In hunting, A hunting knife plays an important role as like other hunting tools. With a good condition hunting knife, it’ll help to handle any type of hard task like cutting, slicing, or skinning animals as well. So, that’s why you need to take care of the health of your hunting knife.
However, you have to make sure that your hunting knife is in the best condition it can be. Cleaning is also an important procedure for a hunting knife as it increases knife lifespan.
If you are searching for help about how to clean a hunting knife properly? I’m here to help you. I’ll guide you about how you can clean your hunting knife easily.
However, you have to make sure to keep your hunting knives in the best condition it can be. Cleaning is also an important procedure for a hunting knife as it increases knife lifespan.
Why Cleaning is Important for A Hunting Knife?
While many hunters forget about their hunting knife and leave it in the backpack after finishing their hunting trip, there might be animal blood strains, fat, or small dirt in the knife blade and knife handle.
As a result, the knife can get rust, useless, and ugly. So, cleaning is important to keep your knife hygiene and healthy. There are no other ways to avoid rust without cleaning. Therefore, if you take care of your knife, it’ll take care of you in the wild.
Simple Ways to Clean a Hunting Knife
I’m trying to guide you on how to clean a hunting knife at home. To begin with, you’ll need some equipment and those thing are available in every home.
- Dish soap
- Soft scrubber
- A small brush
- Hot water
- Dry cloth for wipe
And that’s it.
Now here are some steps you need to follow
- First of all, rinse your knife in warm-hot water and apply some dish soap, or you can use hot soapy water together. Just leave it for some time because if any dry blood stains remain in the knife, it will easy to cleanout. If your knife is made of carbon steel, then you can use baking soda and warm-hot water to clean it. But remember, never apply boiling water because some of the knife’s handle can be damaged through the boiling water.
- If your knife gets rusty, you can use hydrogen peroxide to remove it. But using hydrogen peroxide frequently can cause metal corrosion.
- Apply some of the liquid soap on the knife and spread it properly on the knife. Now use a soft scrubber and scrub it nicely. Make sure you never use a hard scrubber as it can leave disturbing scratch marks on knives. Never scrub directly on the knife blade as you can cut yourself. Those soap and water will soften the dirt and blood stains or tissue and clean it all gently.
- Use a small brush to clean hidden dirt. Especially if you have a folding hunting knife, then there might be dirt inside it. So, using a small brush is effective for cleaning the inside part.
- Rinse the knife properly in running water to wash all mess and dry the knife with a dry cloth. Make sure you dry the knife completely, or you may face a rust problem.
- Before storing the knife, apply lubricant oil to it. Lubricants help to prevent rust and keep the hunting knife in good condition. I’ll add some extra tips on how you can lubricate your hunting knife.
- Now store the knife in a dry place with a sheath, and now your knife is ready for the next adventure.
- Here is a tip, keep your knife out of moisture to prevent rust problems.
Lubricate The Knife
For the lubrication or oiling process apply a little amount of lubricant oil on the knife and wipe it with a dry soft cloth. Never put much lubricant oil on the knife as it can attract more dust particles to it.
Moreover, be careful while applying lubricant oil on a knife because lubricant on the knife handle can be very slippery to hold.
Furthermore, if you are using a folding hunting knife, apply lubricant oil on all those joint parts to reduce friction. As a result, it’ll be easier to function all those movable parts.
Conclusion
Cleaning is crucial for maintaining the good health of a hunting knife. While skinning a deer or cutting meat with a hunting knife, blood or tissues will be on the knife. In this situation, always try to wipe those things with a cleaning cloth. If you can’t find any cloth there, clean them in your pants; otherwise, all those dirt will dry. Dry pieces of stuff require more effort for cleaning. In the field, after using wash it every time if possible.
Always keep your knives sharp and clean appropriately. If you take care of it, it’ll be your best friend in the wild.
Wishing you good luck for adventure.