The "Ask Nathan a question" thread

Hey Nathan,

This may be a stupid question. Regarding the scales on your knives...Is there ever a reason to take them off for cleaning/oil/maintenance. Typically, after I'm done in the field, I'll give the knives a good wash with dish soap, hit the blades with a strop and a little oil. But I'm wondering how much risk there is for water to get under the scales and cause a problem down the road.

I started thinking about this question after rinsing off an EDC 2 in a river after a fishing excursion... Curious about your thoughts.
 
Options and info are usually always a good thing, so on the subject of what happens under the handle scales;

As the linked post above indicates, even very thin, non-stainless steels take a long time to experience enough corrosion under the scales to potentially affect the structural integrity of the knife, and even CPK's smallest knives have a tang of fairly substantial thickness.

If however, you just happen to be a little OCD like me, there are 2 simple options:
Remove the scales and
1) coat the tang with a rust preventative like TC-11 or Plastidip (I prefer the waxy coatings or something semi-permanent vs an oil type protectant), then put the scales back on.
2) epoxy the scales back on

1) means that the scales can still be removed/swapped if desired, while 2) would be a permanent solution if you don't intend to ever remove the scales.

I do #1, then don't think about it ever.
 
I put a thin coat of Obenaufs LP under the scales because whatever I put under there always seems to work itself out into my hands and I don’t want a petroleum based product coming on my hands when I’m out somewhere and can’t easily wash my hands with soap. I always seem to have food involved and I don’t want some gun oil or whatever on my hands.

It comes off easy enough when cleaning and the metal looks brand new after extended periods, including rinsing with hot soapy water. I think the wax in it keeps lots of water out, but not all. I do get spotting under there without a coating though, even with no water/rinsing involved.
 
JustinFournier said:
I put a thin coat of Obenaufs LP under the scales because whatever I put under there always seems to work itself out into my hands and I don’t want a petroleum based product coming on my hands when I’m out somewhere and can’t easily wash my hands with soap. I always seem to have food involved and I don’t want some gun oil or whatever on my hands.

It comes off easy enough when cleaning and the metal looks brand new after extended periods, including rinsing with hot soapy water. I think the wax in it keeps lots of water out, but not all. I do get spotting under there without a coating though, even with no water/rinsing involved.
Click to expand...


Hot water to heat the steel up a bit, quick dry then rub a ton of Obenaufs all up under there. Like Justin said, it is food safe and the wax helps prevent moisture from working it's way in. I do this for all my field knives and have never had an issue. Long term storage of a knife this works very well if having it in a sheath
 
never.truly.lost said:
Hot water to heat the steel up a bit, quick dry then rub a ton of Obenaufs all up under there. Like Justin said, it is food safe and the wax helps prevent moisture from working it's way in. I do this for all my field knives and have never had an issue. Long term storage of a knife this works very well if having it in a sheath
Click to expand...

I'd defer to this man, he is a beast. I'm not worthy of holding his boots!

Edit: I'll add, when I put a lot of LP in and around the tang, it would seep out with temperature changes and the oil would slowly bleed out the holes where the fasteners penetrate. This would discolor the micarta and my OCD makes me thinks it's dirty, and I can't help but wash it off. So I side on the thin layer now. But if you do get the LP on your handles, you will likely find it makes them more tacky.
 
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JustinFournier said:
I put a thin coat of Obenaufs LP under the scales because whatever I put under there always seems to work itself out into my hands and I don’t want a petroleum based product coming on my hands when I’m out somewhere and can’t easily wash my hands with soap. I always seem to have food involved and I don’t want some gun oil or whatever on my hands.

It comes off easy enough when cleaning and the metal looks brand new after extended periods, including rinsing with hot soapy water. I think the wax in it keeps lots of water out, but not all. I do get spotting under there without a coating though, even with no water/rinsing involved.
Click to expand...

never.truly.lost said:
Hot water to heat the steel up a bit, quick dry then rub a ton of Obenaufs all up under there. Like Justin said, it is food safe and the wax helps prevent moisture from working it's way in. I do this for all my field knives and have never had an issue. Long term storage of a knife this works very well if having it in a sheath
Click to expand...

Is this the stuff you gents are referring to?

d2w1YKQ.jpg
 
- SpyderMan - said:
Thank you, sir. I wouldn’t have thought to use it as a metal protectant, but I’m going to take your word for it and snag a jar. :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

never.truly.lost and I live fairly close to one another but he works in the forest for a large part of the year. I don’t.

I txt him with gear question as we have fairly similar taste and a lot of the same gear.

Anything he recommends has a passed a field test you can count on.
 
JustinFournier said:
Yes Sir. It’s outstanding.
Click to expand...

JustinFournier said:
never.truly.lost and I live fairly close to one another but he works in the forest for a large part of the year. I don’t.

I txt him with gear question as we have fairly similar taste and a lot of the same gear.

Anything he recommends has a passed a field test you can count on.
Click to expand...

Sold!
 
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