Will a GEC Whittler Rust in the Rain

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jackknife said:
Okay, okay, in a weird way I'm all for him doing this. Go ahead and leave it out in the rain for a day or two. Then show pic's of what you find.

I think many will be very surprised to find a mostly intact pocket knife with some staining, but very little real damage. Maybe this will finally put to rest some of those ridiculous rumors that carbon steel will rust away on you overnight.

In fact, I would issue a challenge to ED that he put the knife out in a puddle every night, and that he take it every morning and wipe it off thoughly with a dry bandana, and carry it and use it durring the day. At night, wipe it off again to make sure it's dry, then lay it out in the grass. Put a drop of oil in the joints every few days. Do this for one week. But once in the morning, and once in the evening, the knife gets wiped off and dried with a clean dry bandana.

It's his knife and his money, so let's see what happens. It may surprise some people. The Roman legions marched in the rain, the Vikings sailed open boats across the Atlantic, and the old mountain men carried carbon steel Green River knives and Hawkin rifles in snowy winters in the Rockies. Somehow, someway, their swords, axe's and skinning knives were kept from rusting.

My old boss, Paul, left his TL-29 out on the seat of his tractor for a few days in the rain. It darkened the patina even more, had few flecks of rust that came right off with a scotch bright pad. Didn't hurt the knife at all.

Go for it ED!
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Are you saying we don't even need the new super steels??? ;)
 
Modoc ED said:
Don't let 4-boobs distract you from this rust test. You've already got one boob conducting it.:)
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Ha!
I love that picture. Two of the hottest women ever. One giving the other the super stinkeye for letting herself fall out of the top of her dress. :eek: It just cracks me up...
 
it seems to me that rust on carbon steel is no big deal, howeverr the emotional reaction is non short of hysteria to this expected chemical reaction. the N.R.A. conducted some tests in the 70s on 2 black powder revolvers. one was carbon & one the new stainless. both were placed in a cloud chamber & left for 30 days. very shortly the carbon gun started to cover with a brown fuzz while the s.s. gun stayed the same. however on day 29 electroylosis set in & when the guns were removed the carbon revolver would still fire . the stainless was not functionable.really it's a personal decision since some are'nt worried about a little discoloration while others have a strong adversion to same. nothing to get so worked up about it's simply a matter of your own choices.
 
Kohai999 said:
Not if you avoid carbon steels for knife blades.

I got a GEC harness jack, and have been EDC'ng it....for about another month...and will never buy a carbon blade for a jacknife again.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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Just out of curiosity, STeven, why is that? Do you have a strong preference for shiny, or...?

Me, I think it's kind of a silly test, but whatever floats the OPs boat.

James
 
DennisStrickland said:
it seems to me that rust on carbon steel is no big deal, howeverr the emotional reaction is non short of hysteria to this expected chemical reaction. the N.R.A. conducted some tests in the 70s on 2 black powder revolvers. one was carbon & one the new stainless. both were placed in a cloud chamber & left for 30 days. very shortly the carbon gun started to cover with a brown fuzz while the s.s. gun stayed the same. however on day 29 electroylosis set in & when the guns were removed the carbon revolver would still fire . the stainless was not functionable.really it's a personal decision since some are'nt worried about a little discoloration while others have a strong adversion to same. nothing to get so worked up about it's simply a matter of your own choices.
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The only knives my parents used in the kitchen when I was a kid, were carbon steel. They had a patina all over and were sharpened by pulling it through a handheld sharpening gizmo. As a result any straight edged blade got curved after a while (like a hawkbill) and any chef's knife seemed to develop a rather straight edge....,but they were sharp!!
After buying some expensive stainless steel blades they still come back to the Herder knives they used to use.
To me some knives just look better with a patina and some better without. And I certainly never had any problems using them on food! (my fav steak knife is a razorsharp Opinel:o)
 
Yesterday evening I posted that I had to go get tires this morning and that I didn't think it would snow overnight although snow was called for. Well, it snowed about 5" to 6" overnight and the knife is nicely buried under it and no, I'm not getting tires today.

I'll let you guys know how the knife fared when the snow melts. Right now, I've got to go out and shovel snow and then plow my garage apron area and road with my tractor.
 
