Cleaning the joints of an Ivory-handled slipjoint?

[pertinux]

Hey all,

I usually flush and clean the joints of slipjoints with hot water and Dawn dish detergent.

However, nothing I've read about ivory suggests that Hot Water is a good idea with this material(!).

The knife and its ivory covers are new, but the joints are gritty-- enough that the main blade (on a Strong spring) can stop in place even when the spring is under tension.

When it comes to Walk 'n Talk, this one has a hitch in its giddyup.

Placing just a drop of mineral oil into the joints and working them back and forth produces the black ooze typical of leftover production grit, etc.

What would be the best way to proceed?

Thanks!

~ P.

 

[confucius37]

I don't know if this will apply specifically to ivory, but usually my method of cleaning is a bit of rubbing alcohol applied to a small lint free wipes (usually marketed towards electronics, I use the Kimwipes brand).

I don't put so much alcohol that it oozes onto the handle material, but in general rubbing alcohol (not the 91% stuff) isn't too harsh on handle materials. The alcohol does a good job of degreasing the joint and the wipe helps to soak up and get all the grease out of the joint.

I then follow up with a new clean wipe and a few drops of mineral oil. The wipe helps to spread the mineral oil evenly. If you're really concerned with keeping the handle material pristine you might skip the alcohol and just do 2 or 3 rounds with a wipe and mineral oil. Also a toothpick helps to get any stubborn bits of gunk. The lint free wipes are nice because they don't add their own gunk to the joint like regular tissue or paper towel does.

Hope that helps a bit

 

[pertinux]

Thanks, Vic.

What you've described is similar to what I do after the hot-and-soapy, work-the-blades bath, if with a couple different particulars. Heh. My go-to for wicking has been a whittled down bamboo skewer, which also works well to reach and dislodge debris. I do like the idea of the lint-free wipes, however. I used to have a small pack of 'em around here somewhere. I'll go look.

Meantime, simply working the blade back and forth helps, but also confirms that there's more debris to be removed.

~ P.