Food-safe oils to preserve your working blades?

[peacefuljeffrey]

I like the idea of keeping a light sheen of oil on a knife, but I've always been at odds with the practice because I don't want to end up contaminating food with petroleum oils from a knife.

If you have experience with using food oils on knives as protectant, please let me know what you've found to work well. Thanks.

[Freman]

I use olive oil, but I don't know if it actually does anything. I've not had a knife rust on me, if that counts for anything.

[johnnygomer]

Also mineral oil is considered "food-safe."
I've found that plant or animal based oils have a tentency to gum up over time, though I have also used olive oil with good results.
As far as rust protection goes I believe most anything that leaves a film on the blade, preventing air (oxygen) from coming in contact with the metal, will work. For long-term storage I think there are even some paraffin based products you can use.

[Evil D]

Also mineral oil is considered "food-safe."
I've found that plant or animal based oils have a tentency to gum up over time, though I have also used olive oil with good results.
As far as rust protection goes I believe most anything that leaves a film on the blade, preventing air (oxygen) from coming in contact with the metal, will work. For long-term storage I think there are even some paraffin based products you can use.

I'm pretty sure there are two different versions of mineral oil, or suffice to say that I have seen some labeled as just "mineral oil" and others labeled as "food grade mineral oil". Years ago I worked in a deli, and we used the food grade stuff on all our stainless, and it was really important that we used the stuff specifically labeled as food grade mineral oil.

Anyway, my only complaint with this subject is that the oil can sometimes spoil depending on what you use, and in other cases depending on the metal you can get a nasty smell from it.

[JNewell]

I use olive oil, but I don't know if it actually does anything. I've not had a knife rust on me, if that counts for anything.

I do, too, and it does prevent rust, though not like modern products. The issue is that if left sitting for some time it can get rancid and/or get sticky (polymerize).

I used to do hard core 18th century reenacting/living history and we used olive oil both as a lubricant and as a rust protectant (both uses are historically documented). It wasn't as good as modern products, but it was very serviceable.

[The Deacon]

There may be different grades of it, but most pharmacies sell mineral oil as a laxative, so they'd be a good source for oil you know would be safe. Unless you dunk the knife in the oil, then cut food with the knife dripping oil, there should be no problem with "the runs". Mineral oil is better than any plant or animal oil is they will go rancid in time and it will not.

[FCM415]

Mineral oil. $3 bottle can last you a lifetime at one drop at a time on your blades. Won't spoil like some other options, nothing unique to worry about. Straightforward, good old mineral oil.

[jsveiga]

I bought a "100% Mineral Oil" in a pharmacy, which should be very food-safe, as it is supposed to be used as a laxative for children.

Problem is, it is so thick that the blade looks really bad with it. Too much, and it looks like Travolta's hair on Grease, and it is a dust/pocket lint magnet. If I wipe it enough not to look like that, it leaves a thin layer that soon becomes matte and full of fingerprints. I haven't had rust using it on my ZDP-189 blades, but I end up going back to WD40, which makes the blade look much better and smells good.

I already dislike apples, but a couple of days ago I used the knife to slice one. The result was a WD40-flavored apple (but transparent thin slices!). I think I can live with that (or not; how dangerous is WD-40 ingestion? The label sure does not encourage it). I still prefer that than to use laxative in the blade and have it looking like, well, laxative result...

[johnnygomer]

Yes it is true, some mineral oil is labeled food-safe and some is not. Food-safe mineral oil is simply 100% mineral oil with no other additives. And remember a little goes a long way, don't over do it. In the food service industry you just pay a little more for it to say "food-safe" on the label. And yes, it has been used as a laxative for hundreds of years, but it will take a whole lot more than you're likely to ingest from your knives to have any effect.

[FCM415]

WD-40 flavored apples, that's foul!

All oils on the blade will attract lint and will be "oily" :p

Try using less, I put my mineral oil in a dropper which enables me to control how little I put. When I coat a blade there is always excess, I smear it off and proceed to rub it on a second blade.

For all intents and purposes, it is food safe.

[Freman]

I basically wet a paper towel and wipe the blade with it, then wipe it with a dry towel to take off the excess.

It does collect a bit of dust though.

[xceptnl]

I really don't like oils on my blades because they collect lint and dust. I have yet to try frog-lube yet, but I have read good things.

[Bladekeeper]

Sentry oil marine or otherwise it isn't toxic but a wipe down first removes a taste :D .

[JNewell]

IIRC, Ballistol is supposed to be safe to consume (echhh). I can testify that it is actually an very good rust preventative.

[donutsrule]

Frog Lube, Ballistol, food grade mineral or a vegetable oil, haven't had a big problem with any of them.

[jsveiga]

A couple of weeks ago a guy at the plant took a good gulp of cutting oil :p

Against all recommendations, he had the cutting oil in a Coke bottle, sitting beside the other Coke bottle he uses for drinking water. So...

He was rushed to the hospital, but he was back on the next day - more ashamed than ill.

Cutting oil seems to be very thin, and a gulp didn't do too much harm, it seems. I'll ask the guy what it tastes like, and might try it on my knife tomorrow.


#Disclaimer: I'm not recommending anyone to consider cutting oil food-safe! There are many kinds of "cutting oil" and some may contain toxic stuff to prevent bacteria and fungus growth. I'll obviously read the safety sheet for what we use there. Since the guy drank it and is Ok, I'm assuming the one we use is not toxic.

[phillipsted]

I had a discussion with the Tuf-Glide folks once about their product. You can use it safely on blades used for food prep. Just wipe it on and let it dry before use.

The testing of a product to allow you to label it as "food safe" is very expensive. Many companies don't go to this expense if their products are not used extensively in the food industries.

Like the cutting oil - it probably isn't a food item, but it isn't going to kill you. And dried Tuf-Glide doesn't leave any odd taste that I've been able to determine...

TedP

[nuubee]

'Food-grade' mineral oil in the drugstore is labeled 'Mineral Oil, U.S.P.' (The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention).

[Orangeneck]

Try camellia oil, aka 'tea seed oil', available at chef-knives-to-go, or the big rainforest online outlet. It is tasteless and food-safe (used sometimes for cooking). It does not gum up or turn rancid like olive oil. I use it primarily on my carbon kitchen knives, especially aogami superblue.

[PMBohol]

A humorous thought here, why not use bacon fat or grease? That would make anything taste better.