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Posted: 12/12/2004 2:29:18 PM EDT
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Among my knives, I have a mini k-bar (the 5 1.4" black knife) and a cold steel kukhri. Both are the readl deal, so I expected quality. However, both knifes rusted quickly after being exposed to water. The k-bar rusted pretty bad on it's silver blade edge, with the kukrhi rusting slightly in patches. The knifes were used in an extremely wet environment, and stored in their sheaths wet. The k-bar has a kydex sheath, leather for the kukri. The knives were in that condition for less than 24 hours. I took steel wool and got most of it, but it was still distressing. Is that normal? Any knives that dont' do that? They will be in similar situations, and there's no way to rpevent it. |
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A few comments. NEVER store a knife in a leather sheath, water and tannic acid will do their damage. Cold Steel knives are not stored in the sheath in the box and the enclosed instructions tell you why. Have your blades finished with a coating, use Sentry's Tuff Cloth to wipe it down leaving a protective encasement, or at least maintain your knives and keep the oiled. Wipe any blood off, it's hard on a blade. Cold Steel likes to use high carbon (carbon 5) blades. High carbon steel, unlike SS (those with higher chromium content), are susceptable to rust and must be maintained. This is why they offer some of their blades with a factory powder coat finish. High carbon is great, it takes an edge quicker and easier, and holds it longer than stainless, but you must maintain your knive. Even Stainless steel can rust. You can get a Mission Knives titanium knife - they won't rust, nor will ceramic knives. I prefer high carbon steel and keeping my knife maintained - I hate springy knives that don't hold an edge. |
And thanks for the info about high carbon steel, very useful. |
Sorry, poor choice of words on my point. Yes of course, when in the field it's in the sheath, not much choice. Thing to do is if you are home then store it outside of the sheath, same if you are in camp if you can. If the sheath is wet, you really don't have much of a choice, gotta pull the knife out and let the leather dry if you can. If you can't, make sure the knife is as well coated in preservative lubricant as you can. Your Kydex sheath is the better sheath to have as it does not retain water or acids. In fact, I got Kydex sheaths for all my Cold Steel knives so I don't run into the problems associated with leather sheaths. Here's the deal on the Tuf-Cloth:Sentry Solutions
It's been a long while since I bought any (bought a lot the first time around). I googled this hit for some on sale: Tuf-Cloth on Sale Thing is that the edge is going to get used so finishes, oil, and even the Tuf-Cloth material will be worn away so just wipe the edge off after use as that will be the only place that will rust (unfortunately the most critical though). You can use Tuf-Cloth on all sorts of things, including firearms. I use it to keep certain firearms from rusting in the bush (on exterior parts). I think one guy posted he was going to try it on the inside, and it claims to be a dry film lube, but I don't have the huevos to try that. Anyone out there who has??? |
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