Clean a Knife

In this instructable, I will show my way of easily cleaning a hunting knife, swiss army knife, whittling knife, etc... Remember to give me a +1!

Step 1 Long Lasting Blade

First thing, after using a knife and it gets dirty, don't close it (if its a closing knife). The reason is because stuff like dirt, tree sap, what ever is on the blade might get stuck in the base of the knife, dulling the blade every time it is closed. This will assure your knife a long happy life. The picture is of my knife after doing my other instructable, Whittle a Staff / Walking Stick.

Comments

[owlart101]

I find the finger nail polish remover and a Q-tip work very well for cleaning the blade.

[scottrules]

Running a knife under water and using a toothbrush to scrub it? I'm seriously not trying to be negative, but I expect this kind of common sense information from ask.com, not Instructables.

[Arbitror]

I made this 'ible using my method of cleaning my whittling blade, for this.

[dirt action julian]

who would clean a nife

[colorex]

If you don't want to clean it, just make a replacement one with popsicle sticks!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Popsicle-Stick-Swiss-Army-Knife-Prop/

Good instructable!

[_noth_]

Nice work dude. You should take some time and apply a quantity of WD-40 or similar oil on the moving parts of the knife (pivots etc.) to make sure no moisture settles in there.

[adamvan2000]

And of course, seeing as WD-40 doesn't lubricate, it only displaces water(hence the WaterDisplacement), you'd need to apply a light machine type oil.

[Polishing Peanuts]

Actually, water displacement is only ONE of WD 40's properties.........Read this from their site.........

LUBRICATES: WD-40's lubricating ingredients are widely dispersed and tenaciously held to all moving parts.

Sure, it is only a light lube and no where near as good as machine oil but still, WD40 will do in the field.

[cobalt420]

very good ible

[fartnocker]

 i did this and it worked amazing on tree sap and that green stufff you get on your blade from wittling a fresh cut tree.
 before this i opened up all the tolls on my swiss and put it in the dish washer.
 
Thanks!

[Patented]

hey thanks, im sure going to try this method because I got two old knife I found in a park ! yay !

[sharlston]

nice plz make a ible on sharpening a knife

[TheDevilsRubberDucky]

good instructable, but thats n ugly knife

[Arbitror]

Thanks for the first part! But do you think that it's ugly because of the flat blade? Believe it or not, a flat blade is far better than a rounded one! It also has a wicked little curved blade on the other side...

[Arbitror]

That is, far better for whittling...

[lilpepsikraker]

what knife is it?link?

[Arbitror]

Err.. I just Google imaged "Buck Sekiden", and the first image (also the only image of a Buck Sekiden knife) is the one below that I posted!

[Arbitror]

BUCK SEKIDEN w/ 2 locking blades. It's a good little knife...

[aaaltomare]

I have this knife and it is fantastic.  I bought it new at an army/navy surplus store.  My knife has a drop point blade on one side and the other side is a 3/4 serated blade.  The thing has a wicked locking mechanism on it.  I've used this knife for a variety of projects - wood carving, bushcraft, utility projects, work, etc and it has never failed me. 

Nice tutorial on cleaning!  You can use a little dish detergent to help get those particularly nasty stains and grit off.  Also - after washing any knife you should use a little 3-in-1 for lube.

[j574sbi]

light grade oil for the win

[Dantheman1993]

When i was in Scouts we were always told to stick your knife into the ground and leave it for about ten seconds then pull it out. After you've pulled it out give it a quick wipe with a cloth. The ground should be grassy and not too wet underfoot. Of course, if we were using our knife with raw meats etc we would give it a better clean, but this "stick it in the ground" method was used when your knife got a bit dirty. It also makes it nice and shiny!

[0.9.390]

It worked Great!

[Arbitror]

Thanks!

[Knifeking554]

great insrutable! Any 1 can do it

[shadow12952]

iv always clean my knives with rubbing alcohol,it even takes off a little rust

[shai739]

yes i always carry an electric tooth brush next to my knife nice instructable but not very useful... one about cleaning a knife in field conditions would be more successful

[drummerguy123]

what knife is it?

[struckbyanarrow]

nice knife but i like thumb studs better

[lemonhead47]

another way to maintain the shine w/out that fiasco every while is to unsheath/unfold, wet a piece of you shirt (preferably near the bottom) and rap it around your finger. wipe it down, and your done. repeat after each use.

[zany]

nice! had an old dirty knife i cleaned up. now it looks like new. thanks!

[codester]

Nice instructable. Here's my way to clean a knife without water.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1004861/how_to_clean_a_pocket_knife/

[Lftndbt]

Very nice work!!

Beautiful knife too...

My only advise would be to seal that baby up.....

If you don't seal it after about 3 months of non-use you should notice distinct staining to the blade.... Stainless does not rust yet particles of the surface will tarnish the overall shine of the knife...

Sealing the blade will keep it good for 5 months plus....

but constant use/cleaning negates this rule....
I would still be inclined to smear the surface to keep the air of the blade....

Keep up the good work. I enjoy seeing people that have the same respect for a blade as myself...

Please feel free to check out my Ible and gives some tips/advice as I would be interested to hear your comments as you are obviously knowledgable in this area...

Thanks Knife cleaning

[thewoodcarver]

Well done , watch that you get high carbon steel knives dry and clean the oils from your hands off it if you are going to store it for a while ........<<< put a pre WW2 folder away once and when I found it again it had a nice thumb print rusted on it

[Lftndbt]

Id assume you do, but you don't know how right you are.
Oils from your hand are very acidic. The anomaly that the oil perpetuates and increases in acidity over time is simple amazing...

I have had similar experiences in the past and now seal everything that comes into contact with my skin...
Sheep grease is my fav at the mo.

Good point my friend.

[explosivemaker]

....hey...I might have some old tooth brush heads....nice one....

[pyro13]

Great instruc! You may want to add that some knives can rust if they are not dried well enough, and to dry very well.