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Old 22-05-2017, 18:19   #1
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How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

Hi everyone!

We are getting some serious rust on our cutting knives (and other cutlery). I don't mind so much on the cheap cutlery but even the nice stainless steal knives are rusting away after only a few months on board.
We do wash in salt water but rinse them in fresh, perhaps I should only use fresh on them? Wondering if any one has hot tips on keeping them rust free for longer!

Thanks!

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Old 22-05-2017, 18:31   #2
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

Hi, Sheridan,

Yes, wash in fresh water, and dry, even if you generally allow your dishes to air dry. Once they get pitted, they will continue to develop stain. I remove the stain with a nylon scritcher pad.

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Old 22-05-2017, 18:45   #3
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

Use fresh water. We average 3 gal per day for everything, dishes, cooking and drinking. You have to be able to adjust.
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Old 23-05-2017, 06:45   #4
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

i have some very cheap walmart utensils. funny these donot rust whereas the pricey ones are rust coated.
my other method of prevention is use of omygods plasticware, available everywhere ..... doesnt rust and when folks are ill, i toss em not wash em...saves cross contamination issues
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Old 23-05-2017, 06:52   #5
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

Now and again I clean them with very, very fine sand paper, then rinse, dry and wipe with a rug mildly soaked in sunflower oil (I think olive oil is more acidic, and wouldn't use it, but I might be wrong). Quite therapeutic job for a lazy afternoon.
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Old 23-05-2017, 09:19   #6
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

Im afraid on long passages ie of 4 to 7 weeks I will use sea water. Either use cheap utensils and buy every so often or use scrubbing pads and oil. Having said that mine have been used for 5 years and still acceptable
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Old 23-05-2017, 09:33   #7
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

On passages I used to wash in salt water and rinse with fresh, but pots and utensils started rusting nonetheless.
Then I found I was using more fresh water to rinse that when washing, so I closed the salt water seacock for ever....
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Old 23-05-2017, 09:46   #8
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

Yea, Salt water will rust stuff pretty readily. OTOH, even plain steel knives don't rust much when only washed in fresh water.
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Old 23-05-2017, 09:58   #9
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

You could always go all out, & have them salt bath nitrided. Then you'd give zero thought to corrosion That or go to titanium utensils
Honestly though, other than fresh water rinses, I'm in the routine maintenance camp. As even my plain steel knives don't rust much, in & around salt water when well cared for.

And metal is like most other things in that if you warm it up a bit, it's pores open more & let it absorb a little bit of oil. So that unless you go nuts with the dish detergent, small bits of it get retained on/in the utensils even after washing. Though it still pays to rewipe them with another coat after washing.
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Old 23-05-2017, 10:04   #10
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

We have found ceramic knives to be good and not that expensive, they can break of course though.
So far it seems good SS utensils have not rusted, but we do nothing with salt water either. Even the cast iron frying pan has been fine, but it is properly seasoned.
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Old 23-05-2017, 21:29   #11
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

Rub baby oil on your utensils. Wala, problem solved.
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Old 23-05-2017, 21:52   #12
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

Quote:
Originally Posted by YPSILANTI View Post
Rub baby oil on your utensils. Wala, problem solved.
If olive oil is made of olives, what is baby oil made of?

But seriously, baby oil is mineral oil. I prefer to use vegetable oil on cooking utensils.
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Old 24-05-2017, 00:14   #13
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

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But seriously, baby oil is mineral oil. I prefer to use vegetable oil on cooking utensils.
Baby oil is generally perfumed mineral oil. Gotta make them smell good .

The big bonus with mineral oil is that, unlike vegetable oil, it doesn't go rancid. For knives that are used frequently this is not an issue, but for cutting boards food grade mineral oil is far better than a veggie alternative.

Helps keep you regular as well .

To the OP, I wash knives on board only with fresh water and always then give them a light wipe with any food grade oil. Rust bluntens knives and unfortunately many knives that can be sharpened well are more prone to rust (ceramic are an exception). Oiling only takes seconds and I find it worth the effort.

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Old 24-05-2017, 06:11   #14
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

Thank you all for your replies! Will look at fresh water only and oiling occasionally and see how it goes! I like the plastic fantastic stuff to but for a cutting knife need something a bit stronger [emoji4]
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Old 01-06-2017, 02:32   #15
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Re: How to keep rust at bay on cooking utensils

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Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass View Post
Baby oil is generally perfumed mineral oil. Gotta make them smell good .

The big bonus with mineral oil is that, unlike vegetable oil, it doesn't go rancid. For knives that are used frequently this is not an issue, but for cutting boards food grade mineral oil is far better than a veggie alternative.

Helps keep you regular as well [emoji3].

To the OP, I wash knives on board only with fresh water and always then give them a light wipe with any food grade oil. Rust bluntens knives and unfortunately many knives that can be sharpened well are more prone to rust (ceramic are an exception). Oiling only takes seconds and I find it worth the effort.

SWL
Second this, although I suspect SWL has MUCH better kitchen knives than I☺
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