"Frog Lube".... I'm sold on it now.

For whatever it's worth I used to use froglube paste, did exactly as the OP. Heated the metal, applied, waited awhile, and wiped off the excess. It worked really well but after a while it would gum up the pivot. Bearings, washers, it didn't matter. It was definitely better than regular mineral oil or whatever so I was pretty good. One day I was at the local gearhead store. The owner, for whatever it's worth, did a side by side comparison of froglube to Fireclean. He went to the range in the middle of winter with some firearms coated in froglube and some with Fireclean. He left them sitting in the snow and ice for awhile to get nice and cold then immediately went into some quick, high volume shooting. Guns with the froglube that had been previously reliable with normal gun lube started jamming. He stripped the firearms and noticed the froglube became clotted and semi-solid. He then used the firearms coated with Fireclean. Shot the rest of his ammo without failures.

He gave me a free sample of Fireclean and asked me to try it on my knives when I told him that's what I used the lube for. Well, after giving it a shot, I'm sold. I went back and bought a bottle of Fireclean and haven't looked back. My jar of froglube is covered in dust now because I haven't gone back to it for quite some time. My Fireclean bottle gets used all the time for my knives, my duty weapon, etc. It cost like 11 bucks or something and after all this time I've barely used 1/4 of the bottle. I've had it for close to a year now.

Anyway, I'm not trying to dump on froglube. It's really good as a lube but it has very obvious faults that won't be seen until it's been on a pivot for awhile, it's cold, or it's subjected to quick temperature changes. It does have better corrosion prevention attributes than Fireclean.

Fireclean does have some decent corrosion prevention attributes bug when it comes to acting as a lube it's far better than froglube. It's also supposedly safe to ingest but not considered food safe. I don't normally make it a habit of ingesting large amounts of lube so it's alright with me.

I'm curious how nano-oil and Fireclean compare. Nano-oil is more expensive and from what I gather has almost no corrosion resistant properties. Also from what I gather it's also more toxic, as in you probably don't want to ingest any of it.
 
I might give Frog Lube a try. I could use a hair dryer to heat up the metal in knives and firearms. Oh the irony, too bad I have little hair left.
 
Frog Lube did NOT come out as #1 on any of the tests that I read about. It was either #2 or #3 depending on the tests out of 46 different products.
I had heard about the possibilities of it not functioning as well as others in extreme cold weather too.

I took these factors into consideration. However the CPL that was #1 in the tests for rust protection didn't rate very high as a lubricant. The Lubricant that was #1 in the tests for lubricity didn't rate very well as a rust protector. Frog lube DID make it into the top 3 for both. So when I was choosing a new CLP, that fact, plus the fact that we don't get too much snow in Thailand (there WAS a frost about 10 years ago in the higher elevations and the locals got all excited thinking it was snow,) so for 'my' needs (lube and rust protection, both,) to get them in a single product seems like the ideal answer. I have to wait and see if it gums up my pivot. If it does, then it will not be what I use. I've been happy using urea-grease for a few years, and really wont mind going back if I have too. Right now I'm tickled pink at the smooth function of my EDC folder. It's an Axis-lock Benchmade 710, and when I hold back the buttons, the blade just swings freely. I like that...


Stitchawl
 
Stitch,
I just bought the one you quit using, yesterday.
At you recommendation.... Guess I'll put it in on my tools in the shed?
Dozier
 
wdtorque said:
Stitch,
I just bought the one you quit using, yesterday.
At you recommendation.... Guess I'll put it in on my tools in the shed?
Dozier
Click to expand...

LOL! Don't sell it short. It does work very, very well. Marine Tuf-cloth was my go-to product for rust prevention and it did the job for me for 15 years. The only reason I switched over was that I was using two different products to cover rust prevention AND lubrication. I wanted to try one product that could handle both needs. I didn't switch because the Tuf-cloth was in any way failing to do its work. That stuff rocks! You are located in some pretty humid weather country too, and depending on how close to the water you are, may even need that extra salt protection that Marine Tuf-glide gives. But I was never satisfied with the lubricity of Tuf-glide, so I used a urea-based grease on my pivots. A bit of a pain in the butt to deal with...

So far, all I can really say is that Frog Lube is the best lubricant that I've used so far. I'll let you know in a few months if it's the best rust protector too, or if I find that it's gumming up the pivot. If you don't hear me bitching about it, it's still working as it should!


Stitchawl
 
I've never tried the frog lube, I have heard some issues with it gumming things up and also turning to "mold" and smelling really bad, but I'm guessing in both cases too much lube was used. Any heat above ambient will open metal pores, but mostly it thins the lubricant so it flows better into those pores. I've noticed this works with most lubes and especially with grease, but most people won't take the time to do it.

WD40 specialist was a surprise, I'd never have suspected anything WD40 made would actually perform well. I was tempted to try it until I read some other places that the WD40 specialist goes on thick and leaves a sticky hard to remove residue. Might still try it for long term storage stuff. I also thought the products that ate the foam were interesting, I think I'd avoid those just to be safe. I've used OneShot and RustPrevent before as well, both were not impressive as lubes in firearms and tend to leave a film, which is probably why they did so well in corrosion testing. The corrosion testing also shows that some products are broken down by salt because they had significantly better performances in non-salt testing.

I've used many of the tested products over the last 30 years and some of the results seem to go against my experiences in firearms, for example hoppe's #9 solvent being a better lube than most of the actual lubricants, the same for plain WD40, and Barricade, I've used Barricade for years, and it's a good inhibitor that doesn't leave a thick sticky film, and doesn't hurt wood/plastic, it's my choice for wiping down guns/barrels between range sessions, but I would never consider it a good lube. You can feel a noticeable difference cycling a handgun prepped with barricade for short term storage and one properly lubed for range use. Knives are not guns though, and a lube that doesn't work well in a firearm might work great in a knife pivot.

