All About Pocket Knives

I have a Straight XX with bone handles that look very dry and dull. I'm going to put some mineral oil on them and see if I can get them looking good again. So how long should I leave the oil on the handles before I wipe them off? Or should I wipe them off?

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Mike

I would just rub the oil in with a rag and see how that looks.

On bone or stag, I usually will take a Q-tip and apply a light coat of mineral oil then let the knife sit overnight. Then the next day I will take a soft cloth and wipe the knife down completely. I don't want to leave a lot of mineral oil on the knife because it would be slippery to handle and over time I suspect it might get gummy.

Is mineral oil the best product to use on dry bone and stag or is there something else, perhaps, that is specifically engineered for such purpose?

What signs/clues would you look for in a bone or stag handle to determine if it needed moisturizing treatment of some kind?

~Q~

If the handle is bone or stag, and I see some evidence of shrinking by the bolsters or some crazing (very light surface lines/checkering), I get out the mineral oil. It does a great job. It can really bring some life and lustre back to the scales. Some folks don't like it. I do. I have seen it swell dried out stag and bring the scales back up snug to the bolsters. Make sure you wipe it off completely, and then follow up the mineral oil with Ren Wax.

I tried something I read about somewhere. Apply a liberal dose of vegetable oil then wrap it in saran wrap and leave it for a couple of days, then wipe it dry. I did it twice to a really dried up little knife, It didn't fix the cracks, sadly, but it sure brought life back to the bone.
Bruce

Personally I use mineral oil on every knife I receive unless i can visibly see oil in the pivot joint. That is the only place I use oil on a newer knife. If it is an older BONE/WOOD handled knife that seems dried out to some extent I will give the whole knife a mineral oil bath overnight and take it out to drip dry for a day or so before lightly wiping it down to put away or use whatever the case my be.

For Stag covers that seem dry I use what Tony Bose recommends, Formby's Lemon Oil Treatment, Tony says this is the stuff to use and who am I to argue?? I also use the Formby's on my wood handled kitchen knives but I still use mineral oil on the pivot joint of all my pocketknives.

Dave

Berryb wrote:I tried something I read about somewhere. Apply a liberal dose of vegetable oil then wrap it in saran wrap and leave it for a couple of days, then wipe it dry. I did it twice to a really dried up little knife, It didn't fix the cracks, sadly, but it sure brought life back to the bone.
Bruce

I wouldn't use vegetable oil only because over time it could go rancid.

But that's me.

Steve Warden wrote:

Berryb wrote:I tried something I read about somewhere. Apply a liberal dose of vegetable oil then wrap it in saran wrap and leave it for a couple of days, then wipe it dry. I did it twice to a really dried up little knife, It didn't fix the cracks, sadly, but it sure brought life back to the bone.
Bruce

I wouldn't use vegetable oil only because over time it could go rancid.

But that's me.

I spray with silicone-then wipe it off the metal..

You guys are right about vegetable oil getting rancid, except for walnut oil. Although the thing I read didn't specify any kind of veg. oil, I used walnut because I had some. I'm a wood turner and walnut is pretty popular with that crowd because it won't go bad, penetrates, and eventually hardens. I have seen video of turners submerging bowls in tubs of walnut oil overnight. I suspect a good part of the popularity is that it is more attractive to the customers than mineral oil. But I think mineral oil works just as well. Smear some on, next day wipe it off. There is kind of a mantra for using mineral oil on cutting boards, butcher blocks,and other wooden utensils: Once a day for a week, once a week for a month, once a month for a year, and once a year for the rest of your life. Hope this didn't go too far off topic.
Bruce

Berryb wrote:...walnut oil. ...it ...eventually hardens.
Bruce

I wouldn't want that getting down into the joints of my knife, then I forget about the knife for a while, come back to it, and can't get the blades open.

I'll stick with mineral oil or 3-in-1.

It was written= I also use the Formby's on my wood handled kitchen knives. I may have some or lemon grass oil somewhere that I used for furniture. My wife has some kitchen knives with wood handles that are very dried out and she want's me to treat them. Not sure what is best or what the factories used? She is learning that dish washers can ruin modern plastic handles, even when they say to lay them flat on the rack. We were at a moving sale the other day with two nice European butcher knives with both handles cracked from dish washer heat. Bob

Yup - it is the drying cycle that usually does the most damage, not the hot water. And, pretty much every plastic handled kitchen knife and tool we have has at least one burn mark on the side because we aren't careful in placing them in the dishwasher and they fall out and down on top of the heating element. A common phrase heard around our house at about an hour after dinnertime is "hey, what's that smell??"

A common phrase heard around our house at about an hour after dinnertime is "hey, what's that smell??"

I know what you mean. Heard of a service man that left a plastic handled screwdriver in a ladies kitchen stove oven. They had to buy her a new stove and more!

Good advise guys, keep knives out of the dishwasher! I include a letter with every custom knife I make stating, DO NOT PUT IN THE DISHWASHER! Not only plastic gets ruined but any natural handle material gets ruined too. Wood, antler, ivory, bone all swells up with hot water, and the drying cycle gets way too hot and shrinks, worst thing there is for any knife is a dishwasher! I'll get off the soap box now, thanks for listening. Terry

All mine go into the dishwasher. If they get ruined, I'll replace the handles. 17 years now and they are all fine. I don't use stag knives in the kitchen.
If I buy new kitchen knives they will be Dexter sani knives. They are dishwasher safe.