<< heard that you should coat a knife with oil, or lubricant, etc. periodically...to prevent rust >><br><br>Caveat: I am not around salt water very often. When I am, I protect my knives and guns as best I can. Even so, one glance in my gun room will quickly identify which guns have been on coastal trips / on salt water... but for some reason, my knives have been unaffected. I guess I've been fortunate, tho.<br><br>I simply keep my knives dry. When they get wet, I dry them off. They do not rust. Things that I put away for an extended period get a light coat of Rust Inhibiting Grease (R.I.G.). LPS 2 also works very well if you prefer a spray can. Everyone says to use mineral oil on knives that are/can be used on food, and that makes sense to me (if it's a knife, I eventually use it on food - I like food...). But I just keep mine dry. Pivots on folders get a drop of oil as needed and that's about it.<br><br>Sometimes I blue a knife. I like that, especially when they come out very dark. Best luck has been with cold bluing used in a "hot" application method - see Brownell's website. Some knife steels don't blue well, though. It's easy enough to strip back off if you don't like it, but I would not buy some spendy stuff from Brownell's just for a knife. This is more cosmetic than anything, but it does inhibit rust better than bare steel, particulary if "sealed" with oil occasionally (and then wiped dry, in my useage)<br><br>My favorite EDC knife for over 30 years has that nice "patina" that develops over years of use and it is practically rustproof - well, it has never rusted, so there you go... A couple of years ago, I got to thinking about that - when I gave someone a new copy of that knife, it looked awful to me - gaudy naked steel blades. Hmmm... where did my knife get that patina? Probably from contact with acids, blood, etc. Here's what I did to it: I carefully de-greased the knife and cut up an apple with it. I let the juice dry on the knife (moments) and then sliced a fresh exposure of apple and wiped each blade with the freshly exposed apple again. Repeated many times (same apple - read a book or something to pass the time). By the time I finished, the knife had a very good start on a very nice patina. I assume that the main actor is citric acid (and perhaps a couple of others in lesser roles) and that the patina is some sort of iron salt like an iron citrate - but whatever it is, it's attractive and hard as heck and it works prettty well as a barrier to superficial rust. The de-greasing is important - you WILL get spotty results otherwise. Obviously, this will NOT work with a stainless steel blade. YMMV, and I would not suggest doing this to an expensive knife.<br><br><< what type of resonably priced sharpener do you all recommend >><br><br>See Doug's comments on ETS. I have carried conventional stones (oil is a PITA to carry around - you may want to use them dry or with water, but once you use oil you're stuck - oil ever thereafter), EZ-Lap, ceramics, etc. but I am becoming very fond of DMT folding diamond laps - especially the dual-grit models. The only thing that I do not like about them and similar types is the perforated lapping surface - small blades and fine tip work can be a PITA on the perf laps. I would prefer a smooth lap - which costs more, of course, as there is more surface for diamond dust to be adhered to, and hence more diamond. I have an idea for a "perfect" folding diamond dust lap that I hope to make up one of these days... meanwhile, the DMT duo-folds are very good IMHO.<br><br>Just my 2 cents worth... <br><br>Tom

>>>but I am becoming very fond of DMT folding diamond laps - especially the dual-grit models<<<<br><br>Me too. I also picked up a pair of thier credit card sharpeners, which I haven't used yet, but that would help with the fine point work. Aslo, on Chris' suggestion, I picked up a set of adhesive backed honing grit paper from Rockler. I cut two sheets to fit onto the outside of my tin and included them in the kit. I didn't stick them on as the adhesive from the electricsal tap would gum up the grit. I actually haven't tried using them yet as it was a late addition to my kit before I assembled it. Perhaps I'll cut a new set as a demo for the scouts.<br><br>I also have bought the Sentry product two weeks ago but haven't used it. My plan is to take a few moments at summer camp (less than a month away) to clean and coat all of my knives at once and demo it to any interested scouts and leaders at the same time.

Thank you to all! I can always count on great tips from here!<br><br>-John McIntire

I recommend the Sentry Solutions Tuf-Cloth and Tuf-Glide lubricant and rust inhibitor. I personally use the Marine Tuf-Cloth for a little more protection on my knives from saltwater and high humidity. For more info, check out www.sentrysolutions.com<br><br>As far as sharpening systems, I use the Spyderco Sharpmaker 204. It's a little more than your requested dollar range (about $60), but well worth the money. It comes with an instructional video and book for step-by-step instruction on how to use the system. For reprofiling the edges, I use a DMT Diafold (fine, extra fine), until I get the diamond triangles for the 204.<br><br>Good Luck.

Which kind of sharpening system you use depends a lot on what kind of knife you have. For most purposes, a Spyderco 204 will do the job or any of a number of "crocksticks" sold out there. Lansky makes a really nice set of crocksticks that give you a 20 and 25 degree angle with course and fine sticks. Price is half or less than the 204 and works just as well unless you are sharpening serrated edges. The 204 will allow you to sharpen at 15 and 20 degree angles.<br><br>I sharpen some of my blades at 20 degrees and then run them lightly on the 25 degree fine sticks. This very effectively and precisely removes the wire edge.<br><br>Some blades are not designed to be sharpened by the crockstick method. A good example is the Frosts Mora from Sweden. There is only 1 bevel. All you have to do to sharpen such a knive is to lay the blade bevel flat on a good stone like an India stone and stroke like you are slicing. These kinds of knives are the easiest to sharpen in the field because all you need is a stone. A diamond hone works well too but I really like India stones.<br><br>If you have a knife with a convex edge like Marbles, they also have only a single grind going all the way out to the edge. You can maintain these edges with a good strop, like the one you can get from Lee Valley Tools in Canada. It comes with an aggressive sharpening compound (green stone). In fact, all of your knives will benefit from stropping after you have put them on crocksticks or a stone. The green compound is nice because it leaves a very aggressive edge.<br><br>To sharpen a convex edge you need a belt sander and electric buffer and you can sharpen it using a slack belt or heavy buffing. But that is only if it is REALLY dull. Most of the time you can sharpen a convex edge by using a homemade sharpener. To make a homemade sharpener for a convex edge like a Marbles knife, cut a strip of resilient material like a mousepad. Make it about 1 1/2" wide. Glue it to a board of the same width. Lay some sandpaper on the pad. You can attach it with thumbtacks. Now strop the knive on the sandpaper, moving the balde in the direction of the spine. The resiliance in the pad will follow the contour of the convex edge. When you get the edge where you want it, you can then strop it.<br><br>Also, if you don't like the angle on the edge of your knife, try changing it using the GATCO sharpening system. I use mine a lot because most knives come with an angle too steep for most of the things I use it for. I often reprofile my edges to 15 degrees. Today's steels can handle it.