Hi folks, I am new here to the forum. Not really a maker (though I have done a couple) or a collector (you can never have too many) so I guess I am just a user. I purchased a custom folder that has a carbon steel blade and was wondering what you guys use to polish the blade and protect it from rust/tarnish/oxidation? My first thought was to clean it well and put a little car wax on it or a light cover of oil? I searched as many keywords as I could think of but never really got the answer I was looking for. I noticed in some for sale ads that makers use Rennisance Wax? What is this product and would it protect my knife riding around in a pants pocket during a North Carolina summer?
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Waxes, oils and polishes......what do you use?
- Thread starter ncrobb
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- Jan 18, 2011
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I let my carbon steel blades develop their own patina and will occasionally douse them with WD-40.
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I use renaissance wax for my damascus and ivory, butcher block oil(mineral oil) for my wood and ivory, and Tri Flow for pivots and Lubeguard No. 105 motor assembly grease when I take folders apart, and occasionly Tuf Cloth.
Bill DeShivs
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Neutral paste shoe polish holds up better than Ren Wax, and it's much cheaper.
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- May 31, 2011
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This is what I use:
Polish:Mothers aluminum and mag polish (also use this to strop my knives)
Wax: I used normal automotive wax for a sway back jack and it worked great
Oil: wd40 works great for me, if I need to clean out the pivot I will use liquid wrench
Polish:Mothers aluminum and mag polish (also use this to strop my knives)
Wax: I used normal automotive wax for a sway back jack and it worked great
Oil: wd40 works great for me, if I need to clean out the pivot I will use liquid wrench
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Mother's Mag Polish is great for all steels, though it'll change the finish of the knife. I have mixed feelings about the Tuf Cloth, mostly because it's hard to tell if there's any left on the blade or not. Mineral oil is great if you use it on food. Ren Wax is really more for storing your blades for extended periods. I don't expect it would hold up well under use.
To be honest, I found that my mirror polished edge on my ESEE Junglas doesn't change much at all in humid weather for months on end. Constant contact with sweat would be a different story though.
To be honest, I found that my mirror polished edge on my ESEE Junglas doesn't change much at all in humid weather for months on end. Constant contact with sweat would be a different story though.
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If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: TW25B grease. It is an odorless and non-toxic synthetic grease. It does not go rancid and has no shelf life. It wipes on easily and evenly and stays on forever, but it washes off easily with soap and warm water if you want to. It's a whitish grease about the consistency of room-temperature bacon grease, i.e. perfect for wiping down, storing, and protecting guns and knives.
If it's a knife I'm going to use every day, though, I might just keep a little Hoppe's No. 9 wiped on now and then.
If it's a knife I'm going to use every day, though, I might just keep a little Hoppe's No. 9 wiped on now and then.
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- Sep 21, 2010
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Great idea! I'm going to see if I can find neutral in the Meltonian brand.
Hey Ncrobb, after you've polished your blade with a good polish (lots of good metal polishes out there: Simichrome, Flitz, etc.), I think there are a lot of things you could coat your blade with that will protect it well. Gun oil, waxes, shoe polishes, etc, can all work but have different areas in which they are most effective.
The important things to be aware of are:
1. Do you want to do any food prep at all with this knife? If so, don't use anything that is not food safe. An example would be gun oils, like CLP. I wouldn't use WD40 either for a food-safe blade. Synthetic car waxes, though they work great to protect metal (I have used the new "ICE" synthetic wax on some guns, for example), are definitely NOT food safe. Examples of stuff that IS food safe would be bees wax, mineral oil, and Ballistol, which contains mineral oil base as well. Ballistol is often called a gun oil, and you can use it for that, but in Europe it has been used for generations for a wide variety of uses including gun and leather care, cleaning and protecting wood and metal, antiseptic for cuts, and a lot more.
2. Do you want to avoid attracting grit and lint while carrying the blade? In this case, oils and etc. are probably not such a good idea. Better to go with waxes or coatings that will repel liquids and lint as well.
I personally still use Ballistol as it is (a) food-safe (though again, I would wait until Blade is dry before cutting any food with it), (b) it still lubricates for example it lubes your pivot on your knife, and (c) it leaves a waxlike substance when it dries that protects metal but is not bad about attracting grit and lint (it gets completely dry, does not stay "wet" like some oils). However, its dry "residue" does not look quite as "pretty" on your blade as stuff like Ren Wax. If you own collectors' blades and want the pretty/shiny finish, then I'd use Ren Wax or some other natural wax. On a working blade or a blade where you'll do food prep, IMO Ballistol is a nice all-around alternative, or mineral oil, or bees wax. The reason I like Ballistol is it gives me both lube and protectant properties, AND it is food safe, AND I can use it for so many other things related to lubing and protecting wood/metal/leather around home.
The important things to be aware of are:
1. Do you want to do any food prep at all with this knife? If so, don't use anything that is not food safe. An example would be gun oils, like CLP. I wouldn't use WD40 either for a food-safe blade. Synthetic car waxes, though they work great to protect metal (I have used the new "ICE" synthetic wax on some guns, for example), are definitely NOT food safe. Examples of stuff that IS food safe would be bees wax, mineral oil, and Ballistol, which contains mineral oil base as well. Ballistol is often called a gun oil, and you can use it for that, but in Europe it has been used for generations for a wide variety of uses including gun and leather care, cleaning and protecting wood and metal, antiseptic for cuts, and a lot more.
2. Do you want to avoid attracting grit and lint while carrying the blade? In this case, oils and etc. are probably not such a good idea. Better to go with waxes or coatings that will repel liquids and lint as well.
I personally still use Ballistol as it is (a) food-safe (though again, I would wait until Blade is dry before cutting any food with it), (b) it still lubricates for example it lubes your pivot on your knife, and (c) it leaves a waxlike substance when it dries that protects metal but is not bad about attracting grit and lint (it gets completely dry, does not stay "wet" like some oils). However, its dry "residue" does not look quite as "pretty" on your blade as stuff like Ren Wax. If you own collectors' blades and want the pretty/shiny finish, then I'd use Ren Wax or some other natural wax. On a working blade or a blade where you'll do food prep, IMO Ballistol is a nice all-around alternative, or mineral oil, or bees wax. The reason I like Ballistol is it gives me both lube and protectant properties, AND it is food safe, AND I can use it for so many other things related to lubing and protecting wood/metal/leather around home.