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What to use to oil carbon steel blades?

S

Smiling

Joined
Nov 21, 2019
Messages
1,495
I just wondered what other people use to protect their carbon steel from rust?

It may sound dumb, but I use coconut oil on my SK-5 Recon Tanto ever since I got it, and so far rust never developed on it. True, most of the blade is covered by factory coating, but edge has always been exposed.

I usually wash the knife in warm (not hot) water, wipe it with paper tissue, point hair dryer at it for a while (from a fair distance so it's not hot). Then I apply coconut oil with another paper tissue.
And it doesn't take long to see very small bits of coconut oil solidified on the blade after a while.

If nothing else, my knife at least smells nice :)
 
I’ll second mineral oil (aka baby oil). It is the main active ingredient in WD40 but not poisonous or staining.

n2s
 
Third for mineral oil. I actually use a royal purple variant (22) that is synthetic, a little thinner also so it can get into joints etc, yet is still food safe. I wouldn’t drink it, but a little residue won’t hurt.
 
I don't use my pocket or outdoor knives for food prep. For general joint and blade oiling, I use a mix (in one bottle) of 3 and 1, WD40 and motor oil. Has kept my knives in excellent condition.
Rich
 
Well, my first idea was to use something like WD-40 or motor oil, but then I thought again and realized that it may not be food safe.

Knowing that mineral oil is safe to use for a blade that's sometimes used on food, I'll probs try it out if this method fails me.

Coconut oil was my first option because:
1. It's edible oil
2. I have it readily available at home
3. It solidifies easily and can be like wax while solid

So far it's working perfectly well, so I'll just stick with it for now.
Because you know: "If it isn't broken don't try to fix it"

I just wanted to see if anyone else is using something unusual, like the guy I know IRL who dead serious told me he uses animal grease for his knives and tools :D
 
I mostly use mineral oil from the pharmacy (laxative). I have some knives that only get used seasonally, so I use a paste made from mineral oil and beeswax on the blades before storing them to prevent rust. It's also good on wood. I prefer food safe as I like to have the option of using any of my knives for processing game and food preparation.
 
I use Ballistol.
Food safe but can't be marketed that way in the US.

Your coconut oil idea is pretty cool though.
It takes forever to go rancid, won't gum up and is completely food safe.
 
For my straight razors I use clippercide. Oils and disinfects. For my carbon knives I use frog lube.
 
Neko2 said:
I use Ballistol.
Food safe but can't be marketed that way in the US.

Your coconut oil idea is pretty cool though.
It takes forever to go rancid, won't gum up and is completely food safe.
Click to expand...
Thanks :D
And it did come handy to me because I actually used that knife on food few times.

Well, ballistol isn't marketed as food safe in Europe either as far as I know.
DB_Cruiser said:
I mostly use mineral oil from the pharmacy (laxative). I have some knives that only get used seasonally, so I use a paste made from mineral oil and beeswax on the blades before storing them to prevent rust. It's also good on wood. I prefer food safe as I like to have the option of using any of my knives for processing game and food preparation.
Click to expand...
I understand that a small bit of laxative on a blade won't do a thing, but despite it not being poisonous, I would probably wipe my blades extremley well before using them on food. I'm kinda being paranoid here.
 
The factory-coated blade and your paranoia about food safety will work in your favor. ;)

If you're always aware & keen to keep the blade clean & dry anyway, you'll likely not need anything else. The coconut oil on the blade may or may not add much value for the sake of rust resistance. But, it's tendency to get a bit 'sticky' will make it hold onto stuff like dirt or food debris (read: potentially more bacteria), which otherwise wouldn't stick as readily to a clean, dry blade. So, if you coat the blade with the coconut oil to give peace of mind for rusting's sake, you'd still do well to clean that off before using the blade for food, IF you're really that concerned about food safety.

With only the edge bevels being uncoated, they'll be kept rust-free by simple stropping and/or sharpening done regularly. Edge maintenance takes care of virtually all rusting worries on a knife's edge, on it's own.
 
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Smiling said:
Thanks :D
And it did come handy to me because I actually used that knife on food few times.

Well, ballistol isn't marketed as food safe in Europe either as far as I know.

I understand that a small bit of laxative on a blade won't do a thing, but despite it not being poisonous, I would probably wipe my blades extremley well before using them on food. I'm kinda being paranoid here.
Click to expand...
Actually, on their German product page they seem to.
https://www.ballistol-shop.de/Gun-care/Ballistol-Universal-Oil_B_S_44_229.html
 

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Well, I do wipe my blade before using it on food thankfully.
And whenever I use my knife - I use it heawily, and after use I always wash it, then I resharpen it and wash again, and after that I wipe it and also dry it before oiling and storing the blade.
I'd also like to comment how factory coating is holding up extremley well, I wasn't expecting that.


And that is interesting to know about ballistol. I'll most likley give it a shot too, since I know that coconut oil going rancid on a blade might not be a good thing. Lucky for me, coconut oil takes extremley long time to go rancid, and I use my knife often enough for that not to happen.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Coconut oil will work.
Frog Lube-which was all the rage for firearms a few years ago, was basically coconut oil.
Click to expand...
Thank you for sharing this info with me, I did't know this info :)
Then I'll just stick with it, since I always have coconut oil at home anyways :D
 
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