Got a solid Kershaw hunting knife like a Camp 5 that you take with you in the field? Great, they’re solid knives, they’re reliable, they’re affordable, and they’re relatively low on maintenance requirements.

Now, low on maintenance requirements doesn’t mean there are no maintenance requirements. This short post will offer some top tips on how to keep your Kershaw (or any other hunting knife, for that matter) in better shape for longer, protecting your investment and making sure it’s ready for duty when you draw it.

Keep It Sharp

The most straightforward aspect of Kershaw hunting knife maintenance is making sure the blade remains sharp. To put it bluntly (pun actually not intended) if you carry a hunting knife, you must also carry a sharpening stone or some other system. There is no way around this.

This is true if only for the fact that a sharp knife is a safe knife. You will expend less effort when working with a sharp knife and on top of that, you’ll need to use less force and will be less likely to slip with a sharp knife.

As a result, it is critically imperative that you keep your hunting knife sharp, whether it is a Kershaw or otherwise.

Anyway, make sure you bring along a small pocket-sized sharpening stone when you go afield, or at least some other sort of sharpening system, so that you can touch up the edge on an as-needed basis

General notes are these. Check your knife’s edge before and after using it. If it needs a touch-up, give it a few passes on the stone you brought along. It’s a lot easier to keep a knife sharp on a routine basis than it is to get a very dull knife sharp again.

Keep It Clean

Kershaw hunting knives like the Camp 5 are made with D2 blades. This still is semi corrosion-resistant at best, and hardly corrosion resistant at worst. There are plenty of Kershaw folders out there that have truly stainless blades, but this is not one of them.

Point is, do not use this knife to clean a harvest, and then sheath the thing with fat, grease, blood and gore smattered all over the blade, with hair or feathers on top of that. You’re not proving anything other than that you don’t know how to properly care for a knife.

Doing so is not just lazy, it will be encouraging not just staining, but corrosion of the blade. Rather, every time you use your knife, make sure you rinse it off until it is completely clean. Pay special attention to any jimping along the spine, where the blade meets the scales, as well as to the scale fasteners, as these are areas where dirt and other debris can get caked on. (For special notes on folder maintenance, see below.)

Then make sure the blade is fully dry before you sheath and stow it.

Protecting Against Corrosion

In addition to keeping your Kershaw hunting knife clean, you will also want to make sure you protect it somewhat against corrosion. There are many ways to do this but the best is to oil it lightly to create an insulative layer.

Since you will use a hunting knife to process harvests that will ultimately become food, you want to use a food safe oil. Stay away from gun and machine oil. As far as synthetic oils go, mineral oil is one of the least inoffensive.

That said, there are other better oils you can use to coat the blade before you store it, like tsubaki oil, which is made from camellia seeds. This is a food safe oil and it will protect the blade against corrosion.

Once you have cleaned your Kershaw hunting knife, wipe it completely dry - this step is imperative - and then apply about one drop of oil to each side of the blade. Wipe off excess before storing and you should be good to go.

Extra Care and Maintenance for a Folding Kershaw Hunting Knife

If you choose a folding Kershaw pocket knife for your hunting knife, there are a few other notes you’ll want to observe.

Chiefly, keeping the knife clean becomes much more important, particularly around the pivot mechanism and the lock.

Where possible, use some compressed air to get gunk out of the pivot mechanism, but if that does not work, consider a nylon brush to dislodge anything that gets in there.

Then clean it and oil sparingly, chiefly to protect it against corrosion rather than to lubricate it.

What Not to Do with Your Kershaw Hunting Knife

These high-level notes should keep your Kershaw hunting knife in relatively good order, but here are some things you should also observe:

• Do not sheath or fold your Kershaw hunting knife if it is dirty or there is anything on the blade.
• Do not stick your knife in the ground, as this will dull the blade and can accelerate corrosion.
• Do not throw your knife; you run the risk of breaking the lock, the tip, or both.
• Don’t store your hunting knife anywhere there is high average relative humidity.
• Do not overapply oil to the blade or pivot mechanism, as oil is sticky and will attract dirt and debris.
• Do not use your hunting knife as a screwdriver or a pry bar; it’s a hunting knife, not an EDC knife.

Follow the maintenance and care tips mentioned in this article and stay away from the bad practices listed above and your Kershaw knife will last for longer and you’ll be less likely to incidentally damage it.

Here for a New Kershaw Hunting Knife?

Here because you need a new Kershaw hunting knife? Take a look through our full collection via the previous link and find what works for you. We carry a wide variety of fixed and folding knives that would be perfect for the task at hand, or at least for backup, as well as many suitable alternatives from other popular brands.