Caring for Your EDC Knife: A Comprehensive Guide

Regardless of whether you carry a fixed blade or a folder as your EDC knife, caring for the knife will make sure it lasts longer and serves better. Here are some notes on that front.

Routine Care and Maintenance 

First, here are some high level notes for how to care for your EDC knife. 

• Keep it sharp. A sharp knife is a safe knife since you will not need to strain and will be less likely to slip. Also, it’s more enjoyable to use a knife that is sharp and well-maintained. 
• Periodically oil the blade. Whether the knife is a fixed blade or a folder, and whether or not it sports a stainless blade, any steel can rust if you try hard enough. A light coat of oil on both sides of the blade can keep rust at bay, as can a drop or two of oil on hardware. 
• For fixed blade knives, keeping the blade clean is as simple as wiping down both sides of the blade, with careful attention to where the blade meets the scales, and where the tang is exposed. 
• Keeping a folding knife clean is a little more involved. You will want to make sure that the blade is clean, but that the space between the liners is clean as well, and that the pivot mechanism moves freely. You can use compressed air to blast out the space between the scales since it leaves no residue. Oil the pivot point sparingly if at all since oil is sticky and attracts dirt and debris. 
• Avoid exposing your knife, if possible, to corrosive influences like saltwater. If you cannot avoid this, make sure you clean the knife thoroughly before you put it away, as any salt that remains on the blade will spot it with corrosion, and can cause stress corrosion cracking. 
• Never sheath your knife wet or store it wet. Leaving water on the blade will stress the steel and can accelerate corrosion. 

Where to Keep the Knife 

Storing your knife wisely is another element of routine care. 

• In general, an EDC knife should be stored somewhere cool and dry. Temperature is not as important as humidity. Store it somewhere with low humidity so as to minimize the risk of corrosion.
• For fixed blades with leather knife sheaths, do not store the knife in the leather sheath for a prolonged period of time. Leather is absorbent and will take on moisture which it will then trap next to the blade, which can cause corrosion. 

What Not to Do 

In addition to knowing how to properly administer routine care to your EDC knife, you also know what things you should not do with it. This list is not comprehensive but it is a good place to start. 

• Never throw the knife if it is not designed for throwing. Throwing is enormously stressful on blades and lock types and most EDC knives don’t have tempers or heat treatments that can withstand this abuse.
• Avoid batoning with folding knives, as it places an extreme level of stress on the lock and is likely to break it.
• Do not expose knives made with steels that are not corrosion resistant (like ESEE Knives that are mostly made with 1095 steel) to corrosive environments. It is very stressful to the blade and can cause rust or cracking. 
• Do not stick your blade in the ground. There are compounds in the ground that will cause corrosion, and the earth is full of abrasives like sand that will scratch the finish of the blade and dull the edge. 
• Don’t put your knife away without cleaning it. 
• Do not pry or twist with the tip and this will be likely to break it. 
• Never put your knife in the dishwasher (you shouldn’t do this with kitchen knives either). 
• If possible, use the spine of the knife, not the edge, for scraping. 
• The same goes for striking sparks from a ferrocerium rod fire starter. Do not use the edge for this as you will dull and damage the edge. Use the spine or, if necessary, the choil.

Here for a New EDC Knife or Sheath? 

Either a fixed blade or a folding pocket knife can serve as a great EDC knife, depending on what you are looking for. We carry a wide range of fixed blades and folders from the top brands, including an assortment of traditional pocket knives from brands like Great Eastern Cutlery.

We also carry a variety of knife accessories, including pocket stones, leather knife sheaths, and custom knife handle scales. 

Shop our full collection and if you have any questions about what we sell (or have more questions about how to properly care for an EDC knife) get in touch with us and we will be more than happy to help you out.