Ballistol vs Hoppes 9 vs RemOil

[Blues]

How to make varnish vanish. Has a ring to it.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Here is a bottle that I sprayed WD 40 in about 20 years ago. Of course, the carrier evaporated quickly.
Nothing left except light mineral oil. No varnish.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

The primary mechanisms of varnish formation you'll find listed in articles on the subject in industry are oxidation, thermal degradation, microdieseling, electrostatic spark discharges, additive depletion, or contamination, which can cause catalytic reactions and contribute to the other causes. It's a major issue in many industrial applications but pinning down the exact causes for your particular circumstances can be challenging. In the context of knives it's usually gonna' be oxidation, thermal degradation from storage conditions, or catalytic action from something that got into the oil film and accelerated/permitted oxidation or degradation to occur.

 

[Unicorn161]

I usually use Battle Born by Breakthrough. The I prefer the HP Pro, but the regular HPL is good too. I used to use Tetra but it separates in the bottle after a while, and for something that's not used often it dries out and leaves kind of a chalky residue. Mostly Teflon (or whatever brand of PTFE they use).
The Battle Born is much less toxic. I also have a bottle of Pro-shot NXT CLP that is non-toxic that I have for knives I might use with food.
If it were dedicated for food and I were to apply a lot of oil, maybe a medium to an almost heavy coat of oil for rust prevention I'd just use some food grade mineral oil. A large bottle can be had from a drug store for less than ten bucks. It's often used as a laxative. Also, I've found it in hardware stores since it's exactly the same thing as cutting board oil, but less than half the price.
We need some more details about the options though. CPL usually means the mil spec stuff like Break Free, G96 synthetic and bio, and a couple others. But then it is also used for things like regular G96, SLIP2000, Ballistoil, and others (including the "all in one" from Breakthrough, and one made by Tetra.

Hoppes #9 is a brand that includes a number of lubes and cleaners. The basic lube is nothing more than mineral oil. The Elite is very similar to the MPro-7 lube.

 

[AntDog]

A pretty good while back I dropped a custom fixed blade and the tip broke off. I sent it to the maker and he sent it back better than new. He had not only reground the blade, but contoured the handle better and refinished the entire knife. It was heavily soaked in WD40, obviously. I’d know that smell anywhere.

Ever since then I’ve had a “good enough for him, good enough for me” outlook on good ol WD.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

I try to dispel the "WD 40 is de debbil!" myth.

 

[SharpBits]

I like to think of WD40 as the 40th attempt at a water displacer and as nothing more than that.

 

[Mick Boardman]

I use this singer sewing machine oil on any folders that need a drop in the pivot. It’s made for fine machinery so should be good for a knife pivot. Walrus Axe oil is what I use to wipe them down.

 

[Daniel]

This works well on the bearing balls, but it is expensive.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

WD 40 is much more than a water displacer.
It works fine as a light lubricant, does pretty well as a rust protectant, is a good penetrant.
I use it on my bass guitar strings, to lubricate gravers and drill bits.

It's not a bad cleaner, either. It will loosen dirt and red rust and flush it out.

 

[whp]

Have used Breakfree CLP on my guns and folders for years. Seems to work well for me.

 

[mbkr]

I've used a lot of Hoppes #9 over the years. Lately, I've mostly been using RemOil or Birchwood Casey

 

[Kirk Raptor]

TSI 321. It's a synthetic ester that is commonly sold as a fishing reel lube. I came across it in the airgun community where it's used to lubricate pellets, as its high flashpoint prevents dieseling in pre-charged pneumatic guns. Eventually, I started using it on everything: airguns, firearms and now, knives. It seems to both prevent corrosion and lubricate without gumminess or appreciable filminess. FWIW I've been using it for more than twenty years.

The only other stuff I use Boeshield T-9, which I use as a protectant on a 3V blade.

 

[Titanium]

Please be careful when using normal Ballistol on metals that contain copper (brass, red brass).

In 2017, I conducted a comparison test

Here are the oils I compared:
Brunox Lubri Food
Ballistol H1
Balistol
Senensis camellia oil
Senensis camellia oil

For the test, I obtained various small parts made of copper and copper alloys:
Brass washer
Brass nut
Red brass plug (machine bronze)
Copper washer
Copper cap

I then generously coated the parts in small plastic containers with the oils to be evaluated.

The containers were covered and the cover was only removed for the photos.

Normal Ballistol = Ba
Ballistol H1 = Ba H1
Brunox Lubri Food H1 = Br H1
Senensis camellia oil = Ka
Then a comparison set without oil.

Here are the pictures after approx. 24 hours:

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Here are the pictures after approx. 48 hours:

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Here are the pictures after approx. 5 days:

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Here are the pictures after approx. 9 days:

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I was surprised to find that the brass disc treated with Senensis camellia oil also reacted.

During the comparison, I also noticed that a kind of skin had formed on the normal Ballistol.

To rule out the possibility that this had something to do with the materials, I made three more containers with normal Ballistol. Here, too, the containers were covered so that no dust could get onto the oil surface. The skin formation occurred again.
To rule out the possibility that the normal Ballistol might be dissolving the plastic of the containers and causing the skin to form, I made another sample of only normal Ballistol in a glass. Here, too, a skin formed after only a short time.
Could this skin formation possibly be considered resinification?

Skin of normal Ballistol after 2 days:

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Skin of normal Ballistol after 4 days in a glass:

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Skin formation in normal Ballistol after 6 days:

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Pictures approximately one month after the start:

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Pictures approximately four years after the start:

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[LimuHead]

I use the Victorinox knife oil and have no complaints about it other than the price.

It's expensive so it's got to be good right?

 

[Hickory n steel]

Wd40 on my firearms (hoppes#9 is just a cleaner right? ), Mac1 secret sauce for my airguns, and because I often cut food with my knives I use food grade mineral oil.

 

[ac3boyz]

For cleaning;
Guns - Hoppes
Knives - isopropyl alcohol

Lubrication:
Guns - Wilson
Knives - Nano oil

I use Balistol a lot for problem/rusted issues.