Gayle Bradley and M4 - an extreme point of view

[coachnj]

Hey all,
This is not a down play on this knife or the steel. I love both. In fact, it is because I love it that I saw this and can make these observations. I rotate my knives every week but came back to the GB because I love it...
This is also not new news. But I would like to give my thoughts on from a different side.
I carried this knife for a week and put it away after cleaning it (no I didn't use any type of oil to protect it). I came back one week later and was surprised to find the start of rust forming. Now this is not new and yes I need to use something for protection. But here is the interesting (and I hope new) thought. I live in the "sunniest city in the US" according to Guinness. Less than 3 inches of rain a year usually. We have 120 degree heat but humidity is unheard of really.
I thought it was interesting that M4 was that sensitive. The forums have said this but I always take it with a grain of salt because of where I live and our climate. So I represent some of the driest climate in the US and still need to make sure to put it away protected.

(Before I get the "already been said" posts) I know, I know. But I live on the sun!

It cleaned up great and is back to being perfect.
Just some thoughts about M4.

Thanks
Jurgs

[RadioactiveSpyder]

I look forward to hearing other's comments on this, because it is this very concern about M4 rusting that keeps me from buying a GB, even with all of you constantly raving about how great the GB folder is. As you can see from my location, I don't live in what you would call a dry area. Today the humidity was over 90% and it was just thick out there, been like that for a while here too. I don't want to have to store my GB in desiccant to have one here, but it seems like that would be the case. Same issue goes for the GB Air too, and I like the looks of that one a lot too!

[GoodEyeSniper]

interesting. to offer a contrasting point of view. I put my cpm m4 military away over a week ago after NOT cleaning it after a hard day of use. and I never oil my blades, our coat them in any way.

not even a spot of rust on it.

rust even on simple carbon steel blades is pretty much a non issue unless you live on a ship, or live in high humidity while simultaneously sweating acid.

cutting an orange with a stainless knife and not cleaning it off right away is just as annoying as with a carbon steel blade. sharpening any knife, takes about a hundred times more effort than removing light surface staining... I just don't see an issue.

I used to fret about it on my 1095 folders, and opinels, then I realized upkeep is exactly the same as on stainless blades, as long as you don't mind light staining.

and compared to those simple carbon steels, m4 is night and day easier to keep rust free. I can't tell you the number of times my cpm m4 military (most used knife in three years)has been put away wet and dirty for a night or longer. sometimes it has light rust and needed ten seconds to clean off, sometimes it remained spotless.

my two cents

in summary, if you actually use your knives, rust on this steel is a non issue.

[Blerv]

Chuck R lives half a basketball court (or so) from the ocean and swears by superblue and M4.

I would clean better and use oil or Tuf-Cloth. You can't reason with corrosion, just deal with it. One factor could be sweat/oils.

[DeathBySnooSnoo]

In all likelihood Blerv got it...the rust is more likely from the oils you personally excrete rather than the air/humidity etc.

My GB has been around a while and has a patina now...but I only ever treated it once with tufglide...and that was over a year ago. Its been used in the rain and then put in my soaking wet jeans pocket and not rusted after about 10 hours of sitting there. So I think that there are factors other than moisture that you might want to look at to see what is causing the rusting.

[vaisforlovers]

I found that tape residue will hold/attract moisture and is horrible for edges. So I keep Tuff Glide and 0000 Steel wool with my knives. The Tuff Glide has prevented ANY rust on the Gayle Bradley. The Steel wool takes care of any residual gunk on my blades after a day's work that could retain moisture or oils. It is also fine enough to not scratch most blades. Always after steel woolling a blade, I'll tuff glide it again out of fear the non-stainless steel wool will initiate the rusting process.

I have had no issues with M4. To me it is worth the added care needed.

[JNewell]

You know your weather much better than I do, but we do have family living in AZ and my recollection is that in the mid-July/mid-August range it can get pretty wet/humid out there?

[Evil D]

I'm guessing the rust was forming before you oiled it. Sounds crazy but that's the general opinion of how my M4 Manix 2 rusted after being treated liberally with Tuf-Glide.

[jaypowell0185]

I too live in Az, but have not found any rust so far. I took mine out with me dove hunting this morning and I got pretty sweaty. I checked when I ogt hoem and the blade was fine.

