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CARE OF YOUR CUSTOM KNIFE
This is actually a popular page on my site.
You might be surprised how many knife makers, dealers, purveyors, or factory
knife outlets on the internet do not include simple instructions on how to care
for your custom knife, or any knife for that matter. Some people think that when
the knife sale is over, the transaction is complete. I think about it
differently. That is when the knife goes into the field, into the hands of the
user, and that it when it has to prove its worth.
A fine knife is like any investment in a
tool, you have to do some simple things to care for it. Unlike silverware, which
may sit in a drawer for years without the slightest care, a custom knife is a
finely made tool, with an organic component (the carbon in the steel), and can
deteriorate if not cared for. The simplest comparison would be to a fine custom-made firearm of blued steel. You must keep it clean, dry, stored with access to
dry air, avoid sudden changes in moisture, shock, corrosive environments, and
handling.
The use of a knife is also an important
factor. A knife is not a pry bar, not a screwdriver, not a shovel or an axe.
Please read these instructions below for a clear, concise description of knife
care.
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Other makers:
This page has been used with my permission by other knife makers, dealers, and
internet sites. You might see it somewhere else and recognize it. If they don't
list my name or website, they have stolen the page and violated my copyrights,
and I want to hear about it here.
If they have used my name and website address, they usually have my permission.
If you would like to include this information on your site, please
email me here for permission.
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Thanks for caring for your knife!
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Featured Point
of Knife Care:
--from the
FAQ Page here |
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My number one complaint is that
the client has stored his knife in the sheath, or forgotten that
he's left it in the sheath (sometimes for months or years) and that
there are little spots of rust starting to form. I can't say this
enough: don't store knives in sheaths! Incidentally, what do you
think would happen if you stored a blued firearm in its leather
holster for years, and never looked at it? Sure, you want to keep it
with the sheath, and carry it in the sheath, but long
term storage in the knife sheath is probably the most destructive
thing you can do to your fine custom knife.
There are a couple
things that can cause this problem. First, you must remember that
stainless tool steels can corrode. These are not low carbon junk
steels that factories often sell, or completely rust free
austentitic steels used in cheap Chinese kitchen knives; these are fine, high carbon
martentsitic stainless tool steels, and as such, are more resistant
to corrosion than non-stainless, but can still corrode! I have
posted this on my care sheet that I give out with every knife (and
has been available on this website since the beginning in
standard and
military form), so there's
really no excuse for not reading it. It makes no difference whether
the sheath is leather or kydex and aluminum, whether the air is as
humid as Florida or as dry as Nevada. The knife blade needs to
breathe, and stay dry. When humidity and temperature changes in the
normal course of the day or seasons, condensation can form on any
steel. If the steel is allowed access to free air, it can stay
relatively dry, and corrosion can not gain a foothold. But if the
knife is stored in the sheath, and an ever so slight bit of moisture
is allowed to stay against the blade, the blade will start to rust.
On a mirror polished blade, this can be ruinous, and if the knife
has been custom etched, the only recourse is to grind off all the
etching and corrosion, regrind and refinish the blade (including
polish) and re-etch, which is very expensive and time consuming and
may not even be possible. Even if the knife is coated heavily with
wax, long-term storage in the sheath will encourage corrosion. Don't
do it!
I believe a knife should be
handled. Held once in a while, waxed and buffed, fondled, looked
over, admired and cherished. To put it away in a drawer or closet is
almost an insult. Look, if you want to store the knife long term
without ever looking at it, there are a couple options:
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you can clean it thoroughly
with denatured alcohol, dry it completely with warm forced air,
then coat it heavily and well with high quality wax and then put the knife
(without the sheath) in a well-sealed plastic bag with a new dry
packet of commercial grade dessicant, or
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you can coat the entire knife
with cosmolene, a plastic and oil based melted-on military grade
storage medium (which I can't guarantee will not affect woods,
epoxies or gemstone long term), or
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package the knife up neatly
and send it to someone who will care for it
Look, it's simple: store your
knife where it can breathe, not in the sheath, not where there are
fluctuations of temperature or humidity, out of bright sunlight and
high heat sources, and pick it up and fondle it, buff it off with a
soft cloth, wax it now and then.
