Are you running your s.j.'s ''dry''

upnorth

upnorth

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Nov 25, 2006
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I asked this question a while back on some forum, and I don't remember the consensus of the replies. So... are you folks oiling or NOT oiling your slip joints? I am starting to pocket drop a few SAK's and they are coming up full of crud. I want to blow the lube and pocket lint out and run these deep pocket carries dry. I really doubt that my SAK's are going to wear out in my lifetime without lube. Your thoughts and opinions please.
 
For SAKs and similar stainless traditional knives, you might be OK in not oiling them, PROVIDED you keep the knife pretty clean. Stainless is generally more wear-resistant than non-stainless, so it's not as vulnerable to the wear seen in non-stainless folders' pivots. I don't think I can even remember the last time I deliberately oiled an all-stainless folder, except in situations where I was having an issue with a sticky or tight pivot. Even then, most of the 'fix' for this problem is to thoroughly clean the pivot of all grit and debris. I normally do that by immersing the knife in hot soapy water (use liquid dish detergent) and repeatedly exercising the pivot by opening/closing the blades.

With carbon-bladed (non-stainless) folders, these steels will wear at a much faster rate than most stainless, and the abrasion between the blade's tang and the backspring will regularly produce black swarf (metal dust) with continued use. These are the ones that I feel must be kept clean & lubricated with something, to keep that wear to a minimum. The 'auction site' and other secondary market sites are awash in old carbon-bladed folders that obviously weren't oiled much, if at all, and the result is very loose and sloppy blade play, as the contact faces get worn away over time.

There are some folding traditional knives featuring non-stainless blades paired with stainless springs (Case's CV line, for example), or vice-versa (some older Camillus-made folders, including the older Cami-made Buck 300-series knives). I'd also keep those pivots lubed, as the carbon steel will will always wear away at a faster rate than the stainless.


David
 
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You can run an ALOX SAK pretty dry but the cellidor (plastic scaled) SAKs need a little oil or they can eventually get sticky due to a chemical reaction with the aluminum liners. In extreme cases, they can fuse shut if stored wet/dirty. I have seen this a number of times. The 93mm ALOX have brass or nickle silver liners and are unaffected by this.

Use a little mineral oil and when the lint collects, brush it out with an old toothbrush. :thumbup:
 
I was under the impression that I should oil, a couple of drops only, twice everyday whether the knife is used or not.




I am just kidding but I do oil my knife's pivot joints.
 
Once in awhile a drop or two in the joint (say about every other month or so). I've not found any big lint problem really. But i blow out the blade channel pretty regularly just out of habit. This is all I've found necessary to keep them trouble free. If they're exposed to a "dirty" situation or task then I clean it accordingly.
 
I use oil only when I wash my knives. I wash slipjoints like any other knife - under running water with dish or hand soap. Once it has been rinsed and dried, I add a drop of oil to the pivot and open/close the blade a few times to flush out moisture.

I will also oil a pivot to flush out sand and other debris, but generally I wash first as described above. It works great.
 
I carry some of my slip joints more than others, but I usually add a drop of oil about every month or so to all of them just as a maintainer thing.
 
I use either Breakfree CLP or Tri-flow in the joints from time to time. They don't seem to get all sticky and gum up like some other lubes.
 
I use Nano Lube and rarely need to re-lube, even after washing. I make sure I dry the knife well, however. Those nano particles really do seem to keep working even after a washing. I would say I lube the joints no more than once a month, and then only if they remain stiff after washing. The only thing that seems to make them stiff is cutting fruit. The sugars seep into the joint and make them sticky.
 
An obvious answer for lubing knives with synthetic handles, like micarta, is to simply immerse the knife in a small tub of your favorite lubricant every evening and let it sit until the next morning. Wipe it dry and you are ready for the day ahead.
:D
 
I keep mine pretty dry. I change knives about every 3-5 days most of the time (between 15-20 knives), so they don't get a lot of use. If one feels a little "grippy" to me when opening, I add a couple drops of mineral oil, work the blades open/closed a half dozen times, then wipe off the outside good. They don't pick up lint.
 
I've really cut back on oiling, unless the knife is about to go into prolonged limbo.

David's point about stainless knives is I think, extremely apt. Moreover, I don't want oil getting near food knives which is what I use stainless for. Too much oil can lead to attracting muck and the knife's mortal enemy, dust and sand. Compressed air and washing keeps them clean after the new knife's 'running in' probation period.
 
Oil only to fix grinding. Smoothly operating joints don't usually need it unless you're in the habit of repeatedly working your knives action for the fun of it, where excessive heat can build up and cause damage. Proactively oiling can attract contamination that might not have otherwise happened and you end up with a slurry of lapping compound in the joints for your effort.
 
I rarely oil knives. Mainly when I first purchase new knives and do the initial clean with dishwasher detergent. I will then oil it a bit. Otherwise they wont get oiled again until I really get them filthy in the yard cutting weeds.

Its a slipjoint, not a two stroke engine.
 
Carbon steel knives need to be oiled or you will get rust. I wet a wad of toilet paper with buck honing oilmand wipe down inside, outside and the blades. I then wipe dry twice. You get patina, but not the black spots or active rust. Stainless i oil about once a year, only the pivot.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. I think that I will just give my slippies a very light mineral oil lube, now and then after all. What I have been doing lately is short hanging my SAK's from some para. I tie it off so that the SAK hangs in my pocket, but does not bottom out and collect crud. It also has the side benefit of quick retrieval. A lot of time my pockets get soil in them from dropping in older coins or relics while metal detecting. So my pant pockets often have a higher than normal amount of contamination in them. I thought that I could bypass the filth by leaving the knives dry. Were there is a will, there is a way. I'll just reattach the end rings on my other SAK's and short hang them. I have been leaning slowly toward slip joints in the last year. But old patterns and tastes die hard. I've been eyeing the yellow Delrin ? Case Sodbuster and or Trapper in the last few days, because they are available locally. Whatever I grab, if I do, will be in C.V. steel as I want to check it out in a Case slip over the winter.



 
I've seen a blade break on an old case knife from opening that probably could have been prevented by oiling. Not oiling can eventually affect the walk and talk. I frog lube my steel and oil the joints periodically even on a new knife.
 
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