what type of oil do you use to coat a high carbon steel and stainless knife's ? i just bought a opinel #7 high carbon knife and i would like to keep it in a good condition. Same goes for mine other ( stainless steel ) knife and tools. but i have never oiled my knifes/tools before, i have only sharpened them... ( i only started to buy and use knife's and tools like a year ago...)<br>i only know that you have to oil your knife's once in awile to prevent rust... <br>( dont send me to bladeforums or some other forum, they are to BIG and confusing )

If the knife is to be used for food preparation, you might consider food grade mineral oil. I find it in the pharmacy section of the supermarket.

i've been using opinels for nearly ten years now and the only time they've got any kind of oiling is when i've sharpened them, and that's not very often because i usually just use a ceramic hone. over a period of time the blade develops a kind of thick black staining that seems to do a pretty good job of protecting the blade. no advice for the stainless though, sorry.

i have always been thought that you shouldn't use oil wenn you sharpen your knife, you want the friction !!!!! because oil reduces the friction, thus making it harder to sharpen... i only use plain old fashion water wenn i sharp my knifes..<br><br>i hope thats the right thing...

Check this out for info on stones...you have to scroll down a ways to get to the stone part...<br><br>http://www.bladeforums.com/features/faqsharp-fundamentals.shtml

I second Doug Ritter's recommendation for Sentry Solutions products. Their "Tuff Cloth" is great for wiping down a blade or a gun, and "Tuff Glide" is a great lube for knife pivots. It's all I've been using for most of the last year. It goes on wet, but dries & retains its lubricating properties.<br><br>David

I agree. Opinels do just fine without oil. Besides why would you want to put oil on something you might use to dress game? We use them in the Arctic to skin caribou.<br><br>Mariner

thanks for the reply's <br>

i must admit that i do agree with you, unfortunately i inherited my stone from someone who'd always used oil on it, and as far as i'm aware there's no way on this earth to remove oil from a stone when it's been in there for more than ten minutes never mind a few decades! ;-)