All About Pocket Knives

The phrase "Rust never sleeps" was uttered by Mark Mothersbaugh, a member of the band Devo, during a jam session with Neil Young. Neil Young loved the impromptu line and adopted it as his own, using it as the title for his 1979 album.

But this is NOT a thread about music... this is a thread about Public Enemy #2 threat to your knife collection (No. 1, I will argue is the THIFE that steals your knives). I just pulled this 19th century French M1866 Chassepot rifle sword bayonet out of its scabbard (I had stored it in my garage). I had oiled the blade prior to putting it in the scabbard and somehow moister got into the scabbard and produced the horrific rust seen in the pictures. I forced the rust off with a wire wheel on my grinder, but some terrible pitting remains...

I guess the rule here is that you have to constantly check your collection for the invasion of moisture and the ever-present threat of rust.

Has anyone else out there got an unpleasant surprise such as the one I just encountered?

Putting more oil on some tools, axes and the blade of my bayonet in hopes that I can hold off the "Devil" Rust for a little while longer....

Yikes!

Most of my mishaps are from outgassing celluloid or verdigris, but I do run into rust consistently in my workshop. The shop is in my basement, and I do run a dehumidifier down there, but still get tools and such from time to time with some rust forming.

glennbad wrote: ↑Fri Sep 12, 2025 4:57 pm Yikes!

Most of my mishaps are from outgassing celluloid or verdigris, but I do run into rust consistently in my workshop. The shop is in my basement, and I do run a dehumidifier down there, but still get tools and such from time to time with some rust forming.

I have lots of axe heads and man I am always fighting the rust monster with them... I have had problems with out gassing as well......