How to take care of 1095? - S&M Farmers Jack

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brewthunda

Joined
Apr 20, 2004
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I just picked up a Schatt & Morgan Farmers Jack (http://www.vintageknives.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&specific=jncorrmqq)
and aside from a few opinels, this is my first high carbon blade - 1095 to be exact.

This is meant to be a user. How should I take care of the blade? Keep it well oiled at all times? Or can I do a vinegar soak to force it to take on a uniform protective patina? What's the easiest, lowest maintenance approach to giving this user a long and productive life?

Thanks in advance!
 
There are cloths at any gun store that are impregnated with Breakfree CLP or something similar. Just wipe off the knife from time to time with these cloths. If it is in a sweaty pocket I'd wipe it off when I got home from work, This is good tough steel but it will corrode some if not tended to.
 
There are cloths at any gun stores that are impregnated with Breakfree CLP, silicon, or something similar. Just wipe off the knife from time to time with one of these cloths. They will last a very long time.

If you carry your knife in a sweaty pocket I'd wipe it off when I got home from work, This is good tough steel but it will corrode some if not tended to.
 
If you are going to carry and use it, then I would start a good patina now.

My favorite way it to just eat a few apples over the course of 2-3 days, using the blades to slice them up, giving each blade roughly equal time "in the apple".
 
The Last Confederate said:
If you are going to carry and use it, then I would start a good patina now.

My favorite way it to just eat a few apples over the course of 2-3 days, using the blades to slice them up, giving each blade roughly equal time "in the apple".
Click to expand...

What he said.:thumbup:

The biggest waste of your time is to try to keep it nice and shiney like it came out of the box. Its carbon steel, its supposed to get a patina. Did our grandfathers worry about the blade staining?

Apples, vinigar, potatos, they all will help get a patina started.
 
The Last Confederate said:
If you are going to carry and use it, then I would start a good patina now.

My favorite way it to just eat a few apples over the course of 2-3 days, using the blades to slice them up, giving each blade roughly equal time "in the apple".
Click to expand...


Yeah what they said :D.


If you are not going to use it, coat the puppy with "RIG" and reapply every 6 months to a year depending upon where you live.

To me, I love patina on a carbon steel blade. Once it is established a minimal amount of care is needed. (usually just a wipe off and a drop of oil when the action starts dragging a little.)
 
Ditto on the patina. It's essentially the same thing as blueing on a gun, just not as "controlled."

I do it with citrus fruit or juice.
 
I was in the kitchen last night sharpening this puppy and wiping off the rust spots that showed up in just a few days of ownership. I looked over at the pantry and thought "hey, I should stick this into a glass of vinegar and see what happens". Then I started wondering if that was a completely idiotic way to ruin a brand new knife. I figured it was worth running it by you guys first.

Thanks for the advice! I think I'll go eat me some apples!
 
I've never tried vinegar (have applied it to certain sheet metals to do a pre-etch prior to applying paint), but have used apple juice.

Just use caution when licking the blade. :D
 
Brew,

Congrats on a fine knife. I've been a little, ahem, vocal singing the praises of that knife and I still love mine. I wasn't going to add anything to the patina methods as you've already gotten plenty of good info. But, I lost that battle so here it is. Make sure you clean the oil off the blades before doing a vinegar type patina and on highly polished 1095 it has been doing a little steel wool or fine grit wipe on the steel to give it a little tooth for the patnifier to grab on to. I did the degrease and hot vineger bath on a couple of high polished Bokers and after days they are just showing a little rection and that is spotty. On the Cases I did with hot vinegar I didn't even degrease and they're doing pretty well developing a patina, though maybe a little uneven. I also used them to skin and cut a fair amount of fruit and veggies. When I get around to it I may just wipe off the blade of the Farmer's Jack and shove it into an apple or potato for a day.

Once again, congrats on getting a fine knife. I'm really happy you plan on using it as it is just too good of a "purposful" knife not to.
 
I EDC a Case CV here in sweaty Japan and I havent had too many issues. I hate patina though, mine gets a Metal Glo polish once a month or so to keep her like a mirror.
 
By the way ... the blade after the patina/blueing still needs care. An occasional wipe with a cloth impregnated with silicone will do the trick, or a cloth with a little mineral oil will work too. Just make sure it's something non-toxic if your knife is used on food.
 
Thanks for the tip. I did a test run on an $8 Opinel last night with pretty successful results. A uniformely dark patina using crystal light lemonade in a tall 2 oz shotglass overnight. I first cleaned the blade with Stoner's invisible glass, which is a powerful foaming amonia glass cleaner.
 
I never do anything but rinse off a knife if it's one I'm carrying and useing. I truthfully haven't had one rust wile I've used and carried it. Only time I've ever had rust form is when they are being stored or waiting there turn to be carried.
 
:thumbup:
brewthunda said:
I just picked up a Schatt & Morgan Farmers Jack (http://www.vintageknives.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&specific=jncorrmqq)
and aside from a few opinels, this is my first high carbon blade - 1095 to be exact.

This is meant to be a user. How should I take care of the blade? Keep it well oiled at all times? Or can I do a vinegar soak to force it to take on a uniform protective patina? What's the easiest, lowest maintenance approach to giving this user a long and productive life?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

That is a beautie! How did you decide on it as a user/EDC? Are you planning to use that punch?
 
okBookGuy said:
:thumbup:

That is a beautie! How did you decide on it as a user/EDC? Are you planning to use that punch?
Click to expand...

Still haven't gotten around to doing the patina thing on this knife. It's just too pretty . . I think I'm going to wait and see if spotting is a real problem before I pull the trigger. The punch looks like it will come in handy - it has an extremely sharp point that should be useful for more than just leather.

Regarding why I picked this particular knife - I've been looking for a nice traditional slipjoint for a while. I have a Case CV stockman with "amber bone" . . which is fine, but it seemed a tad delicate and the bone looks cheap. I wanted better scale material and at least as good of steel. So that means I was looking for something a bit more solid with much better bone. Amos Iron Wolf posted a link to this knife and his writeup convinced me that it might be what I was looking for. It is indeed a real beauty and the double bolters and gorgeous bone are very classy.

Regarding why I would make this a user rather than keeping it pristine - I buy almost all of my knives with the intention of using them. The idea of collecting something and having to keep it pristine in order to preserve it's value is just too depressing for me. I have issues with the idea of collecting anything - because to me it seems like an obsessive compulsive activity design to achieve a false sense of understanding and control over our world. That view doesn't applyto everyone, but it applies to me. If I'm collecting something, it means I'm trying to trick myself into believing I have the power to create order in this universe through shopping. Sounds weird, but that's what I think. So that means that while I may be obsessive about knives, I don't collect them - I accumulate them simply for the joy of getting new knives. And if I'm just accumulating knives, then there's nothing to say that I can't use them, too.

I have two knives that are not users - an Al Mar automatic Eagle and c. 1983 Al Mar Falcon in ivory micarta. Both are mint with factory edges and are kept in padded protective pouches. They're both amazing in their pristine state, but they seem too nice to use. They serve as reminders for me why I should try to only buy knives that I will have no problem using on a daily basis so that I can get the joy of both owning and using a wonderful tool.

Sorry if that sounds a little kooky - but if we weren't a little kooky we wouldn't be here! Heh.
 
I use hot apple cider vinegar to patinize my carbon steel users. Attached is a picture of a Moore Maker punchblade stockman that has that treatment, so that you know what to expect. It too has 1095 steel blades. It's the one on the bottom and is one of my most frequently used knives.

IMG_0182.jpg
 
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