knife storage

[ms4awd]

looking for input on knife storage. i just received two watanabe knives made of carbon steel. one is white steel and the other kintaro ame carbon steel. i was informed by Shin Watanabe not to store in the saya because the humidity in the saya can make the knives rust. my question is if i regularly wipe them with tsubaki or mineral oil before placing in the saya will it still be susceptible to rusting. i really don't have any storage besides the boxes it came in or the saya. don't want to just leave them in a drawer or something. also he mentiond wrapping in brown paper can prevent rusting. does anyone know what brown paper is? thanks for any input.

[blwchef]

I've heard that oiling and then storing them in news print is good. Brown paper as in an old grocery sack. I use mine so much I don't store any thing.

[Fred]

Keeping them dry will prevent rust. Nothing will prevent their discoloration from use. The more important thing in storage is to keep the edges from contacting each other.

[Octaveman]

Uh, we need pictures of your Kintaro Ame. How do you like it?

I would just store them dry unless your not planning on using them for a long time. Just make sure you dry them well. I have carbon's and have never had a problem with rusting. Coating them with oil after each use is overkill. I wouldn't oil them and then put in the saya either. Oiling is most beneficial when storing for long periods of time or if you live in the tropics with the high humidity. Just get a small block that will fit your two gyuto's. Otherwise you can just store them in the box they came in and put in a drawar or cabinet or leave on the counter.

[xdrewsiferx]

Use a camelia oil on them between uses but do not use most any other type of oil. If you use a olive oil or what not over time they will begin to fester and decay when this happens they become acidic and do the exact opposite of what you want it to do.

The knives should have come in a brown paper store them in that paper when you are going away on trips or not using the knives for awhile. The paper releases a gas that help prevent corrosion so it is worth while to keep the paper.

[ms4awd]

thanks for the replies. i will try to post pics when i get a chance. The kintaro ame is a 300mm yanagiba and the white steel is just an usuba. I also have a custom order suisin hayate sakimaru tako from Tatsuya that they are waiting for white buffalo horn for the handle in the works. I was just curious as i just wanted to store the knives in their saya when not in use and wanted an idea if coating with camelia oil would prevent rusting in the saya since it can get humid in there. i am probably not going to be using them much until i start Sushi School here in LA in May and after that they might not see much use because i will also be going to culinary school for a cordon bleu degree. For one of the knives the brown paper i had is all torn up from me being too excited to see the knife. Does anyone know where i can get this type of brown paper locally. I know mineral oil is similar to camelia oil in that it does not become rancid over time i have used it in my old cheap carbon yanagiba and that thing never rusted nor did the oil get acidic. i believe i read it somewhere online but i will start using camelia oil once i receive my order with my new stones. thank for all the input

[ms4awd]

Use a camelia oil on them between uses but do not use most any other type of oil. If you use a olive oil or what not over time they will begin to fester and decay when this happens they become acidic and do the exact opposite of what you want it to do.

The knives should have come in a brown paper store them in that paper when you are going away on trips or not using the knives for awhile. The paper releases a gas that help prevent corrosion so it is worth while to keep the paper.


if i use camelia oil then store in the saya would that coating of camelia oil prevent rusting? i just don't want to have spent money on the sayas and find out that it is really pointless using them since they can make the knife rust if kept in them for too long.

[xdrewsiferx]

You can put a light coating of cam oil on the knife before it goes into a say but for the most part i would store them in the box they came in with the odd brown paper on them unless you are traveling with them at that point i would not worry at all about having sum oil on them with the saya, But a Saya is very important for traveling needs.

As for the ripped paper don't worry about a rip in it just tape the rip and still use it the paper will still do its job.

[jkoutrouba]

The knives should have come in a brown paper store them in that paper when you are going away on trips or not using the knives for awhile. The paper releases a gas that help prevent corrosion so it is worth while to keep the paper.
I'm curious about this paper. I assume you are not talking about ordinary brown paper that you might find a grocery bag made of. Is there somewhere I can read about this stuff?

[BobGeitz]

I'm almost certain that Japan Woodworker used to sell this paper, though I can't find it on their website. I bought some about 25 years ago when Japanese woodworking tools were starting to come onto the U.S. market, and I think it was from JWW; that is where I bought the chisels and saws that I wrapped in the paper, so that is probably where I got the paper as well. You might try calling them.

bob

[xdrewsiferx]

I'm curious about this paper. I assume you are not talking about ordinary brown paper that you might find a grocery bag made of. Is there somewhere I can read about this stuff?
VCI Anti-Rust Paper

[toolusingprimate]

try this

http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_5250.asp?desc=VCI+Anti-Rust+Paper

t

[toolusingprimate]

this is the only place i found via a quick Google that sell small quantities online. There must be others.
I am sure that if you check out firearms stores etc. there must be 'small' quantities of it available.

t

[louisianacook]

VCI stands for "Vapor (Phase) Corrosion Inhibitor" This technology is used in the industrial boiler and cooling tower field too. Neat stuff.

[esvoboda]

Another route is to use silica gel paks. Some have indicators to let you know when they've sucked up all the moisture that they can. You can then reactivate them using your oven.

[Sid Post]

In my case, I have too many kitchen knives so they go into a drawer in a Saya for protection. I'm not too worried about the stainless steel models but, the carbons get Camelia oil. If you do that enough to get some Camelia oil in the saya, I suspect the saya would be as good or better then the VCI brown paper they ship in. In my case, I'm most concerned with protecting the blade and, take reasonable measures against rust.