Hello,
I'm hoping some of you will be able to offer some advice on how best to pack, store, and protect my tools from rust while in storage.
I have a considerable collection of handtools and will soon be moving. Most of them will likely remain boxed up and in storage for an unknown length of time. It could be a few months, but it could also be over a year. I currently live in NYC without any kind of climate control beyond wintertime heat and have never had any kind of problem with rust. All I've had to do is wipe them down with a dry(occasionally oily) rag after use and put them away in their wooden cabinet to keep them rust free. Rust, in other words, is something I've fortunately not had to think too much about.
My destination is coastal Maine, where I expect to experience a similar climate and conditions to NYC(although colder) -- significant humidity in the summer and geographically within a couple of miles of the ocean. It's leaving them wrapped up in storage that worries me. Especially given that they'll likely be stored in a storage facility that is not climate controlled in any way(including heat.) I've heard that wrapping steel and iron tools in paper and in cardboard poses some risks -- that the paper constantly loses and gains moisture(like wood) and that it is, in effect, like wrapping my tools in a wet blanket. Am I correct in this understanding? I'd like to avoid using plastic as a wrap unless it's absolutely necessary, and I'd prefer a natural, non-toxic rust preventative unless something else is absolutely necessary. I have been thinking that I'd thoroughly wax every tool, buff it out, then wipe them all down with a rag soaked in camellia oil. I'd then wrap them in paper(I've also considered wrapping them each in that special rust inhibiting paper if people think it's worth the trouble and cost) and pack them away in cardboard boxes.
What would you do? I really, REALLY don't want to open up dozens of planes and saws and chisels in a year and a half and discover that they've all gone rusty. For those of you who have stored tools for long periods of time in sheds without heat in cold climates, what has and hasn't worked for you? Do you recommend that rust inhibiting paper? Is a nice natural paste was and oil sufficient? Is something else better? Would they be better wrapper in paper and then stored in plastic bins? I'm open to ALL suggestions!
Thanks in advance for the advice!