Recommendation? Storing carbon patina blades for transport

S

Sean Sloan

Joined
Jun 27, 2018
Messages
9
Hi guys,

I need some advice on how to store my carbon steel fix blade Scandinavian Lapland blades for transport. They may have to withstand being in a container with salt water around etc. And they may have to be in storage for a few months. Although I am aiming to have them shilped by air.

At the moment I use Citadel Black Knife Oil (food safe mineral oil) to keep them lubicated but it wont last for months. I think it will last better if I seal it off in plastic with less exposure to air.

Some of the blades have been chemically blackened to form a patina. This will rub off if I use thicker lubricants, so that's an out.

Currently I keep the knives in their sheaths (very dry leather and they do not hug the blade, there is quite a bit of room in there) and oil them up once a month. That is generally when they start looking a bit dry.

Now I was thinking to pack the kives in this way:

1. Oil them well (but not too well that they leak on the sheath causing spots, it makes the sheaths look like crap.

2. Sheath the knife.

3. Seal the sheathed knife in a plastic zip locked bag, taking most of the air out and stoping more air from entering.

4. Bubble wrap them.

5. All the knives will then be placed neatly into my backpack. The backpack will then be sealed along with some of those silicon drying agents and fish moth repentants with a tough plastic.

I do have a few stainless steel knives I will package the same way but with less oil on them.

How does that sound?

It was also recomended that I rather oil the blade and place it in cling wrap before sheathing it?

The knives do have birch handles, some treated with linseed oil and others with tar oil. The bolsters and butts are brass. If that is something to consider.

If any one here could steer me right or suggest something better please let me know?
 
DocJD said:
Might want to wrap the knives and sheathes separately . Especially leather .
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Fair enough, the only issue I have with that is, the sheaths would keep the blade oil from touching the plastics and possibly getting onto the wooden handles, that would cause a discolor and taint the collection.

Is there any disadvantages of oiling and wrapping the blades in cling wrap? I can still place the sheaths in a separate ziplock plastic bag.
 
ahoward2k said:
Wrap the handle well with plastic wrap, then bag it in cosmoline, store the sheaths separately.
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Thanks for the feedback. Unfortunately, the cosmoline will strip off the chemical patina when I try to remove it as it is very thick or viscous. I know I'm being very difficult but these patinas tend to lose their black look very fast.

In that case, I think I will cover the handles, oil the blade and cling wrap them in plastic so they don't dry easily and then pop it into a ziplock bag with most of the air out.
 
So I'm thinking along the lines of cling wrap the handle to protectit from the oil. Coat the blades with oil, grease or vaseline, wrap that in plastic, then throw thatin a vacuum bag with some oxygen absorbers and vacuum seal it. Park it in a way to protect the packaging from physical damage, and it should last years in that environment
 
ahoward2k said:
Should be fine. Take it a step further and throw some oxygen removal packs in with them and vacuum seal them.
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Yeah, I thought so too, thanks for the confirmation.

ahoward2k said:
So I'm thinking along the lines of cling wrap the handle to protectit from the oil. Coat the blades with oil, grease or vaseline, wrap that in plastic, then throw thatin a vacuum bag with some oxygen absorbers and vacuum seal it. Park it in a way to protect the packaging from physical damage, and it should last years in that environment
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Yeah, it will have to be mineral oil, anything more viscus/thick will pull the patina off when cleaning.
I'm a bit reluctant to put the oxygen removal packs in with the blades. I don't want them to dry or shrink the wooden handles or dry the oil faster. I do want to put the blades in the plastic bag, bubble wrap for transport and place those oxygen absorbers among the plastic wrapped blades. But maybe you are correct, I will look into this a bit more.

Thanks
 
Sean Sloan said:
Can anyone advise if it is a bad idea to oil a blade and cling wrap it in plastic?
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I gave my brother a Randall that I had oiled and wrapped in wax paper, and stored separately from the knife. After he had it he placed the knife in to the sheath oiled and now it has carbon pits.

To me, oil does nothing without additional steps taken over a period of time to make sure that the knife is clean and remains oiled. Oil attracts dirt.

I no longer use oils of any kind on my knives and own many knives. I use Renaissance Wax, which is used my museums. I cannot comment on how well this wax works b/c I've not stored the knives that long in it but many people swear by it.
 
I'm not sure if renaissance wax will remove the patina but that's the stuff I would and try and I would put 3 to 4 coats on the blade,I have been using it on my M4 steel blades and other's that can rust and it seems to be working very well.

I would not put them in a sealed bag no matter what you have them treated with because if the oil dries up and it get's humid and it sweats inside the bag then your screwed,if it were me I would find the coolest and driest room in your house that has a closet and just put them in a box with nothing on them other renaissance wax.

Renaissance wax also forms a hard barrier on the blade and the best way to remove it is with contact cement cleaner is what I have found and that's really strong stuff,I found this out because I used to use froglube and when I switched I just treat the blade with renaissance wax by washing the froglube off with soapy water but the froglube that had gotten into the pivot made the pivot very sticky so I used contact cement remover to get rid of the froglube and it took the renaissance wax off of the blade as well.
 
Tommy-Chi said:
I gave my brother a Randall that I had oiled and wrapped in wax paper, and stored separately from the knife. After he had it he placed the knife in to the sheath oiled and now it has carbon pits.

To me, oil does nothing without additional steps taken over a period of time to make sure that the knife is clean and remains oiled. Oil attracts dirt.

