Food-safe oils to preserve your working blades?

[DRKBC]

I here WD40 is coming out with a new line of flavored products, lemon lime, kiwi, banana cream pie and the like. It's like the original but with just a "touch" of flavor. Of course they are keeping good old fashioned WD (now called original) as they didn't want to offend a very loyal customer base but. With the new products they are hoping to break into the lucrative tween and 20 something markets.

[peacefuljeffrey]

WD40 is a petroleum product, isn't it? I can't see how making flavored versions would be a good idea unless maybe they were going to use a different formulation altogether.

I liked the joke about bacon grease for knives. :p

I notice that no one mentioned peanut oil, and that kind of surprises me. It is one that I was strongly considering trying out. Also, I have a jar of organic coconut oil. Both of those have very little flavor that they can impart, but I don't know if they're stable or what. Pretty sure that peanut oil can end up getting sticky over time.

I think I'll see about picking up some of that mineral oil U.S.P. for this. Thanks, guys.

[johnnygomer]

WD40 is a petroleum product, isn't it? I can't see how making flavored versions would be a good idea unless maybe they were going to use a different formulation altogether.

I liked the joke about bacon grease for knives. :p

I notice that no one mentioned peanut oil, and that kind of surprises me. It is one that I was strongly considering trying out. Also, I have a jar of organic coconut oil. Both of those have very little flavor that they can impart, but I don't know if they're stable or what. Pretty sure that peanut oil can end up getting sticky over time.

I think I'll see about picking up some of that mineral oil U.S.P. for this. Thanks, guys.

Anything organic has a relatively short shelf-life and will gunk up eventually.

If you're looking for something flavored I would suggest something from the "personal lubrication" aisle.

[cevtv]

Frog Lube.

[xceptnl]

I have also noticed that Flitz seems to provide a water / moisture resistant barrier on my knives similar to wax on an auto paint job. Anyone else experience this?

[Bill1170]

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.

Camellia oil is the traditional oil used to protect cutlery and woodworking tools by the Japanese. It seems very stable (AKA saturated) for a plant oil. Totally safe to ingest, too.

[avocadobbq]

Saturated fats are more stable than unsaturated (e.g. olive oil). I use coconut oil because I happen to have it around and its mainly saturated.

[throwback8]

I've been using Mineral Oil from safeway on all my blades and it lubricates quite well in addition to protecting from rust. To the others here that are using Mineral Oil...are you using this in the pivot and on the blade? The only downside I can think of is lint/dirt attraction because of the viscosity. This hasn't been a problem thus far seeing as I try to keep the amount I apply to a minimum. A little goes a LONG way.

[GoodEyeSniper]

oil on the blade of an actual working knife is completely unnecessary. if you use it at all, then it defeats the purpose of the oil. furthermore, people who oil their blades are less likely to wipe their knife off on their jeans or a rag, compared to non oiled blades, which means it is actually potentially more likely to leave contaminants on the blade.

IMO, the only time a blade needs any protective coating is if it will be stored for a period of time unused.

but if it for some reason puts your mind at ease, then mineral oil is the best oil to use and stay food safe.

there have been a few times I knew my knife would be in my humid pocket for a few hours unused so I ran some chapstick over the edge real quick. probably unnecessary but it kept my mind at ease. you just have to remember that if you use your knife to cut, this coating will be compromised and essentially do nothing further to protect it, which is why I find it counter intuitive on an actual working knife.

[jsveiga]

WD40 is a petroleum product, isn't it? I can't see how making flavored versions would be a good idea unless maybe they were going to use a different formulation altogether.

Hi peacefuljeffrey; the food safe mineral oil is also a petroleum product. There are many kinds of oils coming out of petroleum, and some are not toxic by themselves. Even then, the final commercial product may have other components which are, so the petroleum origin alone doesn't mean it is safe nor unsafe. The label on WD40 does indicate it is not a food seasoning though - it has it in capital letters (translated from Portuguese, in my can) "MAY BE NOCIVE IF INGESTED".
I did not worry though; there is no cross-bone skull in the can, and it's a "MAY BE" :)

[peacefuljeffrey]

Thanks for the further information on mineral oil. :)

[Buddha UK]

Another vote for FrogLube. Food safe, works great, smells good and has an amusing name! What more could you ask for? :-)