Does a person have to keep a knife made of Damascus oiled to prevent rusting? A friend told me that they have a tendency to rust up. Is this true?

Any high carbon steel will rust. If the damascus is stainles what that really means is stain resistant.

Thanks Dan... Joe

If the damascus is stainles what that really means is stain resistant.
That's true, the word is stainless, not stainproof. :)

Some carbon damascus blades do tend to rust very easily but oil is not the only answer. If you use oil a cooking oil is best IMO if the knife will ever be used to cut any type of food. For field knives or any situation where oil is too messy then wax will work very well.

Once the blade has developed it's own natural patine just drying it off immediately after use is all it will probably need if you oil or wax it a couple of times a year....

Excuse me for maybe asking a dumb question but what kind of wax would you recommend Ray... Thanks

I'm not Ray, but I will respond with my input.....

I've used wax exclusivley on my damascus knives for a number of years. I've tried (and wasted my money) on all the high end waxes, and keep coming back to Mother's caranuba cleaner/wax, which is available at WalMart or most car parts places like Checker Auto. I like this wax so much that I've also been using it on my guns for the last few years. It makes a BIG difference, especially on my duck hunting guns...the dirt, mud, and gunk don't pile up in them like it did when I used oils.

I may have to give that stuff Ed recommends a try next time I get to Wally World but up to now I've been happy with Renaissance Wax....

I have been studying several japanese arts including togi. They have a very long history of using camila oil, as a hair conditioner, as a protective oil for metal and as a cooking oil. It is what's used on *ALL* the professionaly polished swords in japan. We are talking some very super pricy swords here. Im sure there's several other equaly good products out there to.

Ed