Packaging to prevent corrosion questions

james terrio

james terrio

Sharpest Knife in the Light Socket
Joined
Apr 15, 2010
Messages
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I'm wondering what steps you all take to reduce/eliminate the possibility of your knives getting tarnished on their way from your shop to your customer. Up till now I've simply been cleaning and drying my blades, giving them a light coat of mineral oil, wrapping them in plastic wrap, then putting them in their sheath. I wrap the whole mess with newsprint, put in the box and fill the spaces with crumpled newsprint so it can't flop around. It's clear to me that there are a lot of things that could go wrong with this procedure. I can say for certain that it's not fool-proof - don't ask me how I know.

I do have plastic edge-protectors I can cut to length, and I know where to get more (thanks, Stacy!). So I have no problem wrapping the knife separately from the sheath. (We do use only vegetable-tanned leather from reputable sources)

I insist that any protectant I apply to my blades be food-safe, and not have an offensive odor or taste. It must not require any special cleaning or removal. (I could coat the blades in hot beeswax, for instance, but I doubt clients would appreciate that.) I'm looking hard at Fluid Film - any other suggestions?

Anyone using VPI paper, such as is commonly used to wrap parts like tooling and bearings?

Might it be worthwhile to slip a small dessicant pack into each box?

I just want my clients to be able to unbox their knife and take it straight to the kitchen if they want, and they certainly have a right to expect it to be in mint condition on arrival. Thanks for your time and thoughts!
 
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I would pack sheath separately from knife. For Gun storage I use a light coating of RIG preservative grease then wrap with VPI.I don't think RIG is tasteless or food safe but I'm suresuch things ca be found.
 
I do pretty much he same thing.

The only thing I might do is use Ballistol as an oil. It is food safe and neutralizes rust and acids. I've had an O1 knife sheathed up for a year now in leather with not a bit of rust and I only oiled it once. I use it and just wipe it down.... I'm impressed.

Mineral oil works great too though. I like it the best on anything that has been etched n ferric chloride, it seems to help keep the black or etched look better than Ballistol.


Ace cases or Bills cases are really nice for packaging. I'd may eventually pack my higher end knives in them.
 
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I wrap my shipping box 100% all around with plastic box tape, rendering it pretty much air and moisture tight.

My storage shelves, shipping area and packing supplies are all in a temperature and humidity controlled space. I wear nitrile gloves to prevent contaminating my work with corrosive oils from my hands and I wipe a little corrosion inhibiting oil on everything before putting it on the shelf. So far so good.
 
I have tried mineral oil, Johnson paste wax and wd40. I was hesitant to get renaissance wax because i thought it might be all hype and no work but i was wrong. Ren wax works very well but not food safe.. I wrap the knife and Kydex sheath together then wrap with newspaper and bubble wrap then stuff newspaper in the box.

If i were shipping a kitchen knife i would use a very liberal coat of mineral or vegetable oil then wrap in several layers of newspaper.
 
James, the easiest method that I've found is to use VCI paper. When it the "active," side faces it self, if releases gases that prevent rusting better than almost anything else. Also, VCI paper's vapor barrier will not affect its use in preparing substances that are to be consumed. At any rate, there are many sources for it, I've purchased from uniline before and split 1000 sheets and their cost between other hobbyist and makers.

http://www.uline.com/BL_5250/VCI-Anti-Rust-Paper?pricode=WO442&gclid=CJrSlu__3rUCFQWFnQodl0QA4A
 
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James,

I use fluid film a lot in my shop, and Boeshield T9.. My shop is like a jungle, and everything sweats and rusts like crazy if I don't do something.

Fluid Film is pretty effective, although it does wear off after a couple of weeks in my shop. It has a very particular smell that some may not favor, and doesn't dry really, so it'll feel like an oil coating if wiped off. I like the smell personally, which smells just like what it is, lanolin.

Another thing to consider are VpCI bags.. Cortec makes them, as do others, and you can find them on ebay in smaller quantities than the minimums from most wholesalers. Alot of gun guys use them, parts and tooling suppliers too, along with the VpCI paper. They're pretty darn effective, tossing in a couple of dessicant packs in a box would probably give even more protection, probably unnecessary, but you can get thousands dirt cheap on ebay or from a packaging supplier.

I put those large Bullfrog VpCI "Emmiter Shields" in my tool boxes and parts drawers, and all that stuff fares quite well in my shop.

The bags seem like they would be the most convenient for your purpose, and it would allow you to leave the blades uncoated, and allow the purchaser to use the coating of their choice for long term use or storage.
 
It's a very tough problem and it's good to see some answers that may help. For me I went to using stainless. Most of the carbon Damascus I use I heat colour. This certainly helps it. I feel many of the newer stainless steels will do a great job and overcome a huge ongoing problem with the carbon steels. It bothered me to no end to see what had happened to knives some of my friends had. Frank.
 
An important thing to note is that VCI (Cortec uses the term VpCI which is more of a marketing "we are different than the others" term but effectively the same) it works by creating an atmosphere so direct contact is not necessary in general. What eliminates the effectiveness is if you sheath the knife THEN wrap VCI around the sheath (be it paper, film/ bag). It works best, by far if you wrap the knife then place the wrapped knife in the sheath. Another important thing to note is desiccant pouches are different than VCI....if the desiccant packs comes in direct contact with metal, you will drastically INCREASE the chance of rust where it is touching it- like putting a little wet sponge on your knife.
 
Bob Katilus said:
An important thing to note is that VCI (Cortec uses the term VpCI which is more of a marketing "we are different than the others" term but effectively the same) it works by creating an atmosphere so direct contact is not necessary in general. What eliminates the effectiveness is if you sheath the knife THEN wrap VCI around the sheath (be it paper, film/ bag). It works best, by far if you wrap the knife then place the wrapped knife in the sheath.
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That's kind of what I was hoping to hear :thumbup: When I worked in the printing industry we used to get our bearings and other small parts loosely wrapped in that stuff, and never had a problem with pitting or corrosion. Don't know why it took me so long to think of using it for knives :o

Bob Katilus said:
Another important thing to note is desiccant pouches are different than VCI....if the desiccant packs comes in direct contact with metal, you will drastically INCREASE the chance of rust where it is touching it- like putting a little wet sponge on your knife.
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That makes sense. I was thinking of using the dessicant packs separately in the box (not wrapped directly with the knife or sheath) just for extra peace of mind.

Ren wax is out, not food-safe.

Frank Niro said:
It's a very tough problem and it's good to see some answers that may help. For me I went to using stainless.
Click to expand...

I embraced stainless and tool steels quite some time ago. But some of my clients just prefer simpler alloys like 01 and 10xx, and they want their blades to patina. They just prefer the knife starts out clean when they get it ;)
 
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For shipping my carbon blades, I oil then vacuum seal in one of those home food sealing contraptions, a food saver I think.
 
In use "divers silicone" . It is used by divers for their breath gear. Once you coat your blade it is essentially impervious to rust.
 
Is the small amount of ren wax that might come off a blade while cutting food really a concern? Here's the MSDS on it. http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/msds/renaissance_wax.pdf

At least one blademaker here coats his blades with the product before shipping. I know that quite a few woodworkers use Ren Wax and Carnuba Waxes as a final finish on bowls and things like wooden spoons that are used in food prep.

I certainly wouldn't eat a spoonful of the product out of the can, but it does not appear to be a danger in the quantities that would be on the blade after application, dryng and buffing. Can anyone comment on the actual danger?

For comparison purposes, here's the MSDS on table salt. http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924972
 
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