Any Adverse Side Effects to No Lube?

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Was just thinking the other day, and reading about pb washers...they say they are "self lubricating" which means they do not require lube, and theoretically a stainless blade and handles shouldn't require any oil to prevent rust.

So wouldn't it be possible to run a Sebenza without any lube?

I think it would be great for me, being an electrician i'm always in some dusty, dirty place with blow in insulation or dust and dirt and shift flying all over the place.

Positives:

-Easier cleaning, run under water and blow out with compressor
-One less step when cleaning and also less messy
-No pocket lint or fine dust to collect in there

-Negatives:
????

Tonight I cleaned my Sebenza and didn't put any lube in there, and put it back together and opened and closed it a few times, it opened and closed slightly harder, but it was very very smooth throughout the process. I could almost not tell the difference between lubed and not lubed.

This could also be due to the fact of the tight tolerances.

Any thoughts? Concerns?
 
the only negative may be a stiffer or grittier action.

i don't think there is anything else to be concerned about.
 
All those positives are also true of dry lubes, except it's not as slick using no lube at all. You may want to try a dry lube if you want less upkeep. I use Boeshield T9 on knives that are a pain to disassemble or that I don't use often, and it works alright. Liquid lubes definitely make for a smoother opening knife than either dry lube or no lube, though.
 
Dry Film Lubricant might be what you are looking for. There is the Dupont Teflon drying lubricant at hardware stores, and it's proven to be quite potent in door hinges.

If not, I don't think White Lithium Grease would be too dust attractive. It's very simple to just wipe it off with a rubbing alcohol tissue and replace it altogether
 
Tuf-Glide is a dry film lube I would use in that case. I don't think there is much you can do to hurt it, the action might feel a bit stiff or gritty.
 
If it feels grittier it is caused by more friction. More friction means more wear
If you can live with that, nps:)
 
Other than accelerated wear on the washers and pivot bushing, there's really no reason not to run it dry. ;)
 
its alot stiffer and the action has that grity/grinding feel which i dont like. when they get stiff, i know its time for crk lube..........new sebbies are like this sometimes until the bronze bushing wear slightly
 
I used it today without any lube, and it never once felt gritty or tough?

I can feel just a tiny bit of resistance vs. mil-comm tw25b lubed.

I might try to find some dry lube this weekend.
 
I've shared more than a few words on the subject of lube and my post count is low enough that you might want to visit my profile and "view all posts" to gain some insight on this topic. :)


To add some further info to directly address your questions...

You're absolutely on the right track about "running a dry knife" but you've missed a crucial part of the equation. The correct lube, in this case GREASE (CRK or Krytox only) does two very important things. Obviously it lubricates, but more importantly, it provides a very thin film that fills the tolerance built into the pivot bushing and washers. This keeps dirt and grit OUT of the tiny space between those parts. If you omit this you will no doubt cause accelerated wear to an otherwise wear resistant joint. Just think about it, all of that lint, dust, .etc. is going to get worked into that joint. Phosphor Bronze is fairly soft and foreign matter can/will embed in the surface. Starting to make sense now??? It sounds to me like you are using some kind of oil to keep your CRK lubricated. Oil is nothing but a dirt/grit magnet and should be avoided! ALSO, use only the tiniest amount of CRK grease/Krytox. If any/much is squeezing out you are using too much!



Dr.Lube
aka: The Love Machine :p
 
The following is a WAG not a statement of fact, but...

I used to use Tuf-Glide as a lube. I still use it as a blade protectant for carbon steel blades, but I don't use it on moving parts any more. The reason is that after the carrier evaporates what's left is pretty gummy and seems to be a huge dirt and grit magnet - much worse than oil. Oil is easy to blow out with compressed air (90 psi will clear out essentially all oil and any dirt in the oil). Tuf-Glide is very waxy and requires at least strong solvents and, I suspect, a real tear-down to get it and the embedded grit out of the moving parts. So, in my knives I either use CRK grease or I use a CLP-type lube and frequently blow the pivot area out and then re-lube. I am not a doctor of lubrication, so that's just my opinion.


Ditch_Digger said:
I've shared more than a few words on the subject of lube and my post count is low enough that you might want to visit my profile and "view all posts" to gain some insight on this topic. :)


To add some further info to directly address your questions...

You're absolutely on the right track about "running a dry knife" but you've missed a crucial part of the equation. The correct lube, in this case GREASE (CRK or Krytox only) does two very important things. Obviously it lubricates, but more importantly, it provides a very thin film that fills the tolerance built into the pivot bushing and washers. This keeps dirt and grit OUT of the tiny space between those parts. If you omit this you will no doubt cause accelerated wear to an otherwise wear resistant joint. Just think about it, all of that lint, dust, .etc. is going to get worked into that joint. Phosphor Bronze is fairly soft and foreign matter can/will embed in the surface. Starting to make sense now??? It sounds to me like you are using some kind of oil to keep your CRK lubricated. Oil is nothing but a dirt/grit magnet and should be avoided! ALSO, use only the tiniest amount of CRK grease/Krytox. If any/much is squeezing out you are using too much!



Dr.Lube
aka: The Love Machine :p
Click to expand...
 
Well I took it apart and .put just a tiny bit on the pivot and under the on washers and put it back together it does open smoother now that I can tell but not much. The millcomm lube that I use is a synthetic lithium grease it almost resembles the crk stuff but I think I'm still going to look for dome set type lube.

I think that before must have judge been putting too much lube in there.

I'll let you know if I find some dry type and how it goes.
 
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