Use a thin coat of any vegetable or petroleum based oil/grease. It's really that simple. Experiment, find what works well for you. I use vaseline on my axe heads when putting them up for the season and canola oil on my knives. Again, just a thin coat works very well.


-JRJ

Good advice - I had heard about this but couldn't find how it was done. I remember something about using vinegar to coat with a patina - any idea about this and how the coating compares with the "seasoning" method?

I use stainless steel most of the time though. It works for everything I want to do. It's just that all the recommendations for carbon steel made me excited enough to spend some money...

Nas

Didn't mean to be too negative, but then, what is the minimum amd maximum daily allowance for teflon?

Naseem,
You can use vinegar, a potato, almost any acidic fruit or vegetable, lemon juice, etc., to form a "patina" on your carbon blade. I have spotty patinas forming on some of my carbon blades, but I have only done it on purpose for one knife (unfortunately, that knife had to go back to the manufacturer for a repair and they buffed it off! ). I kind of liked it when it had the patina, but it really looks nicer without. Maybe my method wasn't up to par....

Some say that this patina will help prevent rust. I can't vouch for that, but I would at least think that it helps prevent rust from settling in and pitting, giving you a little more time before you have to clean the blade well.