'New knife' storage and rust prevention.

[Jacktheknife]

Howdy ya'll,

I was showing the shop to a friend.
He bet me that I couldn't make 100 knives between now and July,
We differed as to what 'made',
and 'finished,' actually meant.

He expects the knives to be handled,
shined up and done !

I said 'blade' and 'handle' finished,
but 'not assembled' is 'done'.
Otherwise it would rust,
and get: 'not new' looking.
And till all the knives are sold,
I ain't gona shine em all every ####ed day.
I need to be making other knives,
so xxxx your bet !

That however, got me to thinking...

Theres got to be a way to prevent rust on a 'new' knife.
Something like olive oil, corn oil,
which doesn't discolor the handle,
or taste bad like W.D. 40

What do ya'll do ???



J. Winters Knife

[Ray Rogers]

Wax. BriWax, Renassiance Wax, even ordinary Turtle Wax can be used. It gives a dry finish so it isn't messy and to helps to keep fingerprints and corrosive acids from your fingers off the steel....

[jdm61]

WD40 tastes bad?!?!?!??!?!?!? Precisely WHAT type of cutting tests are you doing on your knives before you deliver them to the customers?

[EdStreet]

camilla oil works wonders on blades. it's very close in chemistry to the oil in your skin and it works quite well on stuff, the japanese have been using it for centuries on swords also some people cook with it.

Ed

[Jacktheknife]

Thank Ya'll,
Bri, Rennenasance, or Turtle wax, and Camila oil,
Got it.
{and you can cook in it too !}

This is very important and valuable information.
Remember how life was before the internet !
An intellectual wasteland.
Ya'll what about dipping the new knives in paraphen wax ?
Like you dip your old traps in ?
Seems that too, would be a possible method of long term storage.
And I have a pot ready now,
for the traps you know.
I mean cover those new shivs in a ton of that stuff.
And keep them inside.

Pretty good huh ?


Knife

[EdStreet]

the lowdown on waxes.

http://www.knifenetwork.com/forum/sh...ad.php?t=36250

I am not sure how many here are GCA subscribers but I got my garand mag in the mail today and there's a very good article on preserving antiques.

he, david arnold conservator at the springfield armory NHS museum, states use paste wax only, he prefers carnuababased furniture waxes like kiwi bois, mohawk and behlen, or black bison on wood stocks (read wood in general), also pigmented paste waxes, 'clear' waxes can collect in pores and appear as white specs agains dark wood backgrounds.

A very interesting series of photo's he shows is 3 flintlocks that was sent in after katrina with various wax finishes (on metal) and there's a very very dramatic difference. here's the break down.

the were treated in 1985 one with a hot wax process and the other a cold wax process. hot being heated to 210f for 30 minutes or so then applied the wax (ferrous metals like iron and steel). cold being applied like shoe polish. the 3rd lock was oil coated.

oil lock looks like typical rusting that's nasty and ugly.

cold waxed looks splotchy and heavy rust where it is at.

hot waxed looks like there's absolutely no damage at all.

hot waxed used renaissance wax, states to use a microcrystalline wax, like renaissance, they are inert (or very close to it) and very stable for the long haul. he states "apply and buff out with a soft cloth or brush"

As for brass he states use wax, he prefers incralac acrylic spray lacquer, easy removed with solvents and bonds very well. bonds very very well to copper-allow metals and will hold up to abuse.

he states avoid using oils, esp linseed oil, linseed oil breaks down and over time turns into linoleum (afterall it's linoleic acid) and impossible to remove with repeat exposures.

Ed

[Jacktheknife]

Thanks again,


J. Knife

[mete]

Linseed oil both polymerizes and oxidizes over time and exposure to light....The best wax would be Renaissance other waxes like Johnson's Paste wax could be used. For a preservative grease I use RIG . You could also store in VPI [vapor phase inhibitor ] paper.

[Matthew Gregory]

Tuff-Cloth. Works great!

Tuff-Cloth

[Hukk]

In addition to using Ren Wax, I also store several hundred collectable knives in a fireproof gun safe. In the bottom and top of the safe I keep dessicant beads that I get from Cabelas. I think they are with the gun safes on their online site. The down side is that, if you put a knife or a gun that has been stored in moist conditions or in areas with high humidity, the wood or ivory can shrink. So far I have been lucky and have had no damage at all in the 6 years I have done this. The only thing that has happened is that I saw, on one pistol that had the wood handles shrink, the moisture had been wicked out from the wood. On that I merely had to tighten the screws, not an option for a knife. If you start out with dry or cured and clean materials, there shoud be no problem as the coditions are very dry in the safe. I would give a rough estimate that the humidity inside the safe would be about 10% RH, about desert like.

[Jacktheknife]

Hukk,

I was at a friends house less than a week ago
when I noticed a ' fire proof gun safe '
in his garage. As I have 13 long guns anyway
which need the protection of a safe,
and a fire proof one at that,
" I need me a gun safe ",
I told my friend.

But I never thought of the ' safe' as a perfect place to store my knives till now.
Wow thanks !
Now that ya'll have showed me how to store them for years rust free,
with the renenasance wax,
as well as a good place to store my 'new' knives,
in a ' fire proof gun safe ' with its low humidity.
{Its on the list.}
I better get busy, and,
' make me some knives ! '
{59 profiled so far.},

I am really happy to know you guys, dern !
I owe ya'll all a homebrew !
Remember the old days before the internet ?
This thread here, is so helpful it would have taken years to figure out how to store my 'new' knives,
if I ever did ...
at that,
and that is what scares me...



Later

J. Knife

[EdStreet]

the biggest problem with 'fire proof' safes are the time and temp ratings. Many are rated for only a short period but even then you have to look at what is the temp on the inside when the outside is 1,700F. Most glue will give around 300ish plus all the materials that's used. You may have to get something with a serious rating to be any good.

Ed

[Hukk]

Yes, most fireproof gun safes are rated around 1700-1800 degrees F with an interior that will be from 300-350 degrees F for 1/2 hour. After that who knows but the damage is already done. But for the purpose of having a controlled humidty they work great and no one is likely to steal something that weighs over 600 lbs from my house. Those were my primary reasons to pick up an extra safe. But, do not store wood that is not treated or finished. The dessicant works very well and will shrink untreated wood, seems to take the moisture right out of it. They are pricey, even for the average safe, so look for one that is being sold by a private party.