Dealing with high humidity

[Sharp Guy]

I've lived in this area for over 10yrs and I don't remember it being humid like this all the time so hopefully I don't need H-1.

I'm from the Chicago area and the humidity can be ridiculous, especially in summer when the corn is up. We also had a place in SW Michigan and it was just about as bad. Stuff used to rust like crazy. So I ended up using car wax on a lot of my stuff. Seemed to work pretty well.

[Josh Crutchley]

I've lived in this area for over 10yrs and I don't remember it being humid like this all the time so hopefully I don't need H-1.

I'm from the Chicago area and the humidity can be ridiculous, especially in summer when the corn is up. We also had a place in SW Michigan and it was just about as bad. Stuff used to rust like crazy. So I ended up using car wax on a lot of my stuff. Seemed to work pretty well.

Well I didn't collect knives until the end of last year so this is the first time dealing with it. It seems like every knife I pull out has spots.

[Chuck James]

I've lived in this area for over 10yrs and I don't remember it being humid like this all the time so hopefully I don't need H-1.

I'm from the Chicago area and the humidity can be ridiculous, especially in summer when the corn is up. We also had a place in SW Michigan and it was just about as bad. Stuff used to rust like crazy. So I ended up using car wax on a lot of my stuff. Seemed to work pretty well.

I haven't tried car wax on my knife blades but it does work great on pistol magazines. May have to give it a go. :cool:

[Sumdumguy]

Another vote for mineral oil, or LC200N.

[Doc Dan]

Vaseline. It is basically mineral oil and paraffin wax. I use it and I live by jungle near the ocean and 100% humidity. It never fails me.

Bees wax is good, also, if you can get it. I can't get it here. Vaseline works great and is food safe.

[The Mastiff]

This time of year it is in the high 80's to 90's with humidity in the 70 to 72 degree range here. It gets miserable outside. Much worse than the over a hundred degrees I saw when I lived in Colorado and Nebraska. I'd take dry heat at higher temps anytime.
I'm glad I wax my blades. It took care of my problems. Josh, could you have metal particles on your blades from sharpening or using a used rag to clean it. When I had rust that looked like that it was from something contaminating the blade causing the localized rust and pitting . Just curious.

Joe

[CPM-Greg]

I most often use mineral oil. Or sometimes Frog Lube.

I bought a liter of mineral oil. I use it on my knives and kitchen cutting boards made of wood.

Cheers,

CPM-Greg

[VashHash]

I use tufglide for pivots. Used it on my M4 military with great corrosion resistance. I would also recommend tufcloth if you're not using the knives for food prep. I've had good results with mineral oil if you want to use it around food. When I'm not using the m4 millie I usually coat it with oil. Then I'll wipe off the excess before using it so it doesn't get all over my pocket. I've had decent results with slip 2000 as well but haven't been using it as long.

[Mike Slayer]

This time of year it is in the high 80's to 90's with humidity in the 70 to 72 degree range here. It gets miserable outside. Much worse than the over a hundred degrees I saw when I lived in Colorado and Nebraska. I'd take dry heat at higher temps anytime.
I'm glad I wax my blades. It took care of my problems. Josh, could you have metal particles on your blades from sharpening or using a used rag to clean it. When I had rust that looked like that it was from something contaminating the blade causing the localized rust and pitting . Just curious.

Joe

Yeah i live about an hour from the OBX and 2-2.5 hours from Raleigh. The Humidity here can get thick here surrounded by creeks, rivers and swamps. Great Dismal swamp isn't to far from me either. That is one reason I love LC200N on my Spydiechef. I remember carrying a titanium framelock Military for years while driving 18 wheelers for a large local farm. During the worst days I remember pulling my knife out to use it and seeing surface rust on S30V. I know that wasn't from just the humidity but also my sweat. You know it's so humid once you are soaked you stay that way.

Josh, I would recommend trying something in LC200N. It's easy to sharpen and maintain but takes and holds a good edge. Didn't I mention LC200N has pretty good toughness for what it is?

[chronovore]

Summers are humid where I live and I tend to sweat. Even with preventative maintenance, steels like D2 can spot up on me. Not liking the idea of three-season EDC, I've just given up on D2. Stainless steels with mediocre resistance like AUS-8 and 8Cr13Mov are usually okay with preventative maintenance.

Still, the microscope tells a story here. We don't always see all the corrosion that happens. Corrosion can happen along the edge. As much as I like keeping my blades clean and oiled, I prefer a higher hedge against corrosion. Besides D2, this has prevented me from exploring XHP or non-stainless options like K390.

I don't know much about BD1N but I thought it was supposed to have decent corrosion resistance. Is that wrong?

[curlyhairedboy]

i've found that placing my EDC in an outer pocket helps with the sweat corrosion issue.

[Abyss_Fish]

I’m in MN so same region as ya.

I just keep the steel in my pocket in mind when going out, for instance I’ve got a knife in s30v and a knife in xhp, neither of which I’d take out on a walk. Errands maybe. 20cv I’m less worried about, but if I’m really running around I’ll carry something in lc200n. It’s all situational, plus washing and maintaining your knife will do most of the leg work. Don’t let debris sit on your blade, if your handle gets wet then it likely has stuff sitting on the pivot so it should get left out to dry, etc etc etc. You just need to be mindful of your gear.

