Bought a new knife, best way to store carbon steel?

JimT

JimT

New member
I picked up a Marbles drop point last night. I've always had stainless deer slicers before, what's the best way to store this high carbon blade long term? The meager instructions say not to leave it in the sheath for storage. I assume because the sheath will hold moisture. Can I use a rag, oil it up with gun oil and wrap the blade in it, then store it in the box?
I like the knife by the way. $60 for what looks like a handmade knife. Blade has a thick spine but tapers down to a fine edge. Wood handle looks a lot like cocobolo. Brass hilt. The sheath is very well made IMO.
Mine looks like the third one down on this page:
http://www.marblesoutdoors.com/cutlery/sport.html
 
Spray it down with Rem Oil or Breakfree CLP, or you could wrap it in a silicon cloth and put it in your gun safe with a Dri-z-air. I store my guns like that and they don't get any rust spots.
One thing you might want to check first, though, is that whatever you use won't do any damage to the wood or wood finish. That's a fine looking knife, by the way.
 
If you're going to store long term, you can wipe down with a good gun oil/preservative and DON'T STORE IN THE SHEATH. You can also use a fine wax like Ren wax and polish the blade to protect it. Then before using, wipe dry and lightly lube with a food grade mineral oil.

Marbles are good blades with excellent steel. I like the old 52100 and the convex edge will really cut. A little trickier to resharpen than a "normal" type edge, but strong and holds an edge a long time.
 
I occasionally hunt up by Little Bay De Noc in Michigan's U.P. Not far from Marble's. In 1999 I shot a really nice 7pt up there. Afterwards, we went to Marble's and I bought a nice knife. While I was there, a guy brought in a knife for sharpening(Marble's has free life-time resharpening). He said that this knife was his grandfather's and that it had cleaned over 200 deer amongst various other critters. The knife was probably 60 years old, one of the one's collectors would pay big bucks for. Just listening to the guy's story was enough to sell me on a new knife. As far as Marble's knives are concerned, they are razor sharp and will hold an edge for a long time. Not easy to sharpen yourself as they are ground in a special way. Wipe down with a light coat of oil and do not store in sheath or anything else that will hold moisture. MOST IMPORTANTLY, make sure you dry it off after using it immediately. Do not even wait until morning after an evening hunt. In 2003 I shot a black bear up in the U.P. and gutted it with the Marble's knife. Wiped it clean of blood, but that's it. It already had rust on it the next morning! You can still see light spots where it won't come off. They are awesome knives with some of the finest edges on them you will ever see, but KEEP THEM DRY---2MG
 
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