[Surfingringo]

I'm picking up my first GB on Friday and bringing it home to Costa Rica next week. I live directly on the beach in the tropics, so we'll see how that goes with the m4. . I am still trying to decide the best way to take care and protect the blade. Thinking to force a patina, or maybe just use some marine tuff glide from the get go. I'm kind of tempted to just use it daily (like i would any other stainless knife) at first and keep a close eye on it. I want to find out how much or little it takes to maintain it.
I kind of like the idea of just using it (not getting ocd) and letting it form a natural patina. I want to see if the knife will do this without rusting in my climate. I'm open to suggestions.

[DeathBySnooSnoo]

Tuf-Glide is only temporary...so giving it a coat and then just letting it wear and patina might be a good way to go.

[jaypowell0185]

I applied to Tuff Glide to mine and over time it has formed just a little bit of patina, but it looks cool

[TomAiello]

I really like M4 for a knife that I use a lot. But it sucks to put it in a drawer (I live in the desert too) no matter where you are.

[O,just,O]

I'm kind of tempted to just use it daily (like i would any other stainless knife) at first and keep a close eye on it. I want to find out how much or little it takes to maintain it.
I kind of like the idea of just using it (not getting ocd) and letting it form a natural patina. I want to see if the knife will do this without rusting in my climate. I'm open to suggestions.

This sounds like a good idea & is more or less what I did with my M4 Military. Yes, in the process you may see a bit of rust in the pivot area & that gave me a bit of a problem for a while but I just kept the pivot lubricated. I used no Tuf-Glide, only engine assembly moly lube.
O.

[78lilred]

Oils/salts from your hand will create the patinas and such even if you live in a dry climate. With that being said as long as you keep it wiped down with lube and don't leave salt sitting on it, it'd take quite awhile for corrosion to eat through the blade. I use and abuse mine on a regular basis.

[xceptnl]

I just pulled by GB Air from the knife case after not touching it for probably 6 weeks and it still looks flawless. I do not keep anything on it unless I am about to carry it. Here in VA we know humidity this time of year, so I would think rust would have the perfect environment to form. My SB edge develops a bit of oxidation from day to day, but that just means I need to use it more to keep that edge shiny.

[GoodEyeSniper]

Oils/salts from your hand will create the patinas and such even if you live in a dry climate. With that being said as long as you keep it wiped down with lube and don't leave salt sitting on it, it'd take quite awhile for corrosion to eat through the blade. I use and abuse mine on a regular basis.

Yup, but the same can be said for even the most rust prone steels. I feel pretty confident I could leave my 1095 fixed blade out on my picnic table all winter and spring, spend ten minutes on the blade and maybe fifteen minutes on the edge and will have a perfectly functional knife.

the only "problem" most people seem to have with rust is purely cosmetic, besides the people who notice minor edge degradation from surface rust. but still, take a shaving sharp carbon edge on a boat, even if the edge rusts up after a day, it will still cut pretty **** well.

[michaelm466]

I have 3 uncoated M4 blades and live Portland, OR (lots of rain and humidity and haven't had any corrosion problems with M4 personally. I have had A2 and 3V rust on me both after use in the snow in Utah and put away wet in the sheath. Also I've never oiled or put coating on my blades.

[chuck_roxas45]

Chuck R lives half a basketball court (or so) from the ocean and swears by superblue and M4.

I would clean better and use oil or Tuf-Cloth. You can't reason with corrosion, just deal with it. One factor could be sweat/oils.

Any other Chuck R here? :D

Yep, I like my non-stainless steels knives. I also Mexican carry my firearm because it's much more concealable. I probably don't have rust issues because I tend to take care of my tools. I know that some people will rust their tools after an hour or so in the pocket. If you are that kind of person, a non-stainless knife is probably not for you.

While building my house, I used my GB a lot, especially cutting stakes from green wood while we were still doing the lay out, and I wasn't able to clean and maintain for around a week. I did get a few rust spots but really nothing that affected the function of the knife.

Here's how my GB looks now.

[JNewell]

I probably don't have rust issues because I tend to take care of my tools.

Chuck, amen and thank you.

Highly opinionated statement warning...

The funny thing about "patina" is that I was taught by mechanics to take care of my tools and their word for patina was "rust" and where people today sometimes use "patina" as a verb they would have used a different verb, "abuse" or "neglect."

Rant off...