Would a VCI Knife Block/Saya Improve Corrosion Resistance, Food Reactivity and Edge Retention?

Miura knives
Find deals on amazon
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
N

Nick_Hall

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2015
Messages
116
Reaction score
0
Short Verion: I'm interesting in making a knife block or saya with VCI (Volatile Corrosion Inhibitor) emitter built into it for corrosion protection and edge longevity to see what happens. VCI is FDA approved food safe and is widespread throughout every industry using steel. Has anyone ever played around with this stuff to see how it impacts edge retention, patina formation, and food reactivity?

Long Version

I have been reading Jim Rion's wonderful translation of Kousuke Iwasaki's "Honing Razors and Nihonkamisori" which is about blade maintenance and japanese natural stone honing. If you're not familiar with Kousuke Iwasaki, he is regarded as many as one of the foremost figures of 20th century Japanese knifemaking. He cofounded Sanjo Seisakujo with his son Shigeyoshi Iwasaki, who is famed for making the finest carbon steel straight razors ever produced. I have one of his tamahagane straight razors, and it's the only object I would take with me if my house catches on fire :). Most of you are familiar with his two apprentices Mr. Tokifusa Iizuka, the founder/master of Shigefusa, and Yoshibumi Takleishi, the current master smith of Heiji. Suffice to say he's fairly credible when he speaks about knives! :)

Kousuke Iwasaki was obsessed with producing the finest steel in the world to compete with the Germans after WWII. To this end, he went the extra mile and studied metallurgy at Tokyo University. He was a pioneer in using modern tools like high powered microscopes not only for evaluating the microcrystalline structure of his own work, but also for sharpening. His primary product was straight razors for professional use by Japanese barbers, so he did a great deal of research into how best to manage edge retention. One of the things he mentions is the role of microscopic rust in dulling razors. I've read elsewhere that microscopic rust causes more edge wear than cutting (or shaving for straight razors). To combat this Iwasaki recommends (among other things) that blades should be stored daily with Volatile Corrosion Inhibitors (VCI), and that this will combat rust more effectively than even oiling. VCI papers are now used extensively in industry; in fact White #1 & #2 are so named because they're factory wrapped in white VCI paper, and Blue #1 &#2 are so named because they're wrapped in blue VCI paper. This makes me curious about storing my knives with VCI emitters.

I did a bit of googling, and it looks like VCI is FDA approved, so that isn't an issue. Also, there VCI is not limited to paper, it comes in lots of forms like discs, pellets, plates etc. I'm really curious to build a knife block and/or saya with a VCI emitter like this one built into it:

https://www.theruststore.com/Bull-Frog-Emitter-Shield-P25.aspx

or this

https://www.theruststore.com/Bull-Frog-Emitter-Cup-P24.aspx


I'm curious to see if it has any impact on:

Edge Retention: If it helps keep straight razors hair popping sharp, it's likely to help kitchen knives retain a keen edge.

Patina Formation: I know I love me some patina, but there are many folks with mirror polished knives for who fight a sysiphisian war against this it. Would VCI assisted storage help?

Food Reactivity: : Some blades with highly reactive steels impart a metallic flavor on things like tomatoes. Would VCI storage help?

At any rate, there is nothing new under the sun, and given how widespread VCI use is in industry I'm sure someone's tried this before. Has anyone played around with VCI emitters to see if it helped with any of the above. I've been thinking of making myself a new knife block, and it wouldn't be much trouble to build a VCI slot if it's actually useful. Easier still would be to slip a VCI paper in a saya to experiment.

I know this is a bit dumb and probably pointless, but I'm curious by nature and I love to experiment and tinker... :)
 
Nick,

Very interesting topic and something I knew nothing about. I've been meaning to get some wooden knife bars, this makes me think having them enclosed with a hinged door makes sense. This would really help with Chuck the Butchers knife case.
 
Take Vci paper fold in half, cut to fit in a magnolia saya and voila you've won.
 
As I understand, VCI paper requires a closed space so the vapors can build up to a concentration sufficient to inhibit corrosion. I doubt a knife block meets this requirement.
 
Vci will not lessen the reactivity of a knife however. Unless your are somehow able to keep the paper on the blade while cutting veg or whathaveyou. It's hard to find information about the daikon and baking powder method with carbon knives, maybe someone can elucidate that process for us...
 
Just to clarify, I don't expect VCI to a miracle cure that makes a Tojiro Black comparable to stainless :) I'm just curious what if any effect it may have, and whether or not anyone has experimented with it. I've heard the merits so plastic board edge wear vs end grain debated quite a bit (a minor difference), but I'm too new to have seen something as obscure as this discussed.

What I'm thinking is that to our eye, a matte carbon steel finish looks smooth, but at the molecular level at which VCI is working, it looks like the Himalayas. I fully expect the VCI to wear off the "peaks" in the first slice, but in the "valleys" that hold the majority of the surface area, there is never any direct friction, so it's possible that the VCI remains intact and inhibits oxidation. So it's possible that patina would form less quickly on VCI treated knives, maybe 10% or 20% at best, or maybe nothing at all.

The same holds true for edge retention; for home cooks, the knife is unused for 99% of the day. If oxidation of the cutting edge is larger factor in edge retention than abrasion for amateurs like me, and if 99% of the oxidation of the knife's cutting edge is happening when the knife isn't being used, it's possible that amateurs like me would get significantly better edge longevity. For a pro chef, (like many here) it's probably pointless. Their knives do more work in a day than mine does in a month! That said I've never hear anyone talk about it so I'm curious to know if anyone has played around it.

Put differently, I doubt it works, but it might, and I curious to know if anyone has tried it :)
 
Not sure about VCI, but feel you may be somewhat misguided if you think of the distance between plastic and end grain as minor.

As for carbon knives, the don't rust if used and stored properly.
 
VCIs actively prevent corrosion in an enclosed space, they do not however to my understanding, have any effect on the ferrous items you are attempting to keep from corroding.

On a similar note (a different means to the same end) FWIW from my research using something like silica gel (or other desiccant) is a very poor idea in an enclosed space for long term storage. Unless you are interested in cooking out your desiccant every few months for the sake of safety, you're better off not even going down that avenue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top