Spyderco Forums

First I asked if dirt caused rust but I meant to say does dust cause a knife to rust? I have a lot of dust in my liners I need to clean out.

Yeah, I would have a peek at this...
https://forum.spyderco.com/viewtopic.ph ... t#p1397992

What kind of liners/steel/models do you have that have "a lot of dust" in them?

Dust can't "cause" rust but, like anything else that can trap and hold moisture, it can create an environment that promotes rust.

The Deacon is of course correct, as usual. I'll expand on his answer a bit.

Think of dust, as tiny little sponge particles. Dry, becasue they floated/made their way there into/onto your knife liners (Dry cotton bluejeans lint).
:D
They then easily soak-up moisture from the surrounding air (think steamy Summertime pockets, or a humid day), and then they hold that moisture tight up against your liners for hours. Possibly thousands of hours? At some point, even some of the best of stainless steels start to show signs of corrosion.

I am lucky enough to be walking by an air compressor hose, nearly every hour of the day. I blow my liners out, and the end of most days. If you are not as lucky? Buy a can of compressed air, and give them blast. At least once a week. :spyder:

I live in a very humid environment (Gulf Coast) but my knives spend their time in a temp and humidity controlled space. My house that is. I clean my knives periodically and have not had any rust problems. I don’t blow them clean weekly by any means but I might if I worked outside or had the knives in a very humid environment for very long. Days not hours. If I wash or rinse a knife in fresh water I make sure it’s dry inside the grip and liners before folding and putting it away.