I believe the biggest weakness of the test is the "staying power" of the lube in question. Some lubes work very well but break down quickly. Again in a knife that is only opened a few times a day, does not build up heat, or have a heavy sheer load that will never be an issue, but for a firearm that's a key quality due to the number of cycles and heat. Many of the lubes that suggest using heat to apply them tote that they adhere to the metal better and resist heat break down. I've seen a lot of lubes that were great for the first 50 rounds at the range, but by 500 rounds were worthless. A bolt gun that I might only shoot 20-30 times in a range session where the action stays fairly cool, can get by with much less lube and different lube than a handgun/AR that might see 500 rounds and be run very hot.

The other issue is if the lube attracts/holds dirt/debris. When I moved to the desert I quickly learned that most of my previous liked lubes were worthless because they attracted and held dirt/grit. So if you are in the field or desert a dry lube may work better even though it's lubrication properties are not as good when clean. Mountain bikers quickly found out that the wet sticky lubes road cyclists loved were horrible for off road use because they attracted too much dirt and chewed chains up.
 
Curious how one shot failed as a lube for you. Always wondered how it would do. As for the susposed lubrication results there. I don't consider them valid, I don't think metal on metal friction played any part in the results other than the control.
 
Frog lube is good to prevent rust and even help clean. Flitz is awesome to remove rust if it's already bad.
 
stitchawl said:
I'm not the only one satisfied with the stuff. Take a look at the YouTube videos people have been putting up. That's what convinced me to give it a try. Now that I have given it a try, I'm happy I did! I won't leave my weapons out in the rain to test the stuff... The humidity inside is bad enough here. I'll let you know in six months if I've changed my mind. :)


Stitchawl
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Yes, certainly, I have three aquariums in my room with one being a turtle tank, all on top of being in Louisiana in the first place.

I know humidity problems for sure. It's necessary to regularly combat mold in my room so steel parts need treatment.
 
SBaker34 said:
Fair warning. When mixed with anything petroleum or synthetic based it hardens up
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How did you find this out? what happened?

Also, quick note... I stuck a little bit of the clp lube in a glass and put it in the freezer for a couple hours... it did solidify up a little bit into a consistency of the paste, but still felt like it lubed just fine and definitely did not feel gummy. Plus, I think if applied correctly (heat and wipe off access) then even this won't happen.
 
razor-edge-knives said:
How did you find this out? what happened?

Also, quick note... I stuck a little bit of the clp lube in a glass and put it in the freezer for a couple hours... it did solidify up a little bit into a consistency of the paste, but still felt like it lubed just fine and definitely did not feel gummy. Plus, I think if applied correctly (heat and wipe off access) then even this won't happen.
Click to expand...

Frog lube is a bio based oil, aka some kind of veggie base, those kinds of oil react negatively with hydrocarbon and petro based chemicals, although I can't remember which gums which up.

Most oils mix which each other, synthetic and mineral oils are actually quite compatible, though their additives may not be, that is why most gun oils don't require degreasing prior to switching. However bio oils do not mix, note that frog lube suggest completely degreasing prior to using froglube. http://froglube.com/froglube-product-info/froglube-directions/ Ive seen cases where this has happened, although at the moment I can only find incidents where it has solified after a couple months of storage, which could be due to age, or leftover lube.

Fireclean has the same problem, its not unique to froglube alone. Its not a big deal with knives, its just why it'll never touch my firearms.
 
I haven't tried it yet, but I would think leaving the part sitting outside in the sun for a bit should get it nice and warm. It's still hot enough here in Texas for that to work.
 
Frog lube- Disassemble, degrease, lube, heat, wipe dry, reassemble. Time- use your best guess.

CLP- Spray and blow with compressed air. Time- about 5 seconds.

Frog lube concerns- Several.

CLP- None.

Frog lube was a flash in the pan when it came out.

I don't know a single person who still uses it.
 
grizzled gizzard said:
Frog lube- Disassemble, degrease, lube, heat, wipe dry, reassemble. Time- use your best guess.

CLP- Spray and blow with compressed air. Time- about 5 seconds.

Frog lube concerns- Several.

CLP- None.

Frog lube was a flash in the pan when it came out.

I don't know a single person who still uses it.
Click to expand...

To be fair, its a better corrosion inhibitor, and it is nontoxic, but is not worth it for me.
 
I have been using Froglube for about a year and a half or so on all my handguns, knives, and multi-tools and have yet to find a downfall. It is the perfect balance in my opinion between rust prevention and lubrication. Also I agree 100% with heating up the item you are applying it to and then wiping away almost all the excess. Some people cake it on and it can cause functionality issues especially in finicky handguns. If it is on your handgun as you shoot it you may notice it begins to "sweat" this is actually the Froglube being heated to the point of becoming a liquid again. If you do use Froglube do not mix it with any other cleaners or solvents clean with it and lube with it although in my experience if you clean it shortly after shooting you just wipe off the gun and the fouling comes right off no need for a ton of scrubbing.
 
Hair dryer causes micro expansion of the steel, i think. Heated oil will seep in to the pores easier. And the air force will help push it in as well. My two cents.
 
Anyone encountering problems in using Frog Lube to washers, joints, pivot and locking mechanisms?
 
xdayv said:
Anyone encountering problems in using Frog Lube to washers, joints, pivot and locking mechanisms?
Click to expand...

So far, it's been working like a dream. No dust collection from my pocket, smooth-as-silk action, locks of solidly. I'm happy with it.



Stitchawl
 
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