folding utility knife

Not every folding utility knife has a replaceable blade made from a stainless alloy. In fact, most don’t.

That being the case, you need to know how to properly care for a carbon steel blade so that it will not rust, pit, or otherwise break down.

Fortunately, this is easy enough to accomplish.

Keep It Clean, Dry and Oiled

The easiest and most effective way to protect your folding utility knife’s blade (stainless or not) is just to make sure you keep it clean, dry and oiled.

After use, wipe your blade off or wash it, then wipe it down so no moisture is left on it. Once you are certain the blade is completely dry, you can add a drop of oil to the blade and pivot point, just to keep it from sticking.

Some good oils for this are gun oil, machine oil, mineral oil, and tsubaki oil, a popular, food-safe knife oil. Apply as little as possible and wipe off any excess.

Once you’ve done so, make sure you store your knife somewhere clean, dark, cool, and free of excess humidity.

Force a Patina

Any carbon steel blade without a protective coating will eventually form a patina on its own, gradually, and with normal use. Yet knowing how to induce one at an accelerated rate is one of the best tricks you can have for protecting a folding utility knife with a carbon steel blade.

There are also several ways to force a patina on the carbon steel blade of a folding utility knife. One of the best is simply to soak a towel in warm white vinegar, then let the knife sit for 10 to 20 minutes before removing it, rinsing it, and drying it. You should see the patina form almost immediately.

You can also stick your knife’s blade in a piece of acidic fruit or vegetable, like a potato, onion, apple, or tomato, or just use it to slice up some pickles or peppers. Some people advocate for sticking the blade in a jar of mustard or mayonnaise to get the job done.

Either way, a patina is a thin layer of a “black rust,” an iron oxide that forms under low-oxygen conditions, and which serves as a sort of protective barrier to help prevent the rust on the blade from traveling.

Forming a solid patina on a carbon steel blade is one of the most effective ways to insulate it against corrosion. You’ll still want to keep it clean, dry and potentially oiled, but you don’t need to worry quite as much about rust gaining a foothold or traveling.

Store It Wisely

Lastly, it’s critical that you need to store your folding utility knife in a place that isn’t going to aggravate any pre-existing conditions that would cause rust or any other form of corrosion.

There’s no need to overexplain this: store the knife somewhere cool and dry, free of excess moisture, after you clean it.

One tip: if you store the knife in a closed container or compartment and live in an area that has a lot of humidity, throw a piece of charcoal in there and it should help absorb the moisture in the air to keep the relative humidity low.

Where to Get Your Next Folding Utility Knife

Here because you want to add a new folding utility knife to your collection? Check out what’s in stock over at White Mountain Knives. In addition to a wide range of folding knives with carbon steel blades that would benefit from the suggestions in this post, they also carry a large assortment of fixed and folding knives with stainless blades.

When it comes to folding utility knife steel alloys, there are several elements added to the mix, each of which offers unique attributes. Some of these even work in concert, as in the case of carbides, to improve hardness and edge retention.

While there are many with which you might want to become familiar if you were into metallurgy, here are three of the most important ones and what they offer.

Carbon

Discounting iron, which constitutes the vast bulk of steel, carbon is the next most important elemental additive. It is, after all, the thing which makes iron not just iron but steel.

Carbon is added to folding utility knife steels in concentrations that range, usually, from .5% to 1.5%. Any lower and the steel is too soft, any higher and the steel will be too brittle.

As a general rule, the main virtue carbon adds to steel is structural stability and strength. Carbon makes iron harder and stronger than it would be on its own, and by adding carbon, the steel can be given a heat treatment that makes it harder.

Therefore, the main elemental virtue of carbon is that it makes steel harder, so as a general rule, the more carbon there is in an alloy, the longer the steel will hold an edge. The tradeoff is that as carbon increases, so too does the brittleness of an alloy.

Chromium

Chromium is, all things considered, the second most important element added to steel after iron. The main reason chromium is added to steel is to protect it against oxidation – that is, rust and corrosion.

