Clean using Mineral Oil, Tuf cloth, etc

[SangYuP]

I bought some mineral oil to use for cleaning my knives. How do you exactly use mineral oil to clean? Do I clean using the oil first or do I have to use soap and water and then the oil? Also, do I just get a cloth and put some oil on it and rub the blade completely? Do I wipe clean or leave it on? It would make sense to leave it on, but won't it get all over your pockets, hands and collect lint when you use it or carry it? I also ordered some tuf-cloth and I read that it has to dry so tuf-cloth doesn't have the same issue of getting on everything since it dries? Also, when do you use products like Nevr Dull? Only when there is rust or do you use it to polish and just keep the blade shiny? Please share your knowledge regarding cleaning your knives.

I plan to clean my rust prone blades couple times a week and clean my more rust resistant blades every couple weeks unless they get really dirty. These will be my EDC knives.

 

[dalefuller]

Mineral Oil is used more for coating the blade to protect it or to lube the pivot area than it is for "cleaning" the blade. You can clean gunk off the blade with something like a mild solution of dish soap and water, mineral spirits, the Tuff Cloth you mentioned, or another liquid cleaner like MMC or Break-Free. Don't use anything abrasive like Comet.

Honestly, the Tuff Cloth should do a fine job of cleaning the blade. You can get some Tuff-Glide (which is the Tuff Cloth liquid in a bottle with a needle applicator) and use that to lube the pivot area. When I use a Tuff Cloth on mhy blades, I don't wipe the residue off. I just let it dry on the blade. The only time I wipe anything off is when I apply Tuff Glide to the pivot and blade tang and it runs down the knife a bit. Other than that, I just leave it.

I haven't found that my knives need "cleaning" all that often. It's usually just a case of wiping the blade with a Tuff Cloth, a few strokes on a strop, and they're good to go again... even my D2 Para hasn't needed more than that yet.

The only time I use a polishing compound is when I want to remove something like a spot or a scratch. I don't try to keep my blades polished and shiny. That's for drawer queens IMAO, and mine are all users. I think the knives actually like to have some "battle scars" to show what they've done with you.

 

[no-one]

Well, if they are carbon folders they are most probably traditional and all you need do is use a toothpick or cotton bud to clean the gunk out of the action (springs, camming surfaces etc) then lightly rub a wee bit of oil over the lot, making certain to deposit a couple of drops onto the pivot and camming surfaces.

Wipe off excess and you are done.


Regards.