Carbon steel slip joint maintenance

[Buzzbait]

I drip the Norton’s into the joints and let the excess run down through the blade well.

I also like the Norton Sharpening Stone Oil. It's a highly refined mineral oil, so the viscosity is much lower than the mineral oil you find at the pharmacy. I pour some of it into a Refillable Needle Precision Pin-point Oiler. The Norton oil also works really well on finer sharpening stones.

 

[mrknife]

hmmm i went medical grade, but perhaps ill reconsider

 

[traumkommode]

hmmm i went medical grade, but perhaps ill reconsider

Should be the same stuff. The laxative oil.

I use 3 in 1 and mineral oil. 3 in 1 does a good job of cleaning and removing surface rust if any develops, but that's usually not an issue. I don't even mind a little of it on the knife cutting some food. But is very thin and not viscous, so I usually use it to clean, and wipe everything out, and then if I want the oil to hang around a bit I use mineral. Anything in the pharmacy section marked as a laxative is fine.

 

[JB in SC]

mrknife When it comes to mineral oil, unless you’re using the knife for food, it doesn’t matter a lot whether you choose food grade or not. It’s cheap in any form, even baby oil will work if you can take the smell

 

[knifeswapper]

They have some great CLP products these days that are not harmful if digested and 4oz for @$10 would last years. Seal1 and Froglube are the popular ones right now. Applied properly they will adhere much longer than a simple oil product would. Lot's of youtube videos about both.

 

[JJ_Colt45]

JJ_Colt45

Mineral oil will not turn rancid, it's petroleum based. Food grade has most (but not all) of the carcinogens removed. I wouldn't turn up a bottle and drink it regardless

Thanks for the correction ... I was just going on memory from years ago ... I've used food grade mineral oil as one of my choices for protective oil for high carbon for years ... I know years ago unless it was labeled food grade or "white mineral oil" it could get a bit gummy and take an odor.

And I agree a thinner mineral oil is great there's a company called Earlywood that sells a thinner mineral oil with a bit of a lemon scent I prefer for my cutting boards but I use a thinned food grade mineral oil with no scent on my high carbon pocket knives.

If you prefer to avoid petroleum products you can use walnut or almond oil ... but I avoid it because several people have allergies to nuts.

 

[Guitarist7.62]

I prefer frog lube if the knife is cutting food. 100% natural and is food safe, plus it smells like mint. It’s a CLP so it Cleans, Lubricates and Protects. Use it in my firearms too. I get he paste and warm the knife with a hair dryer or such and rub the paste into the blade well(s) and the pivot the heat melting it and causing it to soak in every spot I can’t get. Wipe off excess. And it sure does clean, sometimes it will drip out black with residue and gunk that has built up.
If I’m not worried about it, WD-40 has a white lithium grease that works pretty well, or the red Chrysler axle grease works pretty good. And I have that stuff just laying around. What ever works for you is the best stuff you can use.

For bone handles I like to put some Neatsfoot oil on them once in a while. You can use mineral oil for that also but I like to use Neatsfoot oil because it is derived from the shin bones of cattle. Good for leather too.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Just look next to the Exlax. I don't remember what the 16oz bottle I bought at Walmart cost, but it was a lot less than $9.

Around $3 I believe.

 

[brownshoe]

Boker sells a nice needle nose oiler with a light mineral oil for knives. It's cheap and works great for slipjoints.