storing fixed blade knives

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Bataan
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storing fixed blade knives

Post by Bataan »

I know that it's bad to store your fixed blade knives in their leather sheaths. So, what is the best protective "wrapper" to protect blades from corrosion, oxidation, peppering, etc.? Is plain old wax paper good? What about "butcher" paper or that "acid-free" art paper? I'm putting some knives away and want to do it right. Thanks for any input on this.
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kossetx
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Re: storing fixed blade knives

Post by kossetx »

I use plastic wrap like Saran Wrap. I've also used wax paper but it tends to want to ride up when you put the knife in the sheath.
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djknife13
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Re: storing fixed blade knives

Post by djknife13 »

Most of the old knives I've purchased have been sitting in their sheaths for many years and haven't been shown any ill effects so I just store them the way they came but keep them dry and in a stable environment. some have brass guards and I wrap the guard in plastic wrap and put the knife back in it's sheath. In 20 plus years collecting, I have had one knife show some corrosion from a sheath, and that one was in a sheath I made out of leather from a flea market instead of leather from a good supplier (Vegetable tanned). It's like collecting celluloid knives. You hear the stories about disaster looming but I seem to beat the odds. I have over a old hundred celluloids and several hundred fixed blade knives stored in their sheaths and haven't had a problem in 20 plus years. Maybe the climate where I live is drier than the more humid warm climate some other collectors live in. ___Dave
kootenay joe
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Re: storing fixed blade knives

Post by kootenay joe »

I have used saran wrap & food storage plastic bags to wrap around fixed blades. If there is brass it still goes green, and faster than if not wrapped.
I think coating the metal with Ren Wax or "Rust Free" (from AGR) and store out of sheath is best.
The problem i now have with 50 or so FB's & sheaths is matching up knives with their original sheath. Not as easy as i thought it would be, especially for well used examples and for Finnish knives as sheaths all look similar.
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tongueriver
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Re: storing fixed blade knives

Post by tongueriver »

My fixed blades which are stainless I keep in the sheath. When they are NOT stainless I keep the sheath separate. I tuck a slip of paper into the sheath identifying its mate. I often put similar groups of knives into a brief case or pistol case, and their sheaths into a gallon ziplock bag. It all goes into the case, along with some descriptive paperwork that keeps things (somewhat :shock: :? ) in some kind of order. It would take a while to describe my complete databasing process, but I am getting to where I can often (see above) find things. My fixed blades which I actually use are stored in the sheath if it makes sense at the time. I live in a low-humidity area, which also helps.
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tongueriver
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Re: storing fixed blade knives

Post by tongueriver »

djknife13 wrote: ...and several hundred fixed blade knives stored in their sheaths... ___Dave
Wow! Let's have a look!!! ...uh... Please?
Bataan
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Re: storing fixed blade knives

Post by Bataan »

Well thanks much guys (i'll just guess it's mainly men at AAPK ::shrug:: ?). This was my first post, so as the newest "fng" i gotta say i didn't expect this much response so quick! Thanks for all the good advice. I should have learned over the years of accumulating knives how to be confident in best storage methods. I just have some custom jobs now and higher-priced manufactured ones (that i gradually sold or traded up for) that i want to leave in good shape for whoever inherits them after they leave my dead and cold fingers! The desert climate here in Tucson, AZ is pretty good for preventing corrosion and such (recent example was 11% humidity!!).
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Quick Steel
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Re: storing fixed blade knives

Post by Quick Steel »

Welcome aboard Bataan. ::handshake:: With high end knives, e.g. custom, consider the above good advice and treat them with lots of TLC.
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djknife13
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Re: storing fixed blade knives

Post by djknife13 »

tongueriver wrote:
djknife13 wrote: ...and several hundred fixed blade knives stored in their sheaths... ___Dave
Wow! Let's have a look!!! ...uh... Please?
They are stored in several safes and two old record cabinets. It would be a huge job laying them all out. Most are in groups such as Westerns, Ka-Bars (the two I most concentrated on early), children's size like the Western F28 and Case M5Finn, customs. I love showing them so if you want to pick a group you would like to see, I'd be glad to lay that out. I think I did that somewhere on AAPK with the childrens fixed blades but I don't remember the thread.____Dave
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tongueriver
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Re: storing fixed blade knives

Post by tongueriver »

djknife13 wrote:
tongueriver wrote:
djknife13 wrote: ...and several hundred fixed blade knives stored in their sheaths... ___Dave
Wow! Let's have a look!!! ...uh... Please?
They are stored in several safes and two old record cabinets. It would be a huge job laying them all out. Most are in groups such as Westerns, Ka-Bars (the two I most concentrated on early), children's size like the Western F28 and Case M5Finn, customs. I love showing them so if you want to pick a group you would like to see, I'd be glad to lay that out. I think I did that somewhere on AAPK with the childrens fixed blades but I don't remember the thread.____Dave
I love the old ones with bone or stag handles, CASE, KABAR, UTICA, ad infinitum. Those Kabars with the square butt really get my attention, and the Case knives with the pioneer names like Kit Carson, etc. I missed out on a great old Western States in stag because of a software/password glitch. The buyer got it for pennies. I talked to him several times but he won't move it to its rightful owner. :lol:
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