LeMal
Member
Posts: 1,086
|
Post by LeMal on Nov 18, 2012 15:32:45 GMT
No, not India Pale Ale! Isopropyl alcohol. Been using it for a long time--95-99% strength of course--on my blackpowder guns. Clean with good old soap and hot water, then a wipe with IPA rather than oil, especially inside the barrel. A while back switched over to IPA instead of gun oil in my modern gun barrels too. But only in the last few months started doing it with swords (and armor) when they're in the open and not scabbarded, and the results are awesome. Much less messy to have around the house and wipe down frequently, and perfect at rust prevention. (Hey, why not? In a machine shop do you oil the non-moving parts you're making? No, you wipe down with IPA.) Yes, I suppose it's not period. But then neither is just about any oil- or silicone-based product most of us have been using either. And I'll tell you what, at 99 cents a pint, near-pure IPA runs a hell of a lot cheaper!
|
|
jhart06
Member
Slowly coming back from the depths...
Posts: 3,292
|
Post by jhart06 on Nov 23, 2012 7:00:39 GMT
Not sure on the IPA bit, in the machine shop I work in we oil *everything* even the parts we make. Plus, to be honest, IPA evaporates really quickly in the open air, so I have no clue how it's forming a sufficient barrier on your things to keep it rust free. Worth looking into though.
|
|
LeMal
Member
Posts: 1,086
|
Post by LeMal on Nov 24, 2012 16:51:39 GMT
Oil everything? Seriously? We certainly don't do that with the stuff where I was just working the past four years. Then again, it's biotech, and the machining's rather precise; in any case oil is a holy mess.
The upshot is that you don't NEED any barrier, if moisture is eliminated. Like I said, been using IPA on my swords almost exclusively for a while now. Not only not a spot of rust--much LESS worries than before. (Remember, anything that provides a barrier ... also provides an opportunity for moisture to get trapped under it.)
|
|
|
Post by VincentC on Nov 27, 2012 10:36:23 GMT
What type of climate do you live in? I live in a fairly wet area, windows and any exposed metal gets fogged up/water beading. I prefer mineral oil. If I put too much on it'll bead, but a proper amount is good.
|
|
LeMal
Member
Posts: 1,086
|
Post by LeMal on Dec 2, 2012 18:05:55 GMT
I currently live in the desert of the Tri-State area (Laughlin/Needles/Bullhead City/etc)--which obviously helps at present! Nevertheless, I was living in Minnesota when I started switching over, and it was actually the vicious humidity of the past couple summers that made me consider it. I was having to re-wipe my swords and armor CONSTANTLY because of the humidity fluctuations, especially when going outside and then coming back into air conditioning. I figured we used the isopropyl at work, why not use it to wipe first and make sure the metal was dry? THEN, after getting busy and failing to oil the metal one time, I went back to it all worried. Lo and behold, it was in great shape. (Of course because it hadn't gone outside or through fluctuations or been handled.) That's when i realize IPA was great, and inexpensive, for giving a wipe after each use, and by keeping everything dry worked even better--IN humid conditions.
|
|
|
Post by chrisperoni on Dec 2, 2012 18:15:15 GMT
I'm sorry but this just doesn't add up to me. the alcohol evaporates and then there's nothing left protecting the steel. I've worked in several tool and die/mould shops and we never just used ipa- anything that was treated was treated with some kind of oil or silicone based product. Including the tools in the tool room - stuff that may have sat for a long period with no use/movement was given extra consideration as that's when leaving it unprotected could lead to problems. Moving parts would only really need oiling to keep them moving- no rust was going to have time to form if the parts were constantly being "rubbed" against another. I think you've just been lucky. I've left oil on swords and not checked them for over a year and they were fine. I've cleaned swords with ipa and left them on the table for a few hours and seen tarnishing and the beginning of rusting.... idk. I guess it's whatever works for you, where you live, and how you use your steel. (I'm in Winsdor Ontario fyi- a very humid place indeed) I hear what your saying about it technically not needing protection if there's no moisture to begin with- but I think that's a gamble I don't see being worht taking. I guess it's because you use everything so often -- it does the job given you're always having to do something to clean/maintain between uses. oh, and one other thing. I love india pale ale
|
|
|
Post by Onimusha on Dec 2, 2012 18:33:41 GMT
When you clean with IPA you're left with bare, dry metal. If you don't oil it, the moisture in the air will get to it and cause rust . That being said, rubbing alcohol contains a little oil. It may be leaving that behind. I wouldn't trust it to protect my barrel.
|
|
LeMal
Member
Posts: 1,086
|
Post by LeMal on Dec 9, 2012 21:07:40 GMT
Sorry, Onimusha. We have a saying in professional research: "Nothing ruins a great hypothesis like an experiment." The moisture in the air will only "get to it" (the metal) if there is condensation--and there will only be condensation if there are FLUCTUATIONS in humidity.
I always wipe with IPA whenever conditions change. And that said (while still in Minnesota) I left swords on the rack for as long as SIX MONTHS after a wipe with IPA, indoors in stable conditions of humidity, untouched, for more than six months. Not a spot of rust.
(As for conditions of fluctuating humidity, do you want to re-wipe with frequency? Of course. But the same is true of an oiled blade. And as IPA is both less expensive and less messy, it still wins out there.)
|
|
|
Post by demonocus on Dec 21, 2012 19:37:08 GMT
i'll stick with my sword oil cause i'm not a gambler
|
|
LeMal
Member
Posts: 1,086
|
Post by LeMal on Dec 22, 2012 3:09:14 GMT
Nothing inherently wrong with that. As the quote goes, "There are only two rules. 1. There are no rules. 2. Whatever works, works." Just don't let "crowdsourcing" replace empiricism when it comes to believing alternatives regarding what does/doesn't work.
|
|