Humidity question?

Anyone have any good ideas for dealing with high humidity, especially in regards to carbon?

I've noticed that since moving to NC from WI that it's much more prevalent of a problem. I'm in the process of switching to all wood sayas, and I do try to coat my blades with mineral oil pretty frequently...

Any type of case or substance I can place in a case or ?

You just think it's humid here...the humidity really doesn't get too high until July/August. As to the carbon, I use mineral oil on anything that won't be in the rotation and haven't had any issues. Welcome to the heat.

welcome to south. my whole kitchen started wearing shorts this week. you almost have to.

I used to wear shorts all the time in my last kitchen. When we got a new Chef he thought we were insane because of the possibilities of burning your legs, so he made us wear pants. Not a fun summer.

Chop.
There is this stuff called frog lube that might be worth checking out. It is a food safe firearms lubricant that builds up over time and you can probably use it even on the knives that are in your current rotation at work. Ask me about it at work and I'll tell you about it.

Actually now that I think about it I am going to see if I can get some to test just that.

Humidity?....never heard of it! :clown: Aside from wooden saya, my best results come from homemade cardboard sheaths saturated with tsubaki oil. Everything rusts here. My fridge looks like it has leprosy.

how about a wooden box with hay on bottom, thick layer of rice, newspaper on top of rice.

shorts in the kitchen, wow i wish i could get away with that. i used to wear sleeveless shirts with no jacket working broiler at my first culinary job lol.

No shorts in my kitchen. Although "capris" are ok. Knees must be covered. Socks are mandatory, no sandals.

I have a freaking hot kitchen in the summer.

About the humidity, rice.

I just thought about this, maybe save silica packs and put them in your bag? I just resign myself to oiling often, but I'm going to try this next time I see one.

panda said:

how about a wooden box with hay on bottom, thick layer of rice, newspaper on top of rice.

shorts in the kitchen, wow i wish i could get away with that. i used to wear sleeveless shirts with no jacket working broiler at my first culinary job lol.

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Working Broiler is a hot job period,seems like my Broiler days I was drinking more beer.Our uniforms long pants,shoes & socks.short sleave chef jacket,paper hats.

Here in fl summers are brutal In the kitchen, look at the loghtweight jackets from happy chef and get breatheable pants.

It really helps to drink plenty of water I drink on averae 3-5qts just during service and I feel much better and cooler I overall.

I also take a towels and dip it I. I've water and leave it on my neck when I work the grill.

Humidity rice works well.

NO ChoP! said:

Anyone have any good ideas for dealing with high humidity, especially in regards to carbon?

I've noticed that since moving to NC from WI that it's much more prevalent of a problem. I'm in the process of switching to all wood sayas, and I do try to coat my blades with mineral oil pretty frequently...

Any type of case or substance I can place in a case or ?

Click to expand...

What problem are you having exactly? Rust?

When your trying to keep several dozen knives tuned, small bottles of expensive oils seem silly. I've tried them, and am not sure they outperform my pint tin of mineral oil for $7.

I use orange oil/ beeswax on my handles.

Now if someone can tell me differently, I may reconsider.

Have you tried flitz? Seems to work well don't wipe it completely off. It's a good barrier goes a long way however before using it will need to be cleaned but if its that bad should work. I'm amazed your having that many issues I really don't here only need a little oil and polish once a week or so.

NO ChoP! said:

When your trying to keep several dozen knives tuned, small bottles of expensive oils seem silly. I've tried them, and am not sure they outperform my pint tin of mineral oil for $7.

I use orange oil/ beeswax on my handles.

Now if someone can tell me differently, I may reconsider.

Click to expand...

All I know is I use the Tsubaki oil...on all my high end stuff (drawer queens)...and I have / had a lot of them. Never had a problem with rusting or patina forming.

Sure, I've used Flitz; to remove patina. I've found I like 0000 and 00000 steel wool better for this job.
I don't let the knives rust, but they will start to discolor orange. It usually wipes off with a damp cloth.
Even if I rotate knives evenly, some may sit for weeks without use.
Humidity in NC often reaches way up in the 80% to 100% range. Leaving a few knives in my car trunk or garage overnight can reek havoc sometimes.

The rice was a good suggestion, more in line with what I am looking for....