Is it true that carbon steel will rust if not dried after use?

Name: Bob Kramer 8" Carbon Steel Chef’s Knife by Zwilling J.A. Henckels
Uploaded: 12/01/2025
Channel: Sur La Table
Description: The chef’s knife is the perfect kitchen workhorse, ideal for chopping, slicing, dicing and mincing meats and vegetables.

The first metal formulated to hold the razor-sharp, consistent edge required by the modern culinary arts, carbon steel has a rich 3,000-year heritage and is still a favorite of enthusiasts and professional for its perfect performance, amazing edge retention and ease of sharpening. The extremely fine grain structure of 52100 carbon steel fine grain allows for maximum sharpness. Each blade is formulated from a type of straight carbon steel called 52100 —the exact type used by Bob in his own shop —and heat-treated to a hardness of 61 Rockwell. That means this knife has the ability to take an extremely sharp edge, to hold that edge under all sorts of use and abuse, and remain easy to sharpen. The full tang of the blade is tapered to Bob’s precise specifications, and the blade is sharpened to 15° on each side of the 50/50 edge with the traditional three-step hand-honed edge. Carbon Steel can rust easier than Stainless Steel so be sure to thouroughly dry your knife after each use paying special attention to the area around where the blade and the handle meet.