Does Tuf-Glide clean and lubricate the pivot? Or do i need Fluorinated Grease?

M

Mtty22

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Mar 1, 2013
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I have a Spyderco Sage and I was wondering when the time comes when I need to clean the build up in the pivot. Would Tuf-Glide keep the pivot moving smoothly and protect it from getting more dirt and grime? or do I need to buy Fluorinated Grease instead? how is Tuf-Glide and Fluorinated Grease different? can someone help me please?
 
Tuf-Glide is a rust inhibitor and acts as a 'dry' lubricant. For the best results, you should clean the surfaces to be lubed before application. So in essence, it is not a cleaner/lubricant and for that matter, neither is fluorinated grease.

One product that I have had excellent results with, is Blue Lube Cleaner, that does in fact clean and leaves a residue that repels dirt. I usually follow up with Blue Lube lubricant, which provides a bit heavier lubrication. The aforementioned products are available from Benchmade.
 
On Spyderco lockbacks I typically Tuff Glide treat when new. I later use a dry teflon lube so no oil or grease can pick up and trap grit. Without grit those lockbacks just keep getting better and smoother as they age. They eventually polish up like a mirror. With VG10 anyways.

Joe
 
I have not had good luck with Tuff-Glide as a lube. I also have discovered that I am allergic to it. Kills several layers of skin and causes nasty blisters. Like A.P.F, I've started using BM's Blue Lube cleaner and lube (separate products) and have been having good luck with it so far. I'm also fond of Break-Free CLP since I use that on my handguns. It seems to work well on knife pivots.
 
That's unfortunate dale, I can bathe my hands in the stuff without a problem, but I don't use it anymore as I've found other products to lubricate better. Tuf glide really works the way it's supposed to when dry, and in tight knife pivots I found that could take days. Wet tuff glide is mostly mineral spirits, and not the best lubricant in that state. Best thing for cleaning pivots is an ultrasonic cleaner, short of that a toothbrush, dish soap, and hot running water are excellent. Compressed air to blow out the excess moisture is optional. Lube with whatever you want after letting the knife dry.
 
It took me a while to figure out what was causing the issue. I thought at first it might be the green or gray stropping compound I was using, but I was also using Tuff-Glide to wipe a blade before switching from one strop to another. I switched to a diamond spray & balsa strop but continued using Tuff-Glide to clean the blade before I went to a bare leather strop for finishing. The blisters continued,so I was leaning toward Tuff-Glide being the problem, and probably it's the mineral spirit carrier that's the real culprit. I don't use the stuff around the house for anything so I have no other exposure to mineral spirits except through Tuff-Glide.

Anyway... no issues with Blue Lube or Break-Free, although I do wear thin exam gloves when I'm cleaning my firearms so I don't get much skin exposure to the Break-Free.
 
All I ever got when I used TG as a lube on the pivot was grit and dust. I still use it on non-food prep blades because it's a superior corrosion protectant, but I keep it out of pivots or other areas with moving parts.
 
JNewell said:
All I ever got when I used TG as a lube on the pivot was grit and dust. I still use it on non-food prep blades because it's a superior corrosion protectant, but I keep it out of pivots or other areas with moving parts.
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It's probably the slow drying nature of the mineral spirits they used. It stays wet around the pivot for a long time making it a grit magnet as opposed to when you apply it to the blade (ala tuf cloth, which is just tuf glide on a nice microfiber) .
 
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