View Full Version : Cleaning and looking after my machette
scouser4life
20-10-2006, 15:11
well i have recently bought a machette. Its carbon steel.
http://www.knife-depot.com/knife-15774.html
After hacking and sawing into some trees it has lleft stains on it. LIke when you get a branch and wipe it on the floor. That cream colour. I have trying soapy water, but it wont budge. Any ideas how to clean it and also how to general care for it. thanks John
Klenchblaize
20-10-2006, 15:30
Why not let it build-up the patina of use that is the beauty of carbon steel? Just keep it free of moisture/rust with a wipe from oil or tallow-coated cloth is my recommendation
Cheers
Nightwalker
20-10-2006, 15:49
Yep, I had the same with my recently purchased Frost Mora (High Carbon Steel). When I first used it to cut a sapling the blade was stained (photo (http://acnetwork.co.uk/forums/images/stains.JPG) )and nothing I have tried will remove it. Tried cleaning it with soapy water, that didnt work so dried well then tried a alcohol cleaning solution which didnt make any different either. I've just left it that, it dosent bother me much at all and only shows its uses.
gregorach
20-10-2006, 16:07
WD-40 will shift a lot of stains. That's what I reach for when my tools need cleaned. :)
But yeah, there's no point getting obsessive about it. Tools that get used don't stay looking brand new, especially carbon steel tools, and a bit of patina is a good thing.
As for general care, I find 3-in-1 oil does the job..
CamperPete
20-10-2006, 16:10
Not wishing to hijack this thread but in relation to the subject of Machete's, I was on a Bushcraft Survival course a few weeks ago and the instructor had an ultra lightweight machete, weighed a lot less than my old trusty 4" blade lock knife.
It may have been light but when he let me loose on the trees to build a shelter it cut through the branches like it was butter.
He said he got it from an army friend and it was made in Seville in Spain.
Anyone know where I could get one of these ultra lightweight Machete's.......without flying off to spain ;) ?
Just wondered if there were any companies on the web selling 'em, I've had a search but not seen any.........but then I can't find a pair of matching socks half the time :rolleyes:
Cheers
Montivagus
20-10-2006, 16:22
Itīs a machete not a make-up mirror! :lmao: Itīll be fine, just oil it.
look what sort abuse they can take :lmao: http://falcon.tamucc.edu/~lkatz/k/pages/trimmingbrickwith%20machette.h tm
Montivagus
20-10-2006, 16:26
it cut through the branches like it was butter.
He said he got it from an army friend and it was made in Seville in Spain.
Cheers
Butter doesnīt cut well at all but if you still want one I have friends who live in Seville if thatīs any use?
I leant mine to a neigbour who cut down a small bramble forest in his garden and when I got it back it was very scuffed. I also used it to cut a few branches up and a few times I dinged it on rock taking a little nick out of the blade. I left it for about a year and then decided to give it a clean and to my surprise it came up gleaming with a little fairy liquid and hot water.
Strangely I also have a Frosts Mora and used it to cut a few bits and pieces and marked the blade, yet nothing will shift the marks. Then again it cost me hardly anything so i'm not to fussed.
Nightwalker
20-10-2006, 16:39
Strangely I also have a Frosts Mora and used it to cut a few bits and pieces and marked the blade, yet nothing will shift the marks. Then again it cost me hardly anything so i'm not to fussed.Yeah, its the blade and its uses that matter. But should I feel ashamed to like nice shiney blades? :rolleyes: lol :p
Well if i'd paid Ģ180 for a knife then maybe i'd be concerned but on a Ģ10 Mora its not really a big deal.
Nightwalker
20-10-2006, 16:54
Well if i'd paid Ģ180 for a knife then maybe i'd be concerned but on a Ģ10 Mora its not really a big deal.I paid Ģ7.50 for my Frosts Mora and I love it! Think its great. So I should probably have one for use and buy another to take to bed with me and stroke as my shiney toy. :sulkoff: lol.
i prefer the used look
leon
Too Much Kit To Carry
20-10-2006, 19:09
I use, on all my knives, Renaissance Wax - it's amazing!!!
Phil.
I'd let it build up to a 'used' finish.
I have cleaned my machete with wire-wool and some Autosol polish, especially after I did a conifer clearing job in my in-laws garden- the sap got all over it!
:)
I use, on all my knives, Renaissance Wax - it's amazing!!!
Phil.
Absolutely second that.
The stuff is used for preservation by all the museums particularly for firearms, armour and cutlery. Its a microcrystalline wax that gets into the pores & grain of the metal and stays there. It is completely inert and extremely hydrophobic and because it adheres so closely to the surface of the metal it does not allow moisture to work under it. It does come off quite readily with almost any spirit or alcohol and so may be removed completely for polishing etching etc. The museum I do voluntary work for also uses it to preserve and revive leather articles as well as a barrier to airborne fungus & biomechanical attack. Dries clear and flat with no greasy feel to it and a small pot goes a really long way - not cheap though it must be said.
Where can you get it from?
Nightwalker
22-10-2006, 15:50
Yeah I must try this stuff.
Where can you get it from?
