Hand Tool Care

[puffin]

What kinds of things do you folks to for rust prevention on our hand tools? Machine Oil, WD-40, wax?

Also any general tips would be welcome for hand tool maintenance would be welcome.

My wife is getting me a Starret Combination square. They are very nice, if not a bit pricey. I don't want to get in to the whole, quality tools are expensive blah blah bit. I'm usually willing to pay more if I know I'm getting my money's worth. But it made me think, I plan to get some more nice hand tools over the next year, which also tend to be pricey. Many of the manufactures claim that their tools are heirloom quality and with care, they should last a lifetime.

It is the "...with care" part that is vague. I'm still fairly new to woodworking, and don't have a lot of nice tools yet. I just want to take care of them right from the start.

FYI - I did do some quick google searches for hand tool maintenance, mostly what I got was that hand tools need to be sharpened. Ok, got that lol.

[Lucas]

Hi Joe,

I always have a hard time with rust on my handtools... So for my expensive planes I treat them with T-9 Boeshield (after all surface rust has been removed) and then give them a coat of paste wax. I also keep them all stored in a waterproof toolbox with a bunch of desiccant and humidity indicator tags. About once a month I will clean and rewax the tools and replace the desiccant.

I know this sounds extreme but I just hate to see rust on my tools!!! Rust belongs on my car, not my tools. Try to stay away from machine oil or WD-40, as they may cause finishing problems, unless you are storing them for a while and then this would be fine.

[Onboard]

Joe, Lucas has give you some great suggestions. You might also want to check these posts: Post 1; Post 2; Post 3; Post 4