JAlexander said:
Just out of curiosity, STeven, why is that? Do you have a strong preference for shiny, or...?
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The carbon steel is just too reactive with food....pretty much the same reason why I stopped using carbon steel chef's knives. Use my edc for EVERTYTHING and that includes cutting up meat and vegetables at least 4 times a week at work for lunch.....Have no access to a sink at work, so the best I can do is a quick wipe.....these are slipjoint folders...they don't react well to that maintenance for me.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
texasflyfisher said:
If this were a child being abused we would send in CPS to remove them and their siblings from the household. Does BF.com have a BPS (Blade Protective Services) unit? If so, dibs on the sibling GECs taken away from this household! :D
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Yeah, that's a moral move:thumbup: I'll be the foster home for that knife:D

GEC not only oil their knives they seem to stuff them with some grease/wax gunk which probably rustproofs them for a year or two...

But I would not put money on those scales staying the same:eek:Loss of colour,warping,brass bleed from the liners and HORROR a beetle or weevil strolling along to raise a hungry family in there:eek: We have these Sextant Burying Beetles here, they find something interesting and they'll burrow round it and bury the bloody thing:D This whole test is rather ODD.......
 
Kohai999 said:
I would issue a challenge to ED to eat a meal of beef, chicken or pork, side starch and salad every day, put the knife out in the rain, wipe it off in the morning and NOT have that blade blacken completely.

Carbon steel blades might be ok for edc by you fellas, but I use my edc's to cut food, and that has not worked out well for me.

Patina=bad.:mad:

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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Steven,

Not flaming, just asking...

What is wrong with a carbon steel knife for food?
My Sheffield kitchen knives that I have used for the past 40 years are carbon.

Before there is a patina, there is a constant sour taste from the metal.
but once a patina has formed ther is no after taste.
 
neeman said:
Before there is a patina, there is a constant sour taste from the metal.
but once a patina has formed ther is no after taste.
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I never let it get to patina...that silver edge is part of what I use to cut/cook.....I find the dark blade unusable with dark food, no visual cue....it's too unfamiliar, and I'm to old to change my m.o. for what I consider negligible gain.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
Kohai999 said:
I never let it get to patina...that silver edge is part of what I use to cut/cook.....I find the dark blade unusable with dark food, no visual cue....it's too unfamiliar, and I'm to old to change my m.o. for what I consider negligible gain.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
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I had a lady friend that lived in Japan for 25 years.

She told me that there, a kitchen knife had to sit a day after sharpening before using on food.
 
Anyone that works outside in the blistering heat will tell you all day long why they love stainless for pocket knives. I sweat all the way through my blue jeans every day I work unless it is really cold, and my pants stay sweaty and moist all day.

If you use a carbon steel knife for a bit and get the oil/protectant off in the morning, you knife will be badly rusted from hours of acid sweat in your pocket by the time you get home. I don't like to clean up my knife every day after a long day. I did for years because I had no choice. The first stainless back in the 70s put out by knife makers was almost like having an aluminum blade. That's obviously no long true.

I am happy being able to dump my change, pocket knife and other crap from one pair of pants to the other without worry about the knife rusting completely shut if I don't clean it up for a couple of days.

I still like my carbon sheath knifes and carry a few carbon folders in rotation, but I will NEVER carry a carbon steel EDC work knife again unless I start doing office work. I don't mind hitting the stainless knives a lick or two on the sharpener once or twice a week. It isn't the same as scrubbing off the fuzz rust and oiling the joints and blades every single day.

That being said, if the OP had more experience with using a carbon steel knife under hot sweaty conditions, he would understand that clean rain water isn't the same thing as the salty, acidy, constant moisture of sweat for several hours every day in a pocket. I am sure he will get some pleasant looking little dots here and there that will make the knife look like a "user", but I wouldn't think that the rain water will do much unless he leaves it out for a few days.

Robert
 
I think the whole test is over the top, BUT I'm excited to see what happens. I'm just glad its his knife instead of mine. :thumbup:
 
I deleted proposed response to "midnight flyer's" post as I was too harsh.
 
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I lost a Schrade 34OT in the vegetable garden about 10 years ago. I still hope to find it every Spring when i dig the garden in that area. If i ever find it, i can show you what 10+ years in wet garden soil does to 1095 and Delrin.
roland
 
There was a picture a while back....I think J. Nugent posted it....of one of Tony's knives that John had lost in a stream and found years later (this is a hint for anyone with time to try and dig up that picture from the Bose thread ;) )
 
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