WHat oil do you wipe your blades with for sheathing ?

RDT

RDT

Joined
Dec 17, 1999
Messages
4,117
Okay,
I oil my blades with militec usually but not always. Just wondering what you guys use. I noticed other knifemakers use some other stuff but I can't tell what it is ? Anyway, being at Blade show I handled so many fixed blades and noticed that they all seemed to be oiled with the same oil. I neglected to ask anyone though.For instance, the Steve Ryan knives and the Emerson knives and the strider knives all seemed very similar as far as they oiling. Anyone know ? or rather what do you use. To keep your blades from getting scratched too soon on kydex and such. Thanks.....RDT
 
Don't know what those guys use but I have a couple of choices.

o If it's a knife used for food I usually use olive oil or peanut oil - never any kind of machine oil!

o For my collection knives I use Flitz Rifle/Gun Wax; it works for handles, sheaths, the works. Wonderful stuff. Others use Renaissance (sp?) Wax or any wax with carnuba.

o While working on a knife I hit it with WD-40 before I quit for the day - spray and wipe off lightly with a paper towel. I've noticed a lot of new knives come with a similar oil on them.

I'm interested to see what others say too. Good thread. :)

Dave
 
Before I send/give knife to someone it gets bore butter. My knives around apt/shop just get whatever I happen to grab first, which at various times is WD40, Marvel Mystery Oil, 3 in 1 oil, Remoil, or CLP. Oh yeah, and mineral oil for the kitchen knives(and their handles)
 
I like using an Inhibitor oil cloth for general wiping down of blades, and when it dries out a bit I spray a little Break Free on the cloth. It really rejuvenates those Micarta handles. I use a lot of Rennaisance Wax for buffing up handles and blades before storage. The wax helps the grip on those high polish handles too.

-Jared

www.geocities.com/placeknives/index.html

My Companion Knife
 
I've got a qt. of RV-4214 I got from LECTROETCH but really haven't used it yet, so can't say.

I recommend gun stock wax (bee's wax stuff) for storage purposes.

I'll have to ask Chuck Burrows about that question when I get the knife and sheath back from him. I'll share it here unless he chimes in before that.

Roger
 
For storage Renaissance Wax (it's PH neutral which neither beeswax or carnauba are - was invented by the British Museum for their multimillion dollar pieces so...)

For using knives that need to be food grade olive oil works better than anything else I've used. Wipe a light coat on and after 15 minutes or so wipe off any excess.

Blades should of course not be stored long term in their sheaths (not even in kydex as far as I'm concerned). When using leather sheaths how the interior was sealed will also determine what kind of oil to use. Neither of the above will cause rot even if the leather is left unsealed so that's another reason I recommend them.

Preventing scratches is more a matter of keeping your sheath clean and as free of crud as possible. Use canned air (or your compressor on real low - to high a pressure and you'll just drive the grit into leather anyway) Rinse out with water now and again (only if well sealed - if kydex go for it)and let dry thoroughly. Over oiling/waxing can actually create a worse environment because grit will stick to the oil or wax more readily than bare steel. Then you've got grinding compound.
 
i use the flitz rifle/gun wax and bees for culinary knives. one thing this thread brings to mind is a problem i have seen with people using olive oil on sharpening stones. it can turn rancid :eek: and they end up with a mold or fungus on the stone. i bet that will make you **** like a goose!
 
Ballistol for long term storage or Briwax. Briwax has been proven to last longer than any other preservative, even REN wax.

Ken Beatty
 
I use Ballistol for anything that needs light oil on it. I don't remember what got me started on it but a few years ago I did an internet search and was blown away by the information I found about it. Here's a good write-up I fuond while searching:

http://www.civilwarguns.com/9810b.html

Also, read the write-up on this page for learning more about it. You can also buy some from this page:

http://www.ballistol.com/Balorder.html

When I first tried it I bought the sample pack (they don't offer that any more) that included one 1.5 oz. precision applicator with needle, one 11 oz. aerosol spray can with applicator tube, one 11 oz. pump sprayer with a full metal can and one 1.5 oz. aerosol sprayer with applicator tube. That sample pack was $19.95 and I still have most of the ballistol that came in the pump sprayer. Well, actually, the 11 oz. aerosol spray can lost its charge so I wound up cutting the top off and dumping the rest into the pump sprayer. So, if you get some make it easy on yourself and skip the aerosol spray cans and just get the pump spray type. That little needle applicator sure is handy though.

Anyway, I'm a big believer in Ballistol. I use it on metal, leather, wood, antler, bone and any other organic type of handle material. It even helps micarta look good. I spray the inside of my sheaths before I stitch them up to neutralize the tanning acids in the leather and the stops the normal problems with blades rusting. The stuff is fantastic! I haven't tried it on ivory but that's because I just don't use much ivory in my knifework. I'm sure it would work fine though because of the results I've gotten on everything else I've used it on. I use it on guns, knives, automotive stuff..... anything that needs light oil for lubrication or rust protection. If you haven't tried it yet, you owe it to yourself to get some and give it a go. I'm not affiliated with Ballistol in any way. I just really like the stuff.
 
I use "Break Free",,,but heres the deal,,,lots of advice is given for things that "work"..but I think (as far as I know) only " Renaissance Wax" is actually made to do the job on knives specifically...(everything else we are sold is off-shoots of Gun cleaning products in my view)

now there is nothing wrong with a little improvisation,,,and as I had the Break Free, sitting around to use on my guns anyway,,,why not give it a try?

Here is one more story I would like to tell all of you about,,that might be related...

a few years ago I helped a co-worker take the heads of his old pickup work truck...

we then went to the junk yard and got some new heads,,,but I didnt want to toss away the old heads in case something went wrong, so I decided to coat them in an oil and wrap them in Plastic.

for the first head I wrapped it after a good dousing in WD-40

By the time I had the first head good and coated, I knew I had used up all thje WD-40, so I had to "Improvise" and went into the house and got some "Pam" cooking spray


well...2 years later we were cleaning and the heads were being tossed into the garbage, but just for kicks I cut open the duct Taped plastic to check on their conditions.

The head coated with WD-40 showed signs of rust everywhere you looked,,,Not a lot of rust,,,But it was here and there all over it.
next I cut open the head covered in Pam.. "mint condition"....

The Pam head showed no signs of the 2 years it had spent on the damp shop floor.

Is this proof of something?..."Nah"...but is is an interesting thing to note...
 
You are right about the PAM cooking spray, Daqotah. Lots of woodworkers use it exclusively on their saw blades. It will clean and lube the blade and keep resin buildup at bay. Funky stuff; just something about it works.

I use Ren Wax and Starrett M1 as my wax and oil of choice. Know what though? My philosophy is like that of changing the oil in your auto. Changing it often is more important than what brand of oil you use. So like that, oiling and waxing your blades is much better than not at all.
 
Max forgot about Ballistol - I've been using it for years on my muzzleloaders. Great stuff.:rolleyes: Guess I just never thought about it for blades. Must be theat Old Fart stuff.

BTW Jim Hrisoulas was so impressed with Ballistol that he is the sales rep for Nevada. Can't think of a better recommendation.

Still like the Ren Wax though - museums even use it on cloth and things like that.
 
WOW !:eek: So many great replies ! Excellet. Thanks guys for all the info and different ideas....RDT
 
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