Just wondering about a knife used for food preparation and rust protection and what safe lubricant/rust protectors one can use ?

Break free and other gun oils are great for rust protection and cleaning of blades but I'm not too sure they are a great idea for a knife used to cut up food ?

I'm not really concerned about some staining a blade might get from tomatoes or other acid foods but I certainly want to wipe the blade clean after cutting up my vegetables or meats before I put it away in it's leather scabbard.

I'm thinking about just wiping with olive oil and leaving just a thin film of it since I mostly use olive oil for cooking or as a base for salad dressings.

Will the olive oil turn rancid or do other negative things ? Other vegetable oils are an option but it's certainly easier using the same oil one uses for everything and other oils or animal greases should have the same qualities or negatives in general I assume.

For long term storage the Break-Free might be O.K. as long as one does a very thorough cleaning before using the knife cutting up foodstuffs.

I would recommend olive oil. Never had any problems with it.

Thanks for the quick response and the answer I was hoping for ...... there is nothing as good as hearing what one wanted to hear. ;) :) :cool:

hi...just use it regularly with some Bacon or sausage and just wipe it cleanly with a clean cloth (napkin?) the Fat in these foods is just enough...and once i a year to some polish to get rid of stains...thats what i do and did the last few years...:-)

Hi,
same answer as Andreas.
My Opinel knife gets some fancy colours when I use it to cut some fruits or vegetables but no rust at all.
"Saucisson sec" is almost the only kind of greasy substance I put on it.

My grandfather used to rub his knives and tools onto a big block of lard he kept on his workbench and he never had problems.

The belt knife I wear and use most days is a Bark River with a high carbon steel blade. I don't have any dedicated kitchen knives (!) so this is the go to knife I use for meat, tomatoes, broccoli and just about everything else.

I don't use any kind of oil or anti-rust agent. I just make sure to clean it with dish soap and perfectly dry after every kitchen session before it goes back into the leather sheath. The patina is well developed and naturally protects the blade. Never had any real rust on the thing.

Hi Jean,

I won't use olive oil before sheathing the knife. The oil will accumulate in your sheath, go rancid and at last you'll maybe even get mildew in your sheath... I don't oil my everday knives or trekking knives at all. I just keep them clean and dry. I also don't recommend olive oil for knife handles or wooden kitchen boards, those for cutting meat and vegetables, you know. Instead I treat these with linseed oil.

Thomas

or use Ballistol...its not poisonous...:-)

http://www.ballistol.ca/Ballistol/Pages/Ballistol_Index01.htm

What I do with the blades that I make and use in the kitchen is clean then after use as if they were a "normal" knife, and then give then a once over with a small square of gray scotch-bright that has a coat of olive oil. This will help clean up any patination that has started to form, as well as give it a nice protective coating. Plus the sheath has a healthy coating of olive oil already on the inside so if you miss from time to time it probably won't be a big deal, but make sure the blade is dry prior to sheathing wouldn't be a bad thing :)

I agree with the "clean and dry" philosophy.

Nowadays everybody is used to stainless steel kitchen knives, but my grandmother only had black steel knives. Never hurt her...

Or you could use Camelia oil

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/tsoilst1.html

just a food type oil, i use Olive

or you can put some mustard or something on the blade let it site for an hour or 2, wide it off and wash the nice and now it will have a nice patina on it and will be a little more resistant to rust and wont need oiling much at all.


but also any fat or oils left after cooking, like bacon are great.. wipe it on and wipe it off and you are done