How do you demagnetize something?

[disneysteve]

Somehow my pocket knife got magnetized recently. I just realized it this morning when using it to take some staples out of reports at the office. I'm a little concerned because I carry my knife in my pocket and sometimes will drop a credit card, bank card, store card, etc. in there as well and I don't want the magnetism from the knife to damage the strip on the cards.

So how do I get my knife to stop being magnetic?

[momof1in150]

Try this:

WikiAnswers - How can you make a magnet lose its magnetic power

[noppenbd]

Try dropping it on a hard surface.

[Broken Arrow]

Hey, terrific that you carry a pocket knife!

You know what I see in your not-so-frugal future?

How about a Boker Ceramic?

By the way, how did your knife get magnetized in the first place?

[disneysteve]

Hey, terrific that you carry a pocket knife!

You know what I see in your not-so-frugal future?

How about a Boker Ceramic?

By the way, how did your knife get magnetized in the first place?

I'm not giving up my Victorinox. I use that thing every day - the knife, the file, the scissors, the toothpick - it is amazing how handy those things are. Best $19 I ever spent. We even bought our daughter one this past Chanukah, though she isn't allowed to carry it in school due to the insane zero-tolerance policies.

I have no idea how the knife got magnetized.

[Broken Arrow]

Oh, it's a Victorinox! Excellent price too for only $20!

So... I guess my suggestion was overkill then.

[disneysteve]

Oh, it's a Victorinox! Excellent price too for only $20!

So... I guess my suggestion was overkill then.

Yes. This is a mini one, not the huge thing with 80 different blades and tools.

[LuxLiving]

My husband has a demagnitizing toolie-doodle - that he uses to demagnitize cassette tapes, etc., with. Have you googled?

[zetta]

My instinct was to try heating the blade, which jives with the answer on the wiki page. Not sure how hot it would take, though, and you may need to sharpen it afterward, since heat can dull a blade. Try boiling water, running it though the dishwasher, or the sterilizer you use for instruments in your medical office. When you stroke a metal with a magnet many times in one direction, eventually the atoms start lining up in one direction and the metal becomes magnetized. Did you sharpen your blade recently? Heating the metal disorganizes the atoms.

Glad my college physics class finally came in handy!

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Just taking the knife out of your pocket and setting it on your dresser every night in the same position will magnetize it, too. If you have any canned goods in your kitchen that have been sitting on the shelf untouched for several weeks, they will probably have been magnetized.

If you do put your knife in the exact same position every night, rotating it instead by 90 degrees every night will eventually demagnetize it, I think.

[Aleta]

My husband has a leather case for his and we've never noticed that he had a problem like has been described. Is it possible that covering it may stop that problem?

[disneysteve]

Did you sharpen your blade recently?

Yes, I think I did. That could be what did it. I just did the heat thing - used the candle lighter and that worked. No more magnet.

Thanks everybody.