Cleaning/Lubing a folder

Bobbyz24

Bobbyz24

Joined
Nov 15, 2013
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59
My dad gave me his old case knife, wants me to clean it up and make it open easier, it's very stiff. I have a general idea, but I want tips from pros.photo.jpg
 
Looks like it's in pretty rough shape, I would want to get inside the knife to clean something like that. Seems to me that the pivot will be pretty tough to get to, but someone else might have a good suggestion. Personally, I would spend the $30 to give my dad a nice little gift.

case-peanut-yellow-80030.jpg
 
This is basically what I do with my knives, when they need it:

  • Wash the knife in hot water & dish detergent, such as Dawn, Palmolive, etc. Work the joints thoroughly while doing so (be careful; the knife will be slippery).
  • Rinse it out thoroughly in hot water, again exercising the joints while doing so.
  • Dry it all off; use a paper towel or clean rag to dry all you can reach. The hot water wash & rinse should warm up the knife nicely, which will speed evaporation of moisture from the nooks & crannies. Can also rinse the knife with isopropyl alcohol, which also will flush out moisture.
  • A little WD-40 in the joints, and between liners & springs, can further eliminate any moisture. If the blades are Case's CV (non-stainless), the WD-40 will add a little bit of rust-protection while making sure everything's good & dry.
  • Can also lube with oil/lube of your preference, if desired.
Based on the rust/pitting seen in your pic, you might also use some high-grit (600-1000) wet/dry sandpaper to clean up the pitting, if you want to. Or, the red rust by itself can be loosened up with WD-40, and scrubbed off with a brass brush or very fine steel wool (#0000). Don't be shy about giving the joints a thorough flushing with WD-40, while exercising them, to loosen up any rust in the pivots. Do all of this before the wash/rinse/dry steps listed above.

( BTW, that knife may not be as old as the rust/pitting may seem to imply. If I'm seeing it correctly through the dark patina, I think I can see an alternating pattern of X's and dots across the top of the tang stamp, which would indicate post-2010 vintage. Looks like 'X X.X', which may be part of the 2011 stamp. )


David
 
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Well, 3 hours of rubbing with wd-40 and 1000 grit sandpaper and this is what I came up with
image.jpg
image.jpg
 
Looks good! :thumbup:

The 'patina' left behind won't harm the steel at all, and it adds some hard-working character to the knife.

How's the opening/closing? Any smoother than before, or have you worked on cleaning the pivot yet?


David
 
I completely submerged the thing in liquid wrench. Worked it back and for both blades about 15 minutes a piece. It's.. A little stiff but definitely better than it was
 
Now I am satisfied with the job I've done here. But let's say I wanted to get that thing back to like new. Shine wise I mean. What would I need to do in that case?
 
Bobbyz24 said:
I completely submerged the thing in liquid wrench. Worked it back and for both blades about 15 minutes a piece. It's.. A little stiff but definitely better than it was
Click to expand...

The Case 'Peanut' (that's what this one is) has been known for somewhat stiff opening & closing, so it may be inherent to some extent. The half-stops can sometimes make opening/closing tricky in combination with small & shallow nail nicks, depending on if one is used to them or not.

Bobbyz24 said:
Now I am satisfied with the job I've done here. But let's say I wanted to get that thing back to like new. Shine wise I mean. What would I need to do in that case?
Click to expand...

If wanting to remove all pitting and restore a full shine, a sequence of sandpaper would be needed. Starting with something a little lower, like perhaps 400 grit, then progressing through higher grits to 2000+. A tighter sequence, with narrow jumps in grit, is always more effective. After sanding, polishing with Flitz/Simichrome paste can take it further. Even with this small knife, it'd take a lot of work and time. Alternatively, you could just use the polishing paste on the existing finish; it'd leave the deep pitting, but would otherwise give it a more polished look, and also help protect it from rusting a little more. Removing all of the pitting won't be easy, so you'll need to decide if it's worth going that far with it.

Personally, I'd have no issues at all with the appearance as it is now. Lots of fans of that patinated look here; looks like a knife with some hard-working history behind it.


David
 
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