Old English lemon oil on knives?

[SVTFreak]

A friend of mine recommended it. Mostly to help the natural scale materials look and feel right. And it does seem to do well at that, but I admit I just started.

My question is, how will it affect metal, especially 1095 or 52100? Best I can find is it’s just mineral oil with a few extra ingredients but we all know what other ingredients can do.

thanks in advance y’all!

 

[LastRodeo]

Is the oil of lemons one of the ingredients? That sounds acidic to me, I don't think I would put that on metal parts myself.

 

[Mike Robuck]

Now that I can no longer find Formby's Lemon Furniture oil, I use Old English for wood and bone scales. I use mineral oil on the blades.

 

[SVTFreak]

Is the oil of lemons one of the ingredients? That sounds acidic to me, I don't think I would put that on metal parts myself.

that’s exacrly why I’m asking. Is it real lemon juice or just scent?

Now that I can no longer find Formby's Lemon Furniture oil, I use Old English for wood and bone scales. I use mineral oil on the blades.

I started doing exactly the same but more concerned where they touch and cross oiling. Mike, if you don’t mind, what’s your “procedure”? How do you clean/polish/oil your knives up using both?

 

[Mike Robuck]

I'm sure I have gotten the lemon oil, both kinds, on the blades at some point, but I haven't had any problems. I use a soft cloth to apply the lemon oil to the scales and then just use my finger to apply mineral oil to the blades. I probably put way to much on, but then I let them sit for a while to soak up the lemon oil. I don't wipe down the blades but leave a light coating of mineral oil on them.
Tony Bose used Formby's.

 

[Peregrin]

I use the Formby's on wood, stag and other natural materials. I bought a big bottle many years ago and still have quite a bit left. As Mike mentioned Tony Bose and Kerry Hampton swore by it. I've applied it only to the handles, and also use mineral oil on the blades and pivots.
It does contain lemon oil.

I checked a bottle of Old English we have, and it also says it contains lemon oil. I'd think the Formby's and Old English are similar but haven't compared ingredients. Probably need to do a search for that info.
All that said, I've never had a problem with the oil causing any deterioration in metal or other material it's come in contact with. I've not been particularly careful about avoiding metal when I've used it.

 

[SVTFreak]

I'm sure I have gotten the lemon oil, both kinds, on the blades at some point, but I haven't had any problems. I use a soft cloth to apply the lemon oil to the scales and then just use my finger to apply mineral oil to the blades. I probably put way to much on, but then I let them sit for a while to soak up the lemon oil. I don't wipe down the blades but leave a light coating of mineral oil on them.
Tony Bose used Formby's.

thanks mike!

I use the Formby's on wood, stag and other natural materials. I bought a big bottle many years ago and still have quite a bit left. As Mike mentioned Tony Bose and Kerry Hampton swore by it. I've applied it only to the handles, and also use mineral oil on the blades and pivots.
It does contain lemon oil.

I checked a bottle of Old English we have, and it also says it contains lemon oil. I'd think the Formby's and Old English are similar but haven't compared ingredients. Probably need to do a search for that info.
All that said, I've never had a problem with the oil causing any deterioration in metal or other material it's come in contact with. I've not been particularly careful about avoiding metal when I've used it.

thanks for the info P. The recommendation for old English came from a close friend of mr Tony’s. But he uses a wax and not a lemon oil that he recommended. I won’t go into why here but I understand. Anyway, the main difference between the two (farmbys and old
English) is the addition of paragon wax to farmbys. It’s ~75% mineral oil (alaphatic solvent) and 25% parrafin where the old English is nearly all mineral oil with a much lesser content of a compound that i find online to be a form of parrafin. Both use lemon oil. OE has a few other things in small amounts. So, logically, it should be pretty close but maybe doesn’t polish up like higher wax formbys.

Thanks for the info, guys. Makes me feel a bit better about any OE I happen to get on the metal.

 

[Arathol]

Is the oil of lemons one of the ingredients? That sounds acidic to me, I don't think I would put that on metal parts myself.

that’s exacrly why I’m asking. Is it real lemon juice or just scent?
I started doing exactly the same but more concerned where they touch and cross oiling. Mike, if you don’t mind, what’s your “procedure”? How do you clean/polish/oil your knives up using both?