I no longer use oils of any kind on my knives and own many knives. I use Renaissance Wax, which is used my museums. I cannot comment on how well this wax works b/c I've not stored the knives that long in it but many people swear by it.
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wade7575 said:
I'm not sure if renaissance wax will remove the patina but that's the stuff I would and try and I would put 3 to 4 coats on the blade,I have been using it on my M4 steel blades and other's that can rust and it seems to be working very well.

I would not put them in a sealed bag no matter what you have them treated with because if the oil dries up and it get's humid and it sweats inside the bag then your screwed,if it were me I would find the coolest and driest room in your house that has a closet and just put them in a box with nothing on them other renaissance wax.

Renaissance wax also forms a hard barrier on the blade and the best way to remove it is with contact cement cleaner is what I have found and that's really strong stuff,I found this out because I used to use froglube and when I switched I just treat the blade with renaissance wax by washing the froglube off with soapy water but the froglube that had gotten into the pivot made the pivot very sticky so I used contact cement remover to get rid of the froglube and it took the renaissance wax off of the blade as well.
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Thanks, guys, I appreciate the insight.

I am no looking to store the blades indefinitely, just a month or two white moving continents. Renaissance Wax is great but it's going to strip that chemical patina right off. Frog lube is great for lubing certain parts of pocket knives to prevent rust, like where the handles attach but even worse for the patina. Nano-Oil is also too viscous, but great pivot lube. I'm happy with the mineral oil.

I take great care of these knives every week b I need to create a mobile environment where they will be safe for a month or two.

What do think about aowards2k's suggestion about oiling the blade and throwing a drying agent in there?

Do you think mineral oil will dry up in a sealed plastic bag within two months?
nt
 
Sean Sloan said:
Thanks, guys, I appreciate the insight.

I am no looking to store the blades indefinitely, just a month or two white moving continents. Renaissance Wax is great but it's going to strip that chemical patina right off. Frog lube is great for lubing certain parts of pocket knives to prevent rust, like where the handles attach but even worse for the patina. Nano-Oil is also too viscous, but great pivot lube. I'm happy with the mineral oil.

I take great care of these knives every week b I need to create a mobile environment where they will be safe for a month or two.

What do think about aowards2k's suggestion about oiling the blade and throwing a drying agent in there?

Do you think mineral oil will dry up in a sealed plastic bag within two months?
nt
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I keep as many knives as I can stored in airtight storage bins (from the Container Store) with silica gel that I get from Amazon in a plain gray box at 900gr at a crack. Inside the plastic bin I incl a small humidity readout device.
 
Unless you have a way to store them in containers and suck all of the air out I wouldn't even bother trying putting them in bag's.
I think your best be is the Renaissance Wax because it is thicker and if you can not wipe the patina off by hand I can't see Renaissance Wax removing the patina it's a sealer not a cleaner if I were you I would start a thread asking if anyone has tried using Renaissance Wax on a blade with patina and see what they have to say,I would also think with it being used by museum's that they would not want to remove the patina and would not use it if it did.
 
wade7575 said:
Unless you have a way to store them in containers and suck all of the air out I wouldn't even bother trying putting them in bag's.
I think your best be is the Renaissance Wax because it is thicker and if you can not wipe the patina off by hand I can't see Renaissance Wax removing the patina it's a sealer not a cleaner if I were you I would start a thread asking if anyone has tried using Renaissance Wax on a blade with patina and see what they have to say,I would also think with it being used by museum's that they would not want to remove the patina and would not use it if it did.
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Again, it is not the abrasive, cleaner or sealer I am worried about it is the VISCOSITY. A clean and dry microfiber cloth will take the patinas off, that is how fragile they are. A less viscous oil can be applied once in a while without too much interference.

The question is how to find a way to make sure this oil will not dry out in a month or two!

I can cling wrap the oiled blade to prevent the oil from drying
I can cling wrap the wooden handles so the oil does not mess their finish up
I can then place it in a ziplock bag with a silica gel and hope that doesn't dry the oil or the wood.

If you guys think plastic is not a good idea, can you recommend another material that won't soak up the oil or rub the patina?
 
So long as your plastic wrap and bags remain really air and water tight , I think you're OK . Could use a vacuum sealing system , like for freezer foods .

I've stored stuff in wet outdoor environments just sealed in a standard 5 gal plastic bucket with no problems .
 
If the patina is that fragile I would think putting it in a bag with any oil on a rag wrapped around the blade is going to make the patina soft.
 
Sean Sloan said:
Again, it is not the abrasive, cleaner or sealer I am worried about it is the VISCOSITY. A clean and dry microfiber cloth will take the patinas off, that is how fragile they are. A less viscous oil can be applied once in a while without too much interference.

The question is how to find a way to make sure this oil will not dry out in a month or two!

I can cling wrap the oiled blade to prevent the oil from drying
I can cling wrap the wooden handles so the oil does not mess their finish up
I can then place it in a ziplock bag with a silica gel and hope that doesn't dry the oil or the wood.

If you guys think plastic is not a good idea, can you recommend another material that won't soak up the oil or rub the patina?
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They sell watertight storage containers at big box improvement stores, which will prevent moisture or water from getting in or out. Finished Black leather scraps with the finished side facing the knife will prevent them from scratching each other. I keep these from I spot a non-usable leather couch at the curb, cutting off the good leather and leaving the damaged or really thin parts alone.
 
Yonose the problem is that if the air can not be removed all you have to have are a few temperature change's and then you can have condensation,that's a problem that a lot of people forget they think just because something is sealed it's all good.

I know of people getting large 12 volt PC fans and using a small power supply to blow on thing's they want kept cool and that seem's to work really well even in humid condition's but that's not a viable idea for Sean.
 
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