How high-maintenance is carbon steel?
Do I have to be super-autistic in keeping it clean, or can I just wipe it after use and it'll be fine?
Just give it a patina and you'll be good to go.
>>30184777
Depends entirely on where you live.
> >50% humidity
Don't bother unless you want to keep it oiled all the time.
> <50%
Keep it clean. It'll spot unless you're autistic about keeping it clean but it won't rust unless you outright neglect it.
>>30184777
I have an opinel I use as a paring knife every single day and I live about 200ft from the ocean. I dont treat it any differently than any other kitchen knife. Dont leave it underwater, clean it immediately after use, dont spray it with oven cleaner . . .
>>30184777
Its nowhere near as horrible as some people make out.
For most kitchen knives, clean it, rinse, wipe down with food-grade mineral oil and it'll never rust, same with utility knives and axes but I've found 3-1 oil is possibly the cheapest/bang for buck.
If you're wanting a very low maintenance blade, Parkerize it, soak it in mineral oil for a week, let it dry out and it'll be very resistant with just a wipe of oil over it
Bluing is also an option or Parkerize-Bluing/browning-bluing is also mostly desirable for a dark-blue black colour but it'll also be resistant to corrosion. When it comes to bluing the hot treatments are probably the best but they're dangerous, expensive and a lot of fucking around, the cold-blues with solutions aren't too far behind them and much easier to live with.
Finally, there's the ceramic-epoxy coverings you can do which protect the main body of the blade (eg: Gun-Kote) need a surface prep, then sprayed over the top. They're very resistant to impact and abrasion, so they're a valid way of having corrosion resistance, plus they come in a variety of colours which some people like to have.
>>30184777
Pretty low maintainence, if you live in a tropical area or take it out to sea, then you might prefer stainless, but other than that, you just wipe it off after using like with any knife.
It will dull and go slightly grey with use, especially if you're cutting acidic foods. But it would take some pretty serious misuse to get any rust on it.
Here have a pic of my edgy opinel which i put a mustard patina on
>>30186396
The way I see it well used metal ages like fine wine, a patina is a good thing.
It's a duty in France to always have an Opinel.
My grandpa , dad and i always carry one, you can't be a grown man if you don't possess an Opinel.
>How can you cut bread, dry sausage and cheese at lunch time without it ?
Are opinels purely food knifes? I was thinking of getting one as a work knife cutting cardboard and shit but it seems like everyone uses them only for food prep.
>>30186602
The full flat grind on the thin blade makes it very effective as an edc in my opinion. I carried one for years, and I would still be carrying one if I hadn't gotten one of the aogami spydercos
>>30186602
Out of all the knives i own, the humble carbon opinel cuts the best by a fair margin, it has a very thinly ground blade, very easy to sharpen up very sharp. It should handle any edc task you throw at it unless you intend on trying to pry or hack through things
>>30186602
I have opinel 8, and it's really great. Locking device is good too.
>>30186602
great for cutting mushrooms and small plants but yes otherwise it's a food knife.
>>30186599
An opinel is baby first montagnard-core.
Real refined gentleman's carry a laguiole or a Thiers.
>>30184777
All you have to do is wipe it with your shirt or pants until it's not wet or greasy
>>30185871
Isn't the mineral oil thing basically knife fuddlore?
>>30186796
No,its basic tool maintenance
>>30186815
I heard it was fuddlore when I was looking into handtools. Some people would extol it's virtues, and then others would basically say they were spreading misinfo.
put some renaissance wax on it and wipe the blade after use.
>>30186829
I thought that stuff was toxic as fuck? Might be thinking of some other preservative
>>30186819
Nah, food-grade mineral oil is odourless, tasteless and non-toxic so chefs have used it since next to forever.
Waxes are ok for static uses where they're not exposed to the elements, handling and being smashed into a tree or something, but they're not good for tool and carbon steels that get used. As >>30185871 said- use a mineral oil or something like 3-1 to keep the steel in good condition
>>30186889
nope, it's just long-chain hydrocarbons. biologically inert.
msds says no anticipated health hazards:
http://www.prochemical.com/MaterialSafety/Waxes/Microcrystalline%20Wax.pdf
>>30186819
Soaking for a week is fuddlore; oil being a protective coating is legit.
Idk why cats like >>30185871 think a knife is going to somehow absorb oil by soaking for a week, it is iron, not beans or wood.
Now perhaps the wooden handle of an opinel would benefit from it; I would probably use boiled linseed oil however and wipe it on in coats like a rifle stock. Iirc however the opinel handles are finished already.
>>30186954
Thats good then, i remember hearing about some great quality metal preservative some people started using on their knives, turned out to be extremely carcinogenic, not good for cutting food
>>30184777
That's dependent on your region, the steel, and the finish.
I have a 1095 machete that gets rust simply when rained on for an hour or so uncoated.
Have also had "stainless" 154-CM get small spots of rust in my pocket after about 45 mins when my pants were soaked. Bead-blasted finish is garbage.
I like to stick to satin or stonewashed stainless blades for my outdoor knives. If you go carbon and live in damp places, get one with a durable coating or paint it yourself.
Here is a test of different waxes and oils on carbon steel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7ZThs1y8xs
