Couple of Buck observations

[StuntDouble]

I noticed a couple things with my Buck knives that I found rather curious.

Recently, I've been using wet/dry sandpaper as a sharpening medium, and though it works well, I'm finding Buck's seem to perform best when sharpened with diamond stones. They do well with a 1500 grit finish on the edge, but they absolutely scream through everything when I finish on an extra fine DMT or the fine side on my Flipstik. It seems to give me an edge sharp enough to push cut easily, while being toothy enough to slice as well.

For a while, I had issues with my 055 being hard to open. Oiling it didn't help, and even seemed to make it worse. So, one day I cleaned it up and dried it off. This time, though, I didn't oil the pivot. It's smooth as can be, and opens much easier than before. I've also noticed the scratches on the tang have polished out, and there are no new ones showing up. I'm not sure if there was crud in the pivot, but I have yet to oil it again, and it still remains glassy smooth.

Anyone else have any odd observations about their Bucks?

 

[pinnah]

No comment on the sharpening, but as a (former) bike mechanic who has dealt a lot with bike chain wear issues...

Grit + lubricant => grinding solution

The pivot of a bike chain is very similar to the pivot on a knife. Cyclists who want long chain life in dirty, sandy conditions typically use wax based "lubricants". The don't attract grit like oil based lubes and when they do get fouled, they tend to "slough" off the dirty wax. The downside to this approach is that the wax washes off in wet conditions and can lead to corrosion.

I would suspect that your 55 was tough to open due to excessive gunk build up. I've had that happen on my Buck lock backs, especially when I use them in sandy/dirty conditions. My solution is to flush with WD-40 (mostly solvent) to loosen old oil and then wash with plenty of dish soap (grease cutters) and hot running water. Towel dry and then flush again with WD-40 (to displace the water) and then oil with oil of choice.

Another way to say this is that IF you commit to a oil based lube AND you get your knife dirty, THEN it makes sense to regularly give them a good cleaning.

 

[StuntDouble]

Thanks for the info pinnah. Is there a particular lube that you recommend? I tend to use Hoppe's or 3 in 1.

 

[pinnah]

I use Hoppes as a solvent for cleaning my guns, but not as a lubricant.

Different oils that I've used on bikes and other equipment seem better suited for different purposes. Some have a tendency to varnish or gum up as they sit and age. Despite the warm memories of cleaning guns with my grandfather that 3 in 1 gives me, I find it to be among the worst in terms of hardening and gunking up.

I live, hike and ride (cyclist) in wet New England so wet weather performance is important to me. For most light oil lubrication, I use CRC 6-56 Multipurpose Marine Lubricant, which is available at our marine supply shops locally. It is something like WD-40 only with a lot more lubricant in it. I also like Tri-Flow, but prefer 6-56 for the wet.

For knives that will be used for food prep, I use pharmaceutical grade mineral oil, which is available at most pharmacies with the laxatives. It's a crappy lubricant but keeps the knives regular. (ahem)