For every hunter, a hunting knife is essential in their daily life. These knives are useful for butchering, dressing, and skinning when hunting or even camping. For your hunting knife functions well, it is important to take good care of them.
Maintaining hunting knives like the EDC pocket knife helps increase the lifespan and reduce wear and tear. During sunny days when hunting, your hands may be sweaty, thus transferring salt and ammonia to your knife, which penetrates directly to the metal and causes the blade’s corrosion.
Here are some tips on maintaining your hunting knife and keeping it in top condition.
Cleaning
After using your hunting knife every time, make sure you clean it. Dirty knives always make them dull. Use warm soapy water to clean your hunting knife. For carbon steel knives, you can add some baking soda. It was advisable to use a soft sponge for cleaning that can’t scrape your knife’s blade.
For knives with many stains, you can use vinegar and salt to clean them and use a soft rag to dry them. Once clean and dry, store them in a clean and dry place too.
Storage
It would be best if you stored your hunting knife in a place with no humidity and also a cool and dry area. If you use your pocket knife regularly, it’s recommendable to store it in a nylon or thermoformable sheath. But don’t keep it for a long period in the sheath.
If you use your hunting knife sparingly, you can store it on plain paper. Ensure before storing the knife that it is clean and dry. One of the best tips for storing your hunting knife is using desiccants and keeping your shieldon knife in a plastic bag.
Lubricating
Like other tools, lubricating helps minimize friction while increasing performance by reducing corrosion. You need to lubricate your hunting knife on the blade, buddy, regularly. The best oil for your knife’s blade is using gun oil. It makes every moving part of your knife function properly. But use this oil for something other than the handle.
When lubricating, apply a little oil since it may stick to unwanted areas. Every manufacturer recommends the best method of greasing, especially the handles. After greasing every part, use a soft rag to clean excess oil.
Sharpening
For crispiness and sharpness, hunting knives needs sharpening regularly. You can use different sharpening materials like honing rods, sharpening stones and sharpeners. Sometimes your knife needs professional services, and that’s when you have to call a bladesmith to service your hunting knife.
Conclusion
Hunting knives need proper maintenance to extend their life span. Ensure you clean your knife after every use, and lubricate and sharpen it regularly. Always bear in mind the main function of your hunting knife and use it specifically for it. Please don’t use it for cutting branches because it will damage the blade. Shieldon knife always has the best quality hunting and pocket knives for people looking to purchase.
Jerome is an avid outdoorsman who moonlights as an attorney when he’s not creating the world’s greatest online content.