How To Polish A Carbon Steel Knife

The fact is i prefer carbon steel to stainless steel.
How to polish a carbon steel knife. Carbon steel knives especially those with wooden handles have to be dried using heat. It may seem tedious at first but it will keep your blade from rusting. If you polish too much and go past removing the patina will leave you somewhere in between a rough sanding a mirror finish. So look at your blade.
How to polish to high luster high carbon steel blade with low budget. If it was really bright at one time it probably isnt high carbon steel. When completely sanded to your desired smoothness and sharpened oil with a good knife blade or gun oil. If you dont have one use any light oil like 3in1.
When keeping rust at bay from these high carbon knives always coat with a non food based oil lubricant. Clean the knife and re oil after each use and it should stay good for many years. Inspect it every six months or so to look for any new rust. Most any metal polishing compound is going to work but polishing compounds for carbon steel are going to serve you best.
Many people shy away from carbon steel because they believe carbon steel blades are hard to take care of. Over time the knife surface will slowly pit and colour this is hard to avoid. Do not use wd40 to protect a blade. Let me take the mystery out of taking care of a carbon steel blade.
Moisture will get into the tanghandle join and will rust the metal away if not forcibly dried using heat. Mothers creams are one of the best and my favorite. One of the most important steps in taking care of your carbon steel is keeping the blade clean. You can clean it up but high carbon steel will darken pit rust quickly.
Got a few old butchers knives that i use just clean them using a scotchbrite pad. Will take a razor sharp edge but will not hold the edge or a shine for long. The most effective common oil to wipe down your blades with would be a lanolin oil. Be careful when you go down this road.
I am at a point in my life that i will not buy a stainless steel knife unless i have no choice. A food based oil will tend to go rancid and can be sticky. That means wiping down your knife while you cook. First thing is make sure the blade is worth all of the effort you are about to put into it.