will vegetable oil prevent rust?

[Alpo]

My thread on carrying butcher equipment in the truck. Now I know they make knives that are stainless steel, but if I really want to cut meat I get an old Hickory. It takes an edge quickly, it holds it pretty good, and with a steel it comes back real fast.

 

But, if it gets damp, it rusts.

 

I have heard of people buying them and then using white vinegar to "put a patina on it", which supposedly prevents rust. Never tried that, so don't know. Just seen it here on the all-knowing internet.

 

The best thing to prevent rust is a light coating of oil, but three in one does not go real good with meat. So I was thinking canola.

 

Will vegetable oil prevent rust?

[Pat Riot]

Ha, I looked it up and vegetable oil can be used to protect metal in kitchen environments. I would not have considered this until seeing your post. 
 

If I came across kitchen cutlery prone to rust I just wouldn’t buy it. I may have passed on some good knives because of this. 

[Choctaw Jack]

Vegetable oil will prevent rust, but tends to get sticky, and in some cases will turn rancid, depending on the oil.

A much better choice is food grade mineral oil. Doesn't get tacky, doesn't turn rancid, and works really well on sharpening stones.

Choctaw 

[Subdeacon Joe]

39 minutes ago, Choctaw Jack said:

Vegetable oil will prevent rust, but tends to get sticky, and in some cases will turn rancid, depending on the oil.

 

Once it gets tacky it's danged hard to get off.

[Cypress Sun]

2 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

Once it gets tacky it's danged hard to get off.

 

Not as bad as Cosmoline, but bad.

[John Kloehr]

Assuming carbon steel blades, mineral oil is good. But that would be in a kitchen... In a car, maybe not enough. Have heard of melting together mineral oil with beeswax. This makes a thicker layer on the blade and is still food-safe. A bit of search might turn up an old-school/old-world recipe for a good ratio.

 

For storage (something to wrap the knives in), search on "oilskin" which is cotton canvas treated with waxes or boiled linseed oil. And also search for boiled linseed oil, because it is not actually what the name sounds like.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

8 hours ago, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

Once it gets tacky it's danged hard to get off.

I use it on cast iron after I've cleaned it very well.  When I get ready to use the cast iron I heat it and wipe it  clean again.

 

Other than that the only thing I use vegetable oil for is cooking or salads, and periodically treating my butcher block.

[John Kloehr]

2 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

... I use vegetable oil for ... periodically treating my butcher block.

Mineral oil. Use mineral oil for this. While wood utensils are now "frowned upon" in all cooking applications, mineral oil is the only FDA approved treatment for all wood cooking surfaces.

[Rooster Ron Wayne]

Yes

[Buckshot Bear]

Camellia Oil

[Eyesa Horg]

11 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

I use it on cast iron after I've cleaned it very well.  When I get ready to use the cast iron I heat it and wipe it  clean again.

 

Other than that the only thing I use vegetable oil for is cooking or salads, and periodically treating my butcher block.

You should use mineral oil on butcher blocks and cutting boards.

[Alpo]

29 minutes ago, Buckshot Bear said:

Camellia Oil

The red flowers with no smell? Or is that a brand name?

[Choctaw Jack]

Another really good (and old) treatment for butcher blocks and wooden cutting boards is paraffin.

Melted paraffin wax poured over the surface then scraped off helps seal the wood from moisture. Use a proper block scraper or doughboard scraper to remove any excess, and this will help keep moisture out of the grain.

If you're not going to use them for an extended amount of time, leave the covering on.

Choctaw

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

23 hours ago, John Kloehr said:

Mineral oil. Use mineral oil for this. While wood utensils are now "frowned upon" in all cooking applications, mineral oil is the only FDA approved treatment for all wood cooking surfaces.

Mineral oil!  

 

Huh, I'll try that tonight. I have a half gallon that I have used on genuine stag and most antlers.  Shouldn't take much to convert.

 

The  EVOO won't go  to waste. either.

[Buckshot Bear]

14 hours ago, Alpo said:

The red flowers with no smell? Or is that a brand name?

 

 

https://www.carbatec.com.au/products/camellia-oil-240mm-bottle

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

16 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

Mineral oil!  

 

Huh, I'll try that tonight. I have a half gallon that I have used on genuine stag and most antlers.  Shouldn't take much to convert.

 

The  EVOO won't go  to waste. either.

Okay!

 

Used a hair drier and a lot of vinegar and alcohol, several rolls of paper towels (and three hours total) to get the vegetable oil off.  Then Clorox  to get it "unstained" again.

 

The I dried it with the hair drier set on high.

 

This morning I sanded it smooth with the finest paper I had and  wiped it own again with alcohol

 

Just finished rubbing and heating it again and rubbing mineral oil in until it wouldn't take  any more.

 

I'll heat it and wipe off the remaining oil and then I'll rub / buff it down with bath towel, and let it sit until tomorrow to "cure".

 

Whatever, it sure  is pretty and I'll let  you know how  it works later  on.

[watab kid]

interesting read , have always used mineral oil on utensils and cutting surfaces 

[Alpo]

Definitely an interesting read. I have NEVER used mineral oil on utensils. Because mineral oil is petroleum.

That just always seemed like a bad idea.

[Pat Riot]

I recall my wood shop teacher  telling us that Boiled Linseed Oil is what you should use on wood utensils and cutting blocks. 
I have never heard of Mineral Oil use on wood. Thank you all for mentioning it. I learned something today. 
 

Also. when I made my statement in post #2 my intention would never to use Vegetable Oil as a Preservative, just protection until the next use of the knife. 
 

The only thing oil related in our kitchen now is Olive Oil. I won’t use vegetable oil unless I have no choice.

My wife and I would always go back and forth about olive oil. She wanted to use vegetable or canola oil. 
Then one day I showed her the baked on plastic like coating on one of our oven pizza pans from her using vegetable or canola oil on it to heat some frozen ready to eat chicken breast meat to keep the meat from sticking. 

There is a vegetable oil refinery in Charlotte, NC. 
If you all smelled what used vegetable oil that is being re-refined smells like you would never use vegetable oil again. 
It smells like a mix of latex paint and oil based enamel in a freshly painted room on a very hot day. It does not smell like “French fries” or “fried chicken”. 

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

23 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

Okay!

 

Used a hair drier and a lot of vinegar and alcohol, several rolls of paper towels (and three hours total) to get the vegetable oil off.  Then Clorox  to get it "unstained" again.

 

The I dried it with the hair drier set on high.

 

This morning I sanded it smooth with the finest paper I had and  wiped it own again with alcohol

 

Just finished rubbing and heating it again and rubbing mineral oil in until it wouldn't take  any more.

 

I'll heat it and wipe off the remaining oil and then I'll rub / buff it down with bath towel, and let it sit until tomorrow to "cure".

 

Whatever, it sure  is pretty and I'll let  you know how  it works later  on.

Okay, I like it better than what I was using before.  It seems to do everything it is  supposed to and is easier. It  even looks better.  I'll stick  with it until I find something better, but in the meantime consider me a convert.

[J. Mark Flint #31954 LIFE]

IIRC Ballistol is used for food production machinery as well as about a gajillion other things.  It is a mineral oil with various addatives.  I hate the smell, but it does its job well