Care and Feeding of Chrome Vanadium

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Being a lifelong SAK guy (Thirty of my thirty-seven years...) I am fairly new to owning CV knives. I got my first one, a Case Peanut, in December, and my Swayback Jack just arrived this morning.

I have never forced a patina, but I do find patina attractive and I know it has benefits in the areas of rust resistance. But so far all I have done is coat my blades with mineral oil. I do this every Sunday evening as sort of a ritual. I also strop the blade, oil the pivots, or do any other maintenance at this time.

My question for the experts is--How much oil should be on the blade? I think I use too much, as it is definitely visible on the blade and I get a clear thumbprint every time I open the knife. I live in a fairly humid climate in the summertime and while patina is no problem, I do not want it to rust. I also prefer mineral oil over any other due to its lack of toxicity.

Am I over-oiling? Should I just leave it alone, keep it dry, and let it patina? I never recall my granddad ever oiling his blade. He'd just wipe it off on his bandana after gardening, whittling, whatever. And his knife lasted more than seven decades...

By the way, I love the swayback jack so far. Just looking for something to cut!
 
Everyone is different, but I almost never wipe down my CV blades. I may do so on a rare occasion, and after using one I will wipe it clean with a rag or whatnot. I oil the pivots on rare occasions, but again not often.

As for your granddad, my father is 81 years old and has always carried a folder. He never cleans it, never oils it, and only rarely will sharpen it with sandpaper. I gave him a Queen Canoe in D2 a few years ago, and that sucker has a sweet patina earned from years of cutting vines and scraping grass off of lawnmower blades. Anything will get a patina over time, including hard tool steel like D2. CV will catch a patina in a matter of minutes under the right circumstances.

I would just say to use it, keep it sorta clean, give the pivot a drop of oil if it starts to feel stiff, and get on with life. The flip side of course is that some folks just enjoy the ritual, and there is something to be said for that too. But remember that the oldtimers used the heck out of their knives, probably never cleaned or oiled them, and they lasted forever - or until the blade was ground away from sharping it on a wheel.
 
yes, if you're leaving any oil on the blade, you're over oiling it.

I don't know where you live, but here in Maryland, on the shores of the largest salt water estuary in the world, it gets really humid in the summer. Humid like looking at anything more than a few hundred yards away and it has a blue haze around it. I don't oil my blade at all. I get up in the morning, and pulling my pants on, I take a clean dry bandana and wipe down the blades of my pocket knife. That's it. I just go on about my day, using the knife for whatever, and not worrying abut it. If i do use it for something messy, like spreading mustard or mayo from one of those little tear open plastic packs, I'll wipe the blade off on the bread, paper napkin, or something and keep on going. Maybe that night, after it's all said and done, and I'm going to bed, I'll wipe down the blade again with a bandana. If the knife got really messy during the day, I'll wash it out in the kitchen sink with the dish brush, dry it, and that's it.

Getting wiped off every morning or night, I can't see a knife rusting on you. Let it darken up to a good deep patina, and just use the heck out of it. Knives rust when not being used.

Carl.
 
I have had Case knives for a long time! Just so turns out I also oil mine with mineral oil, on Sunday nights. I oil it, then wipe the oil off twice with a bandana. So the oil is there, just minor. Too much oil will collect and attract dirt and dust ASAP. Mine has a patina. But never ever seen a speck of rust. The edge is amazing!! Of ps, when I oil it I make sure to get the very edge, because patina on the very edge makes it dull. Or atleast not razor sharp
 
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