Storing knives in leather sheath?

[Col Defender]

Good morning!

Recently I learned on this forum that we should not keep our knives in their leather sheaths over long periods of time! OOPS!!
I have some knives that have never been out of their sheaths unless it was to cut something. (One of them is a Randall Alaskan Skinner that has been stored this way for 30 years.) And I see no obvious problems with any of them.

There must be a good reason for keeping them out of their sheaths. Please could someone tell me. Even though I've owned knives for a long time I am still learning every day.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

 

[Karda]

The oils in some sheaths may stain the blade over long periods.
Vertigris can trap moisture and stain the blade.
In certain areas of the country, the sheath may trap moisture and cause rusting or staining.

 

[2manyknives]

It's not that clear cut - there are variations with the leather, the knife, the storage conditions, the local environment etc. I have had non stainless steel, well oiled and regularly inspected stored in leather sheaths without a problem. I had a Buck 110 stored in a brown leather sheath that suffered serious corrosion and pitting of the brass bolsters. As a general rule it is best not to store long term in a leather sheath but experiences will vary.

 

[Karda]

It's not that clear cut - there are variations with the leather, the knife, the storage conditions, the local environment etc. I have had non stainless steel, well oiled and regularly inspected stored in leather sheaths without a problem. I had a Buck 110 stored in a brown leather sheath that suffered serious corrosion and pitting of the brass bolsters. As a general rule it is best not to store long term in a leather sheath but experiences will vary.

Nothing in life is clear cut.
True enough about the variations. YMMV.
As a general rule though, storing knives for long periods in their sheaths is not a good idea.

 

[Dave Behrens]

I recently finished 2 damascus knives w/ leather sheaths. I left one of them in the sheath overnight w/ no oil. The next day the edge was covered in rust and the etch had turned a yellowish color. Had to redo the etch and the edge.

 

[boring]

i have a knife I purchased when I was younger, let it sit in the sheath for better than 20 years. it had became attached to the sheath via rust. A case hunting knife, found in a drawer at my grandfathers house had probably been in the sheath for 40 or 50 years. blade still looks brand new, some verdigris on nickle silver guard and rivits though. some will make it some don't. why chance it?

 

[Poez]

In theory it depends on the leather and the steel. Most leather is tanned using some acids. If not treated properly the acid may stay in the leather and in combination with moisture will stain the steel - if it is not too stainless.
I keep all my fixed blade knives in sheaths for years and have never had any issues. Would not be bothered honestly...

 

[Alberta Ed]

Unsealed leather can absorb moisture which will rust your blades. I seal all my leather sheathes with2 or 3 coats of SnowSeal, melted in with a hot air dryer (inside and out -- usually I disassemble the sheathes and restitch them). That, and a spray of BreakFree on the knives, keeps my high carbon steel blades rust-free in the sheath.

 

[mrdavidross321]

It's not that clear cut - there are variations with the leather, the knife, the storage conditions, the local environment etc. I have had non stainless steel, well oiled and regularly inspected stored in leather sheaths without a problem. I had a Buck 110 stored in a brown leather sheath that suffered serious corrosion and pitting of the brass bolsters. As a general rule it is best not to store long term in a leather sheath but experiences will vary.

I had a mid 90's Buck 112 that did the same thing, brass bolsters and rivets on the sheath "moldy" with corrosion

thats the only knife I have had a problem with

 

[hiwa]

I keep all my knives in their sheaths for long term , but liberally oil the knife before doing so. Doesn't matter if some oil gets on the inside of the sheath anyhow. No problems yet besides the ones with brass bolsters/guards. It seems to tarnish pretty bad when left in for a while.

I'll use either Hoppes#9 , Boeshield T-9 , Break-free , or Rem-oil and a good amount of it. Daub it on the blade and knife and leave it. I find it a pita to separate my knives and sheaths , probably because I have so many.

 

[davek14]

What's vertigris?

 

[knarfeng]

What's vertigris?

Should be "verdigris". The corrosion products of alloys containing high levels of copper often have a greenish tint to them. Brass has a high level of copper.

 

[Alann45]

It's not that clear cut - there are variations with the leather, the knife, the storage conditions, the local environment etc.

Exactly correct.

In theory it depends on the leather and the steel. Most leather is tanned using some acids. ..

Not positive, but I tend to think the acids are more times the culprit than moisture.
And its not just the blade, those acids will attack the guard or other metal parts.

That, and a spray of BreakFree on the knives, keeps my high carbon steel blades rust-free in the sheath.

:thumbup: Break Free, or any similar product, will give you great protection over long periods of storage. It doesn't tend to be leached away by what ever you are storing the item in, be in leather, cloth, or whatever. I've used it on handguns, wrapped in the cloth I used to apply the BF and then in a zipper pouch, for many years and have not had any rust issues.

Ideally storing the knife or gun not "in" anything would be best. Most of the gun collectors I know would store their handguns laying on a painted metal or plastic shelf with nothing to leach off the protection, but thats not practical for a lot of us.