How Do You Store Your Fiddlebacks

Tony......you need to make room for your new Ladyfinger......quick !
 
Luca917 said:
I like to see my knives. I've been keeping them in one of those upright blocks you get at the kitchen stores that are filled with plastic rods, and I hate it. Aside from the issue of having too many knives to cram into that thing, it sure does seem to dull the blades from the friction against the plastic rods.

I searched for an upright, wall hanging case, and love the Dorris Designs barn wood stuff, but I can't get in touch. I'm probably late to the party.

So I was scrounging through a salvage shop last week and came across what I suspect is an old postal letter sorting tray. Here's what I've done:
Click to expand...

Dang Tony, that's really a nice setup!

cpu_melt_down said:
Mine are mostly laying around... but I do coat them with "nipple cream".



It's 100% pure medical grade Lanolin & food safe.
Click to expand...

Dude, I am squirming with all the comments that I could toss at this one. lol


Nipple cream should be reserved for the Old Lady. For the rest, I'll stick with Camelia Oil that Chris (OKT) recommended.
 
Tony, that display looks great. I'm gonna have to do something similar.
 
Giving this old thread a lil bump in order to get some opinions...

Has anyone experienced the green/brown/red dye from felt used in machinist’s tool chests transferring over to the handles of the knives when stored for a while? And if so, what was the solution?

I’ve been using the cheap, thin microfiber cloths sold with car washing supplies (because lord knows I’m not using them on my jeep :D) to line the inside of the chest drawers, just in case. I’d prefer to just lay the knives directly onto the felt, but I don’t want to take the chance of the felt color bleeding onto places it doesn’t belong.

Not sure if it makes a difference, but I started putting desiccant packs inside the chest to help with humidity, and I regularly use Howard’s on the scales and mineral oil on the blades.

ANY advice would be welcome. Thanks!
 
Lady1911 said:
Giving this old thread a lil bump in order to get some opinions...

Has anyone experienced the green/brown/red dye from felt used in machinist’s tool chests transferring over to the handles of the knives when stored for a while? And if so, what was the solution?

I’ve been using the cheap, thin microfiber cloths sold with car washing supplies (because lord knows I’m not using them on my jeep :D) to line the inside of the chest drawers, just in case. I’d prefer to just lay the knives directly onto the felt, but I don’t want to take the chance of the felt color bleeding onto places it doesn’t belong.

Not sure if it makes a difference, but I started putting desiccant packs inside the chest to help with humidity, and I regularly use Howard’s on the scales and mineral oil on the blades.

ANY advice would be welcome. Thanks!
Click to expand...
we use felt w/ a sticky backer here in the shop w/o any problems
2v2JtTiSvxurAoi.jpg
 
What a great thread. It has reminded me that I need to go through all my knives and oil them up (mineral oil). I also just bought some Howards for the handles. I oil every couple of months (or at least try) I live in Southern California so not much humidity. Although my last oiling, I did find several Knives with light rust spotting. I believe the mineral oil dried up to fast maybe?
I read a comment that someone uses cling wrap over the mineral oil, will this increase the life of the M.O. staying on the blade, or could it cause for a higher chance of trapping moisture that will turn to rust spotting?
Logic tells me it will help the fight and keep rust at bay longer, but never tried it so who knows?
 
VANCE said:
we use felt w/ a sticky backer here in the shop w/o any problems
2v2JtTiSvxurAoi.jpg
Click to expand...
Thanks, Phillip! I would imagine that those don’t sit around for too long in the shop. :thumbsup:
Guess I’m just a little bit paranoid about keeping the pretties clean and free from marks, rust, scratches, etc. The daily users don’t get babied quite as much.;)
 
swonut said:
Here's about the best discussion on storage of metals that I've found. In a nutshell, keep them clean and dry.

https://www.canada.ca/en/conservati...servation-institute-notes/storage-metals.html
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Thank you swonut, very helpful information you linked!
My plan is to purchase some plastic storage containers, coat the blades with mineral oil and wrap them up with cling wrap.
My thoughts are the cling wrap (if tightly wrapped) will keep the mineral oil from slowly evaporating much longer than not having them wrapped.

Has anyone tried or heard of using petroleum jelly (vaseline) for storage/protection? I imagine that will last much much longer than mineral oil. I can't imagine it will have a negative effect. I will actually try this on an inexpensive knife like a carbon Mora. Shoud make for an interesting test over the next few months. I will come back and update this post with my thoughts. My prediction is that it will outlast mineeral oil easily.
 
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Lady1911 said:
Giving this old thread a lil bump in order to get some opinions...

Has anyone experienced the green/brown/red dye from felt used in machinist’s tool chests transferring over to the handles of the knives when stored for a while? And if so, what was the solution?

I’ve been using the cheap, thin microfiber cloths sold with car washing supplies (because lord knows I’m not using them on my jeep :D) to line the inside of the chest drawers, just in case. I’d prefer to just lay the knives directly onto the felt, but I don’t want to take the chance of the felt color bleeding onto places it doesn’t belong.

Not sure if it makes a difference, but I started putting desiccant packs inside the chest to help with humidity, and I regularly use Howard’s on the scales and mineral oil on the blades.

ANY advice would be welcome. Thanks!
Click to expand...
I coat all my blades with Renaissance Wax with zero problems with any of my knives, including all my 01 steel blades. I keep my blades in a tool roll http://www.ruffianspecialties.com/products.html?p=1&rs_product_type=108 from these folks. Considerably cheaper and every bit as good as the waxed canvas ones you see offered on some knife sellers web sites!
 
Thanks for the suggestion, varga49 varga49 ! I might give the Renwax a try once I run out of Howard’s.

The green felt that Gerstner uses on their tool chests reminds me of the billiards table felt. Seems to be a higher quality than the run of the mill craft store stuff. I’ll probably do a little experimenting with it to see if the color bleeds onto something before I lay the knives down on it. Yes, paranoid. And not ashamed to admit it. :D
 
I've never heard of the felt leeching its dyes. That is in fact exactly how I store mine. Wipe them down occasionally to keep off dust. The dust attracts moisture and that is how the spots start. I use mineral oil, howards and even WD-40 sometimes and have had no trouble.
 
The only issues I've ever heard of with storing knives on felt is that it can some times discolor nickel silver; which is obviously not a concern for Fiddlebacks. I've got somewhere around 50 traditionals that have been sitting on felt for the last 2 years, and I haven't noticed any discoloration yet, though.
 
My two Fiddleback knives are sitting on my computer hutch next to me. My machete is in it's sheath on a peg hook in my office. . . The majority of my collection is in Bankers or Paper boxes or plastic tubs. I like to keep them low profile. Am loving the pictures, cool thread!
 
My wife bought a machinist's tool chest to store art supplies but doesn't like the size so I figured I would turn it into knife storage and lo and behold here's a whole thread on the topic. I'll probably do like others have said and cover the felt as one can only imagine what they're using to dye the stuff these days and don't want any bleed.
 
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