A few years ago i acquired an old meat clever. It’s a huge thing with ‘S. Stainforth, The Smithy, Sheffield, 1983’ stamped on it.

When I got it, it was pretty battered and rusty. I spent some time cleaning it up and sharpening it, and it gets used now. The trouble is the surface rust returns pretty quickly.

Is there any kind of treatment I can apply to it? Will a wax or similar work (conscious that it gets used for food)?

Candle wax.

just dress it with veg oil. Don’t put it in the dishwasher.

Oil me up and give me a good rub down for openers…

Veg oiled. Thanks!

The correct answer is camellia oil. As used by the Samuri to protect their swords.

Vegetable oil can go ‘clammy’ over time and when cold can solidify. Camellia oil doesn’t do this.

Dip it in Olive Oil, just don’t tell pop eye.

Uncle Stanley’s cleaver, I’d always wondered what happened to that once he was convicted.

Can you not season it like a wok? My Wok rusted easily but when I seasoned it with veg oil it now sits in my cupboard all year without rusting as I only use it a few times a year.