The more chromium a steel alloy contains, the more rust-resistant it will be, and chromium is often present in steel in concentrations ranging from 10% to 15%, sometimes a little more or less.

It is also important to note that not all folding utility knife steels contain chromium; it is added where present to inhibit corrosion. Also, the tradeoff is that chromium makes a steel alloy very soft and weakens its stability as well.

Vanadium

Lastly, we have vanadium, which is a very dense, strong metal that is added to steel to improve its strength. Not all steels have vanadium, but where it is added, it increases the steel’s toughness and wear resistance.

Also, vanadium interacts with carbon to form carbides, hard, crystal like structures that make a steel much harder, albeit slightly more brittle. The main reason for carbide content in steel is to make the steel harder. A steel with a good distribution of vanadium carbides will likely be able to hold an edge for much longer.

Where to Get Your Next Folding Utility Knife

Now that you know a little about folding utility knife steel chemistry, you can more effectively pick out your next carry tool. That’s waiting for you at White Mountain Knives, and they represent some of the best brands. Visit their website and if you have any questions or are looking for something specific, get in touch with them directly.

For more information about Spyderco Pocket Knife and Best Gerber Knife Please visit: White Mountain Knives, LLC.

Looking for a new folding utility knife but want to know more about the steel that constitutes it before you buy?

Here are some of the more common grades of steel used in popular EDC and utility knives, along with what they offer.

440C

This is one of the more affordable knife steels that is commonly used in utility and folding knives, with fairly low concentrations of carbon and chromium. As a result, despite the fact that it is very easy to sharpen and offers good stain and corrosion resistance, it is fairly soft and does not hold an edge that well.

AUS-8

AUS-8 is soft and easy to sharpen and can take a razor sharp edge – but it won’t hold it. Softer than 440C, AUS-8 offers similar corrosion resistance and like it, is fairly affordable, making it common on folding knives. Its cousin AUS-10, offers slightly better edge retention at a slightly higher price.

8Cr13MoV

One of the most common folding knife steels of all time, 8Cr13MoV is has a relatively high carbon concentration bolstered with a smidge of molybdenum and vanadium. It can take a very sharp edge and hold it fairly well, and thanks to those latter two elements is pretty tough and wear resistant, too. Corrosion resistance is middling; you can get the knife to rust but you have to try.

14C28N

This is a Sandvik steel with a pretty solid concentration of both carbon and chromium with a smidge of nitrogen. This means a few things; one, it is a very hard steel. It can take an exceptionally sharp edge and it will hold it really well. Also, the inclusion of nitrogen improves corrosion resistance – it is likely the most corrosion-resistant alloy mentioned here.

420HC

This is a cheap steel that is usually considered low-end. It is soft, can take a sharp edge but won’t hold it, and is not as tough as other harder, carbon-rich steels. It’s fairly corrosion resistant, though. If you do get a knife with 420HC, expect average performance unless it’s a Buck; their heat treatment is good.

1095

An alloy with about a .9% concentration of carbon, it can be made very hard and wear-resistant, which means two things; it can not only take and hold a razor edge, it can also be a bit brittle. When tempered properly, it can be fairly easy to resharpen, and it’s also a very affordable steel, but not low grade. The one serious mark against it is that it rusts very easily.

D2

Very hard and very tough, D2 is a tool steel that can take and hold a very sharp edge. It can make for an excellent knife, as long as you recognize that it has a propensity to rust, just not quite as bad as 1095.

CPM-S30V

The highest-quality alloy on this list, this is a Crucible Particle Metallurgies steel that has a high carbon concentration and an even distribution of fine carbides. As a result, it takes and holds an edge, is very tough, and is highly corrosion resistant. Two things to be aware of: it’s expensive and it’s not easy to sharpen.

Find Your New Folding Utility Knife

Get started shopping today; your next folding utility knife is out there, and it’s waiting for you to discover it at White Mountain Knives.

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