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Posted: Sun May 01, 2011 11:22 am
by unit
This is where this M4 knife was today...
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We hiked for about an hour and a half in wet overcast/misting conditions.

I take this thing on hikes and on bike rides (I have carried it non-stop for the last ~2 months), it gets wet and sweaty all the time. I have not once concerned myself with rust.

I guess I am lucky because only once have I noticed any staining (near the jimping on the spine of the blade where my sweaty thumb spent a lot of time during a carving session...I spent an hour carving a spoon).

On 2 occasions I hosed the knife down with WD-40, but this was to attempt to flush out fines from when I ground down the liners. Other than those occasions, I have never done anything other than use it and wipe it on whatever was handy (usually a shirt tail).

Honestly, I expected this knife to stain and rust by now...I have treated it like an enemy that owes me money for 2 months now and the only "character" I can give this knife was done with abrasives while it was clamped in a vice.

I have nothing in the way of "data" but it seems that some people perhaps secrete more caustic chemicals than others....Mine must be fairly neutral? Regarding nature and the exposure to elements here in Missouri...M4 seems to resist corrosion fairly well.

Not arguing anyone else's findings or frustrations...just stating that *I* have had nothing adverse in the way of staining/rusting with M4.

Posted: Sun May 01, 2011 5:07 pm
by xavierdoc
Strangely, my GB shows no patina, yet my much newer Manix 2 M4 started to patinate early on. I first noticed some dark staining after carving green oak. I thought it was the reddish sap (which darkens in air) but it didn't clean off with pretty vigorous measures.

It might be the tannins in the wood but I can't be sure. I'd used my knife for lots of stuff that day, including having rabbit blood wiped-off in the field and several hours before a proper clean at home.

I love the steel and like the patina of the Manix2's blade. Not sure why the GB has been more stain resistant, maybe I have cared for it better.

Posted: Sun May 01, 2011 5:22 pm
by JNewell
unit wrote: I have nothing in the way of "data" but it seems that some people perhaps secrete more caustic chemicals than others....Mine must be fairly neutral? Regarding nature and the exposure to elements here in Missouri...M4 seems to resist corrosion fairly well.
I wonder if the amount of salt in a person's diet affects the moisture in the palms and fingers? I have no medical idea whether that's true or not.

Skin "oil" itself, apart from salt, is basically lanolin, I've read, and that would not be corrosive by itself. :)

Posted: Sun May 01, 2011 6:14 pm
by Blerv
JNewell wrote:I wonder if the amount of salt in a person's diet affects the moisture in the palms and fingers? I have no medical idea whether that's true or not.

Skin "oil" itself, apart from salt, is basically lanolin, I've read, and that would not be corrosive by itself. :)
If thats the case mine should be more corrosive to steel than alien blood from a James Cameron flick ;)

Posted: Sun May 01, 2011 8:02 pm
by Spydesense
I keep Flitz Gun and Knife Wax on my blades and guns...it seems to work great!