Cleaning your folders

Point44

Point44

Joined
Jan 15, 2003
Messages
1,690
Just wanted to find out how you people clean your folders. I've been looking at my BM 721 and since it gets used the most it's getting ugly inside...all black and gooey...can't disassemble it 'cos of the warranty...

I've been thinking of using the ultrasonic bath at the lab...but don't know whether it'll spoil the knife or not...
 
Use gunscrubber or a similiar product to "flush" out the internals under pressure.

Remember to relube where necessary afterwards.

Takes all of 2 minutes from dirty to clean and oiled.

Brownie
 
g10 should have no problems in a common ultrasonic cleaner.

I'd also suggest a visit to your local Radio Shack or other electronics supply store to pick up a spray flux remover product. Spray that through the joints and it'll remove all the old lubricants and dirt. Use compressed air (buy a can at a photography supply store if you don't have access to shop air) to complete the job. Then, relubricate with Militec-1.
 
Gun Scrubber, if you can find it in the UK, is a good suggestion. Its very similar to flux remover. Gun Scrubber will be fine on G10, but it's a very strong solvent and may attack some plastics, painted surfaces, and other delicate materials, so you'll want to be careful with it on other knives.
 
I take mine apart despite the warranty. Livin' on the edge, I guess. Makes me feel a tingly on the back of my neck when I do such outlandish things.

Bruce
BTW "Bruce" isn't my real name. Don't want the BM warranty department gettin' on my trail.
 
Keep in mind that gun scrubber can "wash out" some blade etches. I would not use it anywhere near Damascus, but it is great for cleaning those hard to get to and can't get to places.
 
You might have some WD40, so use it, works great.
I've used hot soapy water and old tooth brush then
dry with compressed air. Lube with a few drops of
Mil-tek on my 722.
I've also used Gun Scrubber. WD40 is much cheaper and
sold everywhere.
mm
 
I'm going to purchase a small, air compressor at Wallyworld that will be great for "blowing out" any folder and many other things around the house, plus being able to top off my vehicle tires, etc; They aren't much, under $100.
 
When I was young I didn´t even have WD40, I would put the knife (slipjoints usually) in hot water for a couple of minutes then take out (using tongs and gloves, since it was hot) and work it open and close a few times, then let dry and oil.

WD40 will help to get the water out (WD = Water Displacement), a tooth brush and a folded pipe cleaner are good for reaching in and cleaning inside.
 
I heard some folders have plastic washers on the pivot. Will gun scrubber harm the washers. If anyone knows I have a Kershaw Vapor, does this knife have plastic washers ?
 
Gun scrubber does not harm the plastic in glocks over an extended period of time [ since 1987 when they were brought into the country for the first time in the model 17 ].

I would stay away from wd40. It displaces water, but can get gummy in cold weather and the military no longer uses it.

There are better agents out there. Even when we used it in the Corps, it was not to clean, but to lube the parts. It will clean but not as well as carb cleaner or gun scrubber.

Brownie
 
Oh, Gun Scrubber is a great product and very useful on many common knives. But, it is a strong solvent and it can attack some plastics and other materials. So, you've got to be a bit careful.

Also, keep in mind that in the good old days, Gun Scrubber was basically a can of 1,1,1 TriChloroTriFloroEthane, the quintessential chloroflorocarbon.

Some time ago, we sent up a satellite which made, for the first time ever, measurments of the ozone layer. Guess what? There's a hole in the ozone layer over the south pole! The immediate conclusion was that that that hole was wrong and it must be caused by something we're doing. Someone then discovered that in a laboratory, chloroflorocarbons can destroy ozone. Eureka! Obviously, Chuck cleaning his knife with Gun Scrubber in Oregon, was causing a hole in the ozone layer over the south pole! So, that had to end.

As a result, Gun Scrubber, and a lot of other favorite products of mine, got a reformulation to elliminate the evil chloroflorocarbons.

Most manufacturers decided to try and make some good out of a bad situation, so they rebranded their products and "Environmentally friendly." Birchwood and Casey, the makers of Gun Scrubber decided not to change the product's appearance at all. As a result, many people are unaware that today's Gun Scrubber is a totally different chemical formula than that sold just a few years ago.

The new solvents used in today's Gun Scrubber are more agressive.

Benchmade used to recommend Gun Scrubber exclusively for all their knives. Then, I got one of the first cans of the new Gun Scrubber and watched helplessly as it dissolved the back spacer on one of my AFCKs. Benchmade withdrew their recommendation for Gun Scrubber promptly. I think they also changed the material used in that back spacer.

Anyway, just a word of advice: Today's Gun Scrubber is a great product, but it can attack some materials, so be a bit cautious with it around valuable knives with delicate materials.
 
I think i'll try the hot soapy water first...
Don't have militec-1 ...using tuf-glide...it's difficult getting militec-1 here in the uk
 
Hot soapy water is a great way to go. Work the knife opened and closed to get it clean.

Rinse well with hot water. Work the knife again to get out the soapy water.

Dry with paper towels, use newspaper to dry the thin spaces. Some people dry with a hair dryer.

Lube with your favorite and you are ready to go.

Sal Glesser of spyderco uses hot water and soap too.

No need to use anything but biodegradable chemicals. If it's real dirty try some of the citrus based cleaners.
 
I have read in firearms related areas that WD-40 is not good for precision things like knives and guns because it leaves a film that eventually hardens into a laquer-type coating which in high tollerence parts could cause problems.

That's just what I read...

-John
 
Originally posted by Point44
I've been thinking of using the ultrasonic bath at the lab...but don't know whether it'll spoil the knife or not...
Click to expand...

Lucky You! The Ultrasonic Bath is perfect for this sort of thing. You don't see it mentioned very often in regards to knives, as one could purchase many knives for what a UB costs!
For further peace of mind, know that there are even extra long UB that are made for cleaning firearms.
As far as what solvent to use, water should be just fine for the UB.
 
Its good to hear that Gun Scrubber is safe for G10,I have been scared to try it after seeing what it does to plastic mags.
For cleaning I useally just wash then out with warm soapy water,useing a old tooth brush and a Q tip.
 
I've done it....cleaned it with hot soapy water and then dried with my wife's hair dryer...very effective...

Maybe i'll use the UB next time. When there aren't so many people in the lab. I don't think the lab techs like people using their equipment for stuff like that...
 
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