Not from lemons, but from the lemongrass plant, Cymbopogon citratus. Smells like citrus but not from a real lemon.
I don't see any issue using it. The only thing is it doesn't work if the wood is finished with wax or something such as tung oil that seals the surface. It shouldn't have any effect on any of the metal parts either. Lemon oil has been used on gun stocks for a long time and some companies still recommend using it to clean and polish wood that has a proper oil finish. I use it all the time on knives and anything else that has wood that needs refreshing. It works wonders on hardwood floors....
Here for example is a 1950s era Sheridan model CW air rifle that I refurbished with lemon oil...

 

[Peregrin]

thanks mike!



thanks for the info P. The recommendation for old English came from a close friend of mr Tony’s. But he uses a wax and not a lemon oil that he recommended. I won’t go into why here but I understand. Anyway, the main difference between the two (farmbys and old
English) is the addition of paragon wax to farmbys. It’s ~75% mineral oil (alaphatic solvent) and 25% parrafin where the old English is nearly all mineral oil with a much lesser content of a compound that i find online to be a form of parrafin. Both use lemon oil. OE has a few other things in small amounts. So, logically, it should be pretty close but maybe doesn’t polish up like higher wax formbys.

Thanks for the info, guys. Makes me feel a bit better about any OE I happen to get on the metal.

Good info! Thanks for the research. I'd feel comfortable using either at this point.

 

[The Amazing Virginian]

So Minwax killed off Formby's lemon oil treatment after buying them? Is that the situation? Gr8. I still have a fair amount of Formby's and I guess it will be Old English after that. I apply the Formby's to my natural handle materials, and then like a day later I apply Ren Wax. Try to avoid getting them on the blade, but some always does and then I just wipe it off. I use break-free CLP on my blades. Have for years. Tried a lot of different oils, and just about any oil is better than none, but the science and tests I've seen seems to suggest that CLP is best or at least very close for rust prevention.

 

[ea42]

I believe lemon oil is ph neutral, so it shouldn't affect the metal. The only problem is that it tends to resinify when exposed to air and light, so you wind up with a hardened resinous coating. Ever see the hard brown coating on the tangs of an old factory fresh pocket knife that hasn't seen any use since it was made? Basically the same thing.

Eric

 

[Will Power]

Found it to be very OK, Kerry Hampton sent me a bottle when he made me a knife and it has posed no problems, notably not generating verdigris when in contact with brass. Applications should be light but I do find it really good in frequent use on Stag as the dry atmosphere here indoors in winter is appalling. Seems to go well on Horn too, toot toot!

Thanks, Will

 

[Jsega51]

Use a q-tip to get down into the craggy areas. I use it on most all my stag also with no issues seen elsewhere

 

[Easyrider]

Since it is an oil why not just drop the whole knife in it for an overnight soak? Takes care of the handle material and lubricates the blades all at the same time.

 

[SVTFreak]

Since it is an oil why not just drop the whole knife in it for an overnight soak? Takes care of the handle material and lubricates the blades all at the same time.

some oils are better than others for preventing corrosion. Some can even make it worse. But it does sound like that is possible with the old English maybe. Might have to test that with some scrap metal.

 

[cudgee]

Not from lemons, but from the lemongrass plant, Cymbopogon citratus. Smells like citrus but not from a real lemon.
I don't see any issue using it. The only thing is it doesn't work if the wood is finished with wax or something such as tung oil that seals the surface. It shouldn't have any effect on any of the metal parts either. Lemon oil has been used on gun stocks for a long time and some companies still recommend using it to clean and polish wood that has a proper oil finish. I use it all the time on knives and anything else that has wood that needs refreshing. It works wonders on hardwood floors....

Good information. I have used it before with no issues, and is okay for metal, most of my knives are carbon steel and never had an issue. It does depend on the wax and tung oil you use though. I have used it on wood that has been polished with bees wax and or canuba wax and it will still penetrate the wood, especially not so dense woods, but it won't penetrate wood that has been treated with a hardening wax e.g. Renwax, or most of the hardening floor waxes. It is okay with pure tung oil or pure linseed oil but not boiled tung or linseed. Hope this helps, but the posts before mine have covered it very well. Good Luck..

 

[SteveC]

Howard Feed-N-Wax works great on wood handles.