxy film. It is amazing stuff, but not surprisingly, it's expensive. I use it on all of my non-stainless knives.
 
Alann45 said:
Just curious, what problems have you had with Break-free? I've used it for years on my handguns (for daily use and long term storage) and now it is what I use most on my knives.

When storing mu CS laredo in Carbon 5, the chemicals in the supplied leather sheath somehow reacted w/CLP and blackend a portion of the blade. Maybe it was operator error, but Ballistol wont do that.

It WILL HOWEVER dissolve nickel plating.

I handled some Hornaday TAP 45 ammo after using it, and later noticed the black gone off those same shells
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The best results I have had have been with a lanolin based product, made locally, called Lanoguard. (Fluid Film is also made from lanolin.) Unlike other synthetics it doesnt evaporate. Lanolin comes out of sheep's wool and you can also use it to condition leather, rubber, and other materials that dry and crack with time. It is also a good lube. Nature knows best!
 
Hi,
Ballistol was developed for cleaning guns.
One of it's purposes was to remove brass residue.
So you can clean brass or copper, but Iwouldn't store it coated with B..
Hope this helps
red mag
 
Yeah ballistol is good for steel, but not so good for brass. I've heard of it damaging bronze washers when used as a lube in folders.
 
I'm still putting my faith in Johnson's Paste Wax for long term rust prevention, and either Break Free or a home brew ATF/STP/Mobil1 mix for lubrication.

I bought a case of Break Free (not CLP) for $1/bottle from a closeout store about 25 years ago and I'm just now down to my last couple of bottles. I would say I've gotten my money's worth many times over.

I'll bet the Lee Liquid Alox bullet lube would be a darned good replacement for Cosmoline, but I don't think I would want that smelly stuff on any utensil that had even the slightest chance of ever touching food again.
 
Eezox seems to do very well for me, the testing results I've seen for it (best one I've seen so far is over on 6mmBR) have been very impressive. Have not seen it compared to Boeshield or FluidFilm, but it blew pretty much everything else out of the water entirely, including RIG and a couple other highly-rated ones. Only thing that came close to it in terms of corrosion protection was CLP, the new formulation. The two tests I've seen that impressed were a 2-day high-temperature-salt-spray test, and an extended test into the several-months range in a 100/100 chamber.

EDIT: Looked up the page I had remembered seeing. Link HERE.

Another interesting test HERE using a ball of steel wool sitting exposed on the Atlantic coast.
 
I used to use Johnson's Paste Wax for all steel preservation, guns and knives. I decided to give Rennaissance a try a few months ago and have been happy with it so far. One thing that is actually a negative for actual museum use, but a plus for protecting knives in use, is that it's pretty difficult to remove. Heat will remove some of it, but not all, nor will mineral spirits. I read a review on it from a museum trying to remove it from a bronze mask because it was thick enough that it was obscuring the details.

Vaseline would be good for long term storage if you don't mind the cleanup needed to remove it. I'd suggest applying it in low humidity, and possibly even warming the blades up a few degrees to evaporate any water. Otherwise you could trap small amounts of moisture against the blade. Perhaps melt the Vaseline and dip the blade. The same could be done with wax also. Melt it and dip the blade once or twice. Would be good for very long term storage, and seems to be it would be very protective.
 
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