The level of care and protection I give my knives depends upon how much I value them both monetarily and artistically. The "good stuff" gets the best level of treatment.
Having said that, the basics are as follows:
- get the knife clean, and then do not handle it unless you are using gloves or a clean cloth. The salt and oils from skin contact can cause rust and pitting.
- NEVER store a knife in a leather sheath since the leather tanning process might make the leather react with the blade and that might cause rusting, staining, and/or pitting.
- if the knife might be used, I will use a Sentry Soultions Tuf-Cloth to protect it. This is a dry lubricant penetrated cloth that cleans, lubes, and protects.
- if the knife is to be stored, I'll use a wax instead. Renaissance Wax is used on the "good stuff," and a little goes a long way. If it's good enough for museums and archival protection, it's good enough for me.
- knives going into storage go in a box. Archival, acid free, museum quality boxes are for the "good stuff." Keep the air and dust away.
Don't skimp on the protection and archival quality products for valuable knives (either valuable in dollars or in memories). Why? Rust and pitting are not easy to undo, and "rust never sleeps."
Try
www.lightimpressionsdirect.com for archival/museum quality storage items. Get the info from the experts.