Check out here:
http://www.sylmasta.com/acatalog/Renaissance_Finishing.html
There's some decent info here:
http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/Renaissance-wax-Probably-the-finest-polish-available_W0QQugidZ10000000000 778905
I may get some, my mora could do with a spruce-up!
Thanks for that. I take it the top tub (in the first link) is the wax required?
Too Much Kit To Carry
22-10-2006, 20:38
Absolutely second that.
The stuff is used for preservation by all the museums particularly for firearms, armour and cutlery. Its a microcrystalline wax that gets into the pores & grain of the metal and stays there. It is completely inert and extremely hydrophobic and because it adheres so closely to the surface of the metal it does not allow moisture to work under it. It does come off quite readily with almost any spirit or alcohol and so may be removed completely for polishing etching etc. The museum I do voluntary work for also uses it to preserve and revive leather articles as well as a barrier to airborne fungus & biomechanical attack. Dries clear and flat with no greasy feel to it and a small pot goes a really long way - not cheap though it must be said.
Hey nickg,
Thought I was the only one who used Ren Wax :lmao:
I have also been told that it can be used on old photographs - is that right?
Phil.
Too Much Kit To Carry
22-10-2006, 20:53
Thanks for that. I take it the top tub (in the first link) is the wax required?
Hey Zammo,
Prolly one and the same.
If you wanna try some I'll post you some in a Kinda egg thingy - pm me if you wanna give it a go.
Phil.
Back to the original thread, silvo metal polish will shift just about anything. I've even used it on performance gearbox components without any trouble. it'll even shift the carbon off the inside of a cylinder head.
xairbourne
23-10-2006, 14:00
I use washing powder to clean my stuff (Billy cans, knives, etc) it brings it all up nice a shiny (get a bit of enzyme action on it) then 3 in 1 for protective coating
Nightwalker
23-10-2006, 15:42
So what temperature do you put it on for? And do you put it through the dryer too? :nana:
xairbourne
23-10-2006, 15:55
Ive got a posh hand wash option...called the wife
Hey nickg,
Thought I was the only one who used Ren Wax :lmao:
I have also been told that it can be used on old photographs - is that right?
Phil.
I heard that too but Ive no first hand experience. The head of conservation at the Wallace collection told me that you can pretty mutch slap it on anythig organic so if the photos are on paper then it should be fine. There are a few issues with early petro-chemical products like bakelite etc in long term contact situations so that may include the emulsions and glazes on postwar prints. In the regimental museum at Chatham we only store photos in glassine envelopes in a humid controlled environment.
demographic
23-10-2006, 21:31
Clean a machete?
Nope, sorry you have lost me there :confused:
Sharpen? aye.
Remove rust? yep.
Remove slightly dirty stains? Nope lost again :confused:
OzaawaaMigiziNini
21-11-2006, 03:13
well i have recently bought a machette. Its carbon steel.
http://www.knife-depot.com/knife-15774.html
After hacking and sawing into some trees it has lleft stains on it. LIke when you get a branch and wipe it on the floor. That cream colour. I have trying soapy water, but it wont budge. Any ideas how to clean it and also how to general care for it. thanks John
Paul Tawrell says using wood ash from a dead fire, it polishes the stain off without scratching the soft steel. I've tried it, it works, but only after alot of rubbing! I prefer the finest grit of emery cloth that I can get, soaked in water or oil and then rubbed briskly.
I only do this when the stain is too much, or some rust has accumulated. But other than that I let my knife stain, it looked better ;)
Clean a machete?
Nope, sorry you have lost me there :confused:
Sharpen? aye.
Remove rust? yep.
Remove slightly dirty stains? Nope lost again :confused:
I like your thinking :You_Rock_
anthonyyy
21-11-2006, 15:10
[QUOTE=Nightwalker]should I feel ashamed to like nice shiney blades? [/QUOTE
Yes
Yeah, its the blade and its uses that matter. But should I feel ashamed to like nice shiney blades? :rolleyes: lol :p
As long as you use them, no :)
But it would be a shame to put a good tool behind glas forever.
All tools should be maintained to an extent. Polishing them constantly would be going over the top a bit, but certainly removing rust and keeping it sharp should be a priority. Rust is basically metal cancer, the longer you leave it the worse it will get and it will eventually kill your tool, whatever it may be.
In Africa, I've seen locals sharpen their machetes on a smooth rock, and the Democratic Republic of Congo can be quite humid at times, but their machetes weren't rusty. Just look after it as you see fit, if you think you need to sharpen it, then do it, no one but you can decide how well to look after your machete. :)
There is a metal cleaner called Metal Glo, it will take off patina in seconds and return carbon and tool steel blades to super shiny. It also leaves a sort of greasy residue that acts as a rust inhibitor. It costs about $1.30 a tube at dealer prices so it shouldnt be much, even in the UK.
http://www.shouri-knife.com/assets/images/Metal_Glo.jpg
If you sharpen your machete with a whet stone, use the thin slurry that is formed as a polish, and rub it over the mark with your finger or cloth, it will shine in no time!
I do this as routine maintainance on most of my knives!