Cleaning griptillian

[ItsKYRO]

I cleaned my benchmade mini grip with soap and water to get the blade cleaned up after sticky Christmas presents opening and closing the blade just feels a tad bit off.

Still closes smooth but if i close it sideways instead of holding it up and down sometimes it doesnt close smooth now.

Whats the best way to clean and lube the griptilian without any disassembly?




On a side note...any recommendations for a great knife to use specifically for learning to sharpen on thats under $10?

 

[Cow51]

I just disassembly and clean, easy enough for me. Otherwise, I would rinse under warm water and work the action, use dish soap and work the action, rinse out and blow dry with air compressor or compressor air from a can. Best place I found to apply lube without disassembly was where the AXIS bar contacts the tang(lock face), you can get right to the PB washers that way. Wipe the remaining lube of the lock face, I found the lockup will get a little sticky with it on there.

On a side note... any recommendations for a great knife to use specifically for learning to sharpen on thats under $10?

Any Opinel.

 

[maximus83]

If you are not going to disassemble--which is a good decision IMHO for routine maintenance--then there are a couple of ways you can go. I posted a while back about a water-less deep cleaning method that does not require disassembly, and involves immersing your blade in a non-toxic solvent. This is not hard to setup, and I had this approach anyway for gun parts, it's what I use and works really well. The main advantages of this system are that it seriously deep cleans the knife without introducing water into the internals, and does not require any toxic solvents to be used.

If you don't want to be even that involved, here's a simple approach that I and others here have used:

* Blast out gunk with compressed air
* Blast out the internals with WD40
* Blast out with air again to remove the residual WD40. If needed, can also use qtips, or a pipe cleaner, to wipe out any remaining residue.
* Place a drop of your favorite gun oil, or mineral oil, into the pivot.

Some cheap folders I use for practice:
https://www.bladehq.com/item--Schrade-Folding-Knife-Metallic-Gray--27910
https://www.bladehq.com/item--Smith-Wesson-Folding-Knife-Black-G--27969
https://www.bladehq.com/item--Kershaw-Injection-3-Folding-Knife-3--14796

 

[bikerector]

I'm lazy, I just dribble some 3-in-1 into the pivot if there's a little grittiness from the lock/blade interface and let it sit on paper towel for a few hours for the oil to work through and out. I'll actuate the lock and pivot a bunch too. It may not be the best but it works, it's simple, doesn't take much time, and it's cheap. Don't make it too complicated. If you use your knife for corrosive materials, spill some onto the blade and give it a wipe too. 3-in-1 is nearly foodsafe at non-toxic at a maximum so there's no worries about cutting food with a blade oiled with 3-in one either. I do use food grade mineral oil, however, if I know the knife will be used on food like the 2-blade traditionals with a clean blade/dirty blade utilization.

For practicing to sharpen, I went through a bunch of cheap kitchen knives I've accumulated from various moves and roommates from my younger years. Sharpest half those things ever got and the thinner steel is pretty forgiving and easy to sharp. It's also on the softer side so not a pain to sharpen. Hit up a goodwill or similar place.

Opinels are almost hard to keep dull. You could almost drop it near a sharpener and it would come out working sharp.

 

[stitchawl]

* Blast out gunk with compressed air
* Blast out the internals with WD40
* Blast out with air again to remove the residual WD40. If needed, can also use qtips, or a pipe cleaner, to wipe out any remaining residue.
* Place a drop of your favorite gun oil, or mineral oil, into the pivot.

Question: Why do you add mineral oil into the pivot after you've added mineral oil (WD-40) into the pivot? Your air-blast will dissipate the Stoddard Solvent in the WD-40 but leave a film of mineral oil. WD-40 is mineral oil + solvent.


Stitchawl

 

[maximus83]

I like the additional drop of oil--precisely because WD40 is partially solvents and actually not an awesome lubricant, by itself. Also mineral oil is what I regularly drop into the pivot for a maintenance lube. I view the WD40 as only for cleaning.