Flush or don't flush GEC?

[Omega Leather Works]

Hey David! (obsessed) good to see ya over here. I didn't realize that you posted around these parts. That's great news for me, now I can bug you for help on two fronts.

 

[richstag]

Most GEC knives will come with a little mess in certain areas. The best I can tell its mainly from the buffing process. It looks just like after I buff knives. Its hard to avoid this. The black comes from the compounds, removed material from buffing and etc, just like the mix you get on a rag when polishing. The best way I have found to flush is with a degreaser, then oil, compressed air if you need.

There are a lot of great way, but I never would boil my knife or subject the inner working to water unless I had to.

I know most folks know this. Just trying to be helpful.

Kevin

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Hey David! (obsessed) good to see ya over here. I didn't realize that you posted around these parts. That's great news for me, now I can bug you for help on two fronts.

Oh yeah, I think I hang out here about as frequently as in the Maint. forum. Traditionals have pretty much worked their way into my pockets permanently, as well as into my soul. I'm pretty sure most here can relate.


David

 

[flatblackcapo]

Have any of you folks used brake clean to flush your knives? I Have used it on metal handled knives and it works great.It dries fast and leaves no residue. Just DO NOT try it with the red handled SAKs .Don't ask me how I know that

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Have any of you folks used brake clean to flush your knives? I Have used it on metal handled knives and it works great.It dries fast and leaves no residue. Just DO NOT try it with the red handled SAKs .Don't ask me how I know that

I would think twice about using it on celluloid or acrylic or delrin. I wouldn't use it on micarta either. Actually I wouldn't use it at all!

 

[Omega Leather Works]

Joepa I just went ahead and flushed the joints on my new #57. I used straight wd40 sprayed into the pivots and worked them for a while. I used a napkin to rub the whole thing downside and out. I'm a little surprised at how clean it was going by what everyone says to expect.

That's all there was:

At first I thought that nothing changed, but now I can tell there is a difference in the pull. It's a little smoother (probably just the wd40) and the pull is markedly lighter. it's actually not that big a deal, but I liked it better before. I'm sure with a little use it would have ended up where it's at now, but yeah, I can kind of see why some of you like a heavy pull.

 

[richstag]

Strig,

WD40 is somewhat of a pathetic lube for a slipjoint. You may try something with better lubricating properties.

Also, if you used a napkin inside there's a chance particles migrated into the joints.

I only use very high quality pipe cleaners to clean in the wells and pivots.

Oiling with a good lube will never lighten the pulls in a bad way. It may cause less friction but it will not decrease spring pressure

Hope this helps?

Kevin

 

[Omega Leather Works]

It may cause less friction but it will not decrease spring pressure

Hope this helps?

Kevin

Actually that makes perfect sense. I dunno, maybe I just really need some sleep. Working on your knife and trying to judge the quality of its action after a (very) grueling work week, with no sleep is... problematic. Add the new baby to the mix and my chosen task begins to sound moronic.

I'll take another look at it on my day off.

 

[richstag]

Good plan

 

[Alberta Ed]

Spritz some BreakFree CLP on it and work it some. Wipe off any black gunk.

 

[knarfeng]

I find WD-40 to be a fair cleaner for removing gunk. But, after the cleaning , I use some actual oil to lubricate it.

The actual stuff I use for tough cases is "Rock n' Roll Gold", a lubricant for bicycle chains. It's Teflon and wax diluted with Hexane. The Hexane cleans out the gunky and the Teflon and bit of wax lubricate like a banshee.

 

[flatblackcapo]

I would think twice about using it on celluloid or acrylic or delrin. I wouldn't use it on micarta either. Actually I wouldn't use it at all!

I have used it on G10 scaled knives with no problems but really only use it on my Alox SAKs.
I 2nd what Frank R said .WD40 is a poor lube. Use any of the lubes recommended in this thread to lube(I use Triflow ) your knife after the WD40 flush.That is a beautiful 57 Strigamort!

 

[joepa150]

I used some soap and water and worked the blades a bit. I then dried it with cool air from a hair dryer. I then lubed it with mineral oil, worked the blades and cleaned off a bit of gunk. I think it may have smoothed things out a bit.

I will post some photos as soon as I can.

Thank you everyone for your help and opinions.