Good cleaning solution for knife blades to use for food prep?

[SpyderEdgeForever]

If you have a folder or fixed blade that you used for non-food cutting such as cardboard or wood and you then want to clean the blade so you can safely use that same knife for food preparation, what do you all suggest? Basic soap and water? Rubbing alcohol into the hinges and where blade meets handle? I welcome all answers.

[Sharp Guy]

I use dish soap and hot water

[jmh58]

Windex

[mjdragonfly]

Chlorinated detergent. Wine and Beer making shops sell it for cleaning containers and lines, considered food safe with a flush of clean water.

[The Deacon]

If all I'd been cutting was cardboard, I'd probably just give each side of the blade a quick wipe against my pants leg before using it for food prep. As for wood, that would depend on the type of wood. If it was something hard and dry, same treatment as for cardboard. If it was something like fresh pine, with a smelly, gummy sap, it would either get cleaned first to remove the sap, then again to remove any traces of whatever removed the sap. Who am I kidding, given the number of knives I own, I'd just say "screw this" and reach for a clean one.

[Evil D]

I just use the same stuff I wash my dishes with, which is usually Dawn. If it's good enough for the fork I eat my food off of, it should be good enough for the knife I cut that food with.

[bearfacedkiller]

If hot water wont work because it has glue, goo or sap on it then I usually just use rubbing alcohol.

[Bloke]

If you have a folder or fixed blade that you used for non-food cutting such as cardboard or wood and you then want to clean the blade so you can safely use that same knife for food preparation, what do you all suggest? Basic soap and water? Rubbing alcohol into the hinges and where blade meets handle? I welcome all answers.

SEF, it’s always best to be safe rather than sorry so I’d strongly recommend you use an Autoclave.

[Sjucaveman]

If you have a folder or fixed blade that you used for non-food cutting such as cardboard or wood and you then want to clean the blade so you can safely use that same knife for food preparation, what do you all suggest? Basic soap and water? Rubbing alcohol into the hinges and where blade meets handle? I welcome all answers.

SEF, it’s always best to be safe rather than sorry so I’d strongly recommend you use an Autoclave.

Is it safe to assume the spydiechef is autoclave safe?

[Bloke]

Is it safe to assume the spydiechef is autoclave safe?

Ah, hahaha! I have no idea brother ... titanium scales, bronze thrust washers, LC200 blade ... maybe? :p

[TomAiello]

I use rubbing alcohol when I want to clean a blade that has something sticky on it. I cleaned tar (was cutting roofing shingles) off a PM2 and I'm perfectly happy to cut food with it.

[Mad Mac]

My grand-daughter was fashioning a wizard's staff, peeling the bark from a sassafras sapling and ended up with some really stubborn sap stuck to the hollow ground Delica I had given her. First she attacked it with Dawn dishwashing liquid and water then enlisted my help.

Vegetable oil had little effect and bore cleaner solvent (not safe for food) wasn't getting the job done either. A Google search bubbled up the idea of using hand sanitizer, which is about 60 percent alcohol. Most of us have that in our homes now, what with the Chinese virus going around.

It worked like magic, effortlessly wiping the sticky residue from the blade. It was astonishing. And it would be safe for food, too.

[JD Spydo]

I use dish soap and hot water

Evil D said it best. The DAWN line of dish soaps are hard to beat. DAWN has an overnight, concentrated 4X version that is awesome for stuff that is difficult to clean. And what I like about dish soaps is they rinse off easy with just tap water.

Also if you have something really stubborn on any knife blade the product "Bar Keeper's Friend" will remove about anything and it will remove it safely too.

[spyderg]

So as mentioned dish soap is what I use most often. However after breaking down cardboard or packaging I often have glue from the tape on my blade. Soap alone doesn’t cut it. That’s when I turn to lighter fluid. Just a little squirt on a paper towel or right on the blade. Then a quick wash with the dish soap and good to go.

[JD Spydo]

So as mentioned dish soap is what I use most often. However after breaking down cardboard or packaging I often have glue from the tape on my blade. Soap alone doesn’t cut it. That’s when I turn to lighter fluid. Just a little squirt on a paper towel or right on the blade. Then a quick wash with the dish soap and good to go.

Glad you brought up the tape residue, glue and other stubborn materials that can gunk up a knife blade. I've found that whatever Dawn 4X or Bar Keeper's Friend doesn't clean up I've found that either 90% Isopropyl Alcohol ( common rubbing alcohol) or in extreme cases I've found that common Mineral Spirits ( paint thinner) will get about 95% of anything you might encounter using a knife.

I can see how the lighter fluid would work as well. A good friend of mine showed me that "Naphtha" which is similar to the lighter fluid would also have good results as well.

But after using any type of solvent grade cleaner you should then always wash the residue of that solvent off with Dawn or other dish soap and rinse with hot water if available.

[Ankerson]

If you have a folder or fixed blade that you used for non-food cutting such as cardboard or wood and you then want to clean the blade so you can safely use that same knife for food preparation, what do you all suggest? Basic soap and water? Rubbing alcohol into the hinges and where blade meets handle? I welcome all answers.

Dish Soap, I use DAWN.

[PineyBoy]

First soak the knife overnight in Clorox, mount on a large vice and blast with an industrial power washer.

Wash And dry it like any other piece of cutlery you own.