I will say that steels like lc200n really do take the guess work out of it all if you’re tired of all the maintenance. Try a Siren, Caribbean, or Native Salt. They’re all wonderful.

[zuludelta]

I don't know much about BD1N but I thought it was supposed to have decent corrosion resistance. Is that wrong?

BD1N should be very, very corrosion resistant according to Larrin's Thermo-Calc projections. IIRC, it's about on the same level as 14C28N, S110V, and M390/20CV with regards to stainlessness—for context, only "rustproof" steels like LC200N, Vanax, or H1 rate higher than those steels on the corrosion-resistance scale.

It must be very, very humid where the OP lives, and I imagine contact with OP's sweat and contamination from other, less corrosion-resistant steels during sharpening (as well as contamination from general use) may be factors in his BD1N blade developing all those rust spots.

[Snacktime]

Why I buy stainless! I tend to swap out knives daily and if I am going to sweat a lot I tend to carry S30V or something else at least semi stainless. Rex45 and other tool steels see carry time and some times get a little rust. I just sharpen with mineral oil and wipe the blade down after.

When I was in Iowa all I carried was stainless, living on a river led a lot to random fishing. Then the humidity and rain storms, that's how I started become a steel snob...

[Josh Crutchley]

I don't know much about BD1N but I thought it was supposed to have decent corrosion resistance. Is that wrong?

BD1N should be very, very corrosion resistant according to Larrin's Thermo-Calc projections. IIRC, it's about on the same level as 14C28N, S110V, and M390/20CV with regards to stainlessness—for context, only "rustproof" steels like LC200N, Vanax, or H1 rate higher than those steels on the corrosion-resistance scale.

It must be very, very humid where the OP lives, and I imagine contact with OP's sweat and contamination from other, less corrosion-resistant steels during sharpening (as well as contamination from general use) may be factors in his BD1N blade developing all those rust spots.

I have 14c28n and s110v both are spotless in these conditions about 2.5mi from Lake Erie. The Maxamet looks like it rusted from a fingerprint smudge I didn't clean off. The BD1N Ukpk is my beater knife so contamination from use sounds likely. When it comes to the XHP and 8CR both were wiped down before being put up.

[Josh1973]

It's been a very humid week in the Great Lakes region where I live. I thought my knives where doing good, that is until today when I got out my Ukpk in BD1N. There's a small section on both sides that has red rust spots.
WIN_20210713_13_06_31_Pro.jpgWIN_20210713_13_04_28_Pro.jpg

After finding that I decided to check my other knives and found my PM2 Maxamet with pitting and surface rust. I don't remember cutting anything corrosive, it's just a small area that looks like a smudge. This finding made me pull out my usb microscope to see how bad the pitting was.
WIN_20210713_13_13_35_Pro.jpg
I also checked out my other knives and found rust starting on my CTS-XHP Chap. The blade looks corrosion free to the naked eye but under the microscope you can see it starting.
WIN_20210713_13_33_13_Pro.jpg
I'm new to knife collecting so this is the first time its happened and I'm not sure what's the best course of action. I have a few different oils(vegtable,mineral,3in1,wd40,lansky honing oil) but nothing specifically for this. I would prefer it to be non-toxic/food safe so I don't have to clean it before use. Anyone have advice on rust prevention in humid climates?

Often after a day of work I stick my work knife opened in front of a fan for an hour or 2 opened. Followed by a light coat of mineral oil on the blade. So far in 5 years of doing this I have only one knife that developed rust. I should mention also my Den has a dehumidifier and fan running on timers and sensors. Which turn on when humidity is detected. Think of how expensive cigars are stored in a fine tobacco shop. A sealed room with dehumidifiers and air flow. Without that. They would go bad a lot quicker. I also coat all my blades in mineral oil when not in use. Even stainless as a safeguard.

The most overlooked and main cause of rust is not necessarily from use. But improper storage, high humidity, salt air, damp areas, improper case to store knives in, Leaving knives in a leather or other type of sheath for extended periods, Etc...etc...Those are usually the cause of rust 75% of the time.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to properly store products prone to the elements and moisture or salt in the air.
If you live in a desert. You will not have to worry about rust that much. I live In Washington DC. Humidity and Rain is very common here.

I don't want to claim I know it all or tell you my methods are fool proof. But I have seen my methods make a huge improvement not only in my knives. But my books, coins, and wood collectables also.

Buy a used or cheap dehumidifier off Amazon or thrift store and a box or small fan to see if that helps.

If you got fixed blades. Do not store them for long periods in sheaths as this may cause rust also.

[nerdlock]

Cedric and Ada did a rust test on BD1N a few years back, with S11oV, 20CV (ZT), S30V, Nitrobe 7 and M4.

BD1N definitely rusts but it's a bit better than S30V.

https://youtu.be/WOtD7TWVtfM&t=177s