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I get lots of email about knife care. Here's one about bone
handled knives:
Hi Jay,
I wonder if you can give me some advice. I have a set of
beautiful antique bone/sterling tipped handle knives. The bone
is suddenly looking really dull with small cracks. Is there a
way to bring back at least some of the bone's beauty and
increase the longevity?
Thank you, J.
Hello, J. Thanks for writing.
Unfortunately, there is not much
that can be done to preserve bone, as it is porous and changes
dramatically with moisture and temperature. A light
microcrystalline wax and keeping them
out of the sun is best. If the knives are valuable antiques, the
less you do to them, the better.
Good luck,
Jay
Thanks for
the advice....BTW you have a very good website...J. |
Care of your custom knife:
Your knife has been constructed with the
finest materials available. It is, however, a tool, and though some fine knives will never
cut anything but gasps of admiration, even those need some consideration. Jay
Fisher’s High Quality Custom Knives are built to last for several generations, with
sheaths that should last at least one generation with moderate care. There’s no
reason your knife can’t outlive you, unless you’re a relentless cutting maniac!
Some important tips:
Þ
The weakest part of ANY knife is usually the tip, which happens to be the most abused
part! Take care of the point, and the rest of the blade will follow.
Þ NEVER THROW KNIVES,
unless specifically designed for that use.
Þ NEVER use knives to
pry, dig, or chop.
Þ Do not leave knives and
sheaths in direct sun or high heat. High ultraviolet oxidizes woods and bleaches the color
out of some gemstone. Heat bakes the protective oils out of most hardwoods and weakens
adhesive bonds.
Þ Hand wash blades when
necessary with non-abrasive gentle detergent, polish blades and fittings with good quality
polish like Simichrome.
Þ Clean handles and
sheaths with damp cloth and buff with soft dry cloth.
Þ Do not oil sheaths;
this will cause them to soften, weakening their protective function, softening glues,
sealants, and dyes.
Þ Protect carbon steel
knives with a light coating of hand-buffed wax, not oil. Oil attracts dust as well as
weakens the sheath. Renaissance® wax is the best!
Þ Some carbon steel knife
blades are blued. Nitrate bluing is a very thin patina that will wear away, leaving a gray
metal finish. Sodium (gun) bluing is black, more penetrating, but will also eventually
wear away. These are hot blues; used to temper, lightly protect, or cosmetically enhance
the blades. They are rust inhibitors, not rust preventatives.
Þ Etching is used in the
maker’s mark and for some cosmetic enhancement. If you live long enough to polish
away the etching without the help of power equipment, you won’t have any fingertips
left!
Þ Wood handles usually
benefit from a light coating of furniture wax and a good hand rubbing.
Þ Brass and Nickel Silver
fittings can be buffed and lightly waxed for protection. It is normal for some scuffing to
show on the front bolster or guard, this is where the sheath holds the knife.
Polish brass often, coat with wax.
Þ For long term storage,
store your knife WITH the sheath, not IN it! The chemicals used in tanning of leather
sometimes react with moisture in the air, leading to corroding of even stainless steels!
Condensation even within military grade kydex sheaths can
invite corrosion. If you can't keep it in the open, dry air,
store with photographic quality desiccant in a plastic bag.
Þ KEEP KNIVES SHARP! Most
accidents occur when dull knives are pushed too hard.
Þ For sharpening:
THE RAZOR EDGE BOOK OF SHARPENING BY JOHN JURANICH (Warner books 38-002) or go to: http://www.razoredgesystems.com/
It is interesting to note that if
you have one of my knives that has a stainless steel mirror polished blade, with 304
stainless bolsters/fittings and a gemstone handle, the most ambitious care requires only
an occasional dusting and once in a while waxing. Most gemstones will outlast the blades!
"It gives me
great (if somewhat apprehensive) satisfaction that ninety percent of the pieces I make
will still be admired centuries after my bones are dust."
--Jay Fisher
Care of your custom military and combat grade
knife here
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