Gotta good one! Lubing stubborn knives!

fulloflead

fulloflead

Joined
May 3, 2002
Messages
6,192
I have different favorite lubes for different knives. I use different things depending on their use. I may use something different depending on if it's: Zytel Lockbacks, Axis locks, Liner-locks, Autos, Traditional folders, washers/no washers, if I'm going to use it for food, expose it to water a lot...

I currently keep in my gun/knife room:
RemOil
BreakFree
White Lightning
Prolix
Tuf-Glide

Occasionally, I get a knife that's got good friction resistance upon opening even when I loosen the pivot, and when I try using any of the several products I've listed, they only seem to help a little. Sometimes I use one product and when I'm not impressed I'll wash the knife in soap and water, dry it well and try a different product. Sometimes, still I never really get any decently good slick results.

I wonder if it's just the knife design or if it just needs a GOOD breaking-in period.

This happens to me maybe one knife out of 10 and I've never really solved it. I don't really carry any ONE knife for a long period of time so very few of my knives REALLY get broken in, I admit.

Anyone been here?
 
Does anyone know the best lube for a FRN Delica? Tried Rem Oil but it wasnt any smoother.
 
The toughest knife I've had to break in was the Spyderco ATR. Tried a variety of oils like you did & they actually seemed to make the action tighter.
Solved the problem by opening & closing a LOT. Once the action was broken in, a light oil with Teflon ,(Slick 50 spray), keeps it smooth.
 
fulloflead,

I've had similar experiences, particularly w/ s/s Spydies. In fact, these mostly seem to like the hot water and soap treatment, drying then NO lube at all! Mostly, when I try to put anything on it seems to make them more sticky, at least after a little while. This is a very interesting phenomenon.

I'm just about to try some Militec-1 on a few of my blades, having just received my free sample in the mail. I'll write back with some of my findings. I intend to try it on a few different actions; s/s Spydies, FRN handled ones with no washers, BM's w/ phospher/bronze washers, G10 only Spydies...It'll be interesting to see how universally effective this stuff is.

Jeff/1911.
 
OK, Miltec it is. I really didn't want to have ANOTHER oil around but...

Hey, isn't Miltec marketed under a different name as well that you can buy in gun shops?

Also, is Miltec an oil like RemOil or BreakFree or does it dry to a film like Prolix or Tuf-Glide?
 
STOP!!!!
Full of lead, Militech won't do anything any of the others can do, but it does have great rust-inhibiting abilities. I think it is probably closest to Break-Free. HOWEVER, the very best PROVEN rust protectant is EESOX, do a search, and hopefully you'll find the test where I think about 9 slabs of steel were left outside for a while, and Eesox blew the competition away.
 
I personally use a good polishing with flitz and afterwards a coat of balistol for smoothness (it also prevents rust really well and you can use it to sterilise wounds, even drink the stuff .:confused:. )
 
I know what you mean. I have had knives that it did not matter what I used, they never seemed to break in well. Personally I believe its the particular knife in question sometimes, not the lubricant you use, although that can help make it better. When you consider the dynamics of what goes into a walker style linerlock, or something similar. There are always small chances for error. I use to make a linerlock with stainless bolsters, bone handles and a aus-8a blade. When I first started making these (a few years ago) it took time to "fine tune" everything. If the bladestop was not correct that could cause some wobble, also cause lock not engaging correctly. If the tolerences were not correct the frame could be slightly "crooked", or it could cause the lock not to correctly engage. If the washers I chose were not the right thickness it could cause friction. I guess what Im trying to say is that there are alot of possibilities for error.

Case in point: I had once bought some junglee sahara folders (about 5 years ago?). Out of all the ones I bought there was one that had horrible friction problems. I used every lubricant i could with bad results. Tried "replacing" the washers, did not work. So finally I started looking at this closer and the tolerences were off and the blade pin did not seem to "set" right. burrs di not help the problem either. Of course this was a fairly inexpensive knife so its not a great example, but it can happen with most anything. With CNC engineering many of these problems have faded from most "better quality" knife manufacturers.

Sometimes taking a knife apart and polishing off any burrs can be a great help, or taking compressed air and blowing out any debris before taking it apart can help also.
 
Originally posted by rev_jch


Sometimes taking a knife apart and polishing off any burrs can be a great help, or taking compressed air and blowing out any debris before taking it apart can help also.
Click to expand...

Well, that's certainly a good place to start!

One thing I've had to do once before was to loosen the frame screw that's closest to the pivot as well because the frame was pinching the blade too much. (Actually, the washers were probably too thick but I didn' t have any of those.)
 
Wow! I tried my free sample of Militec-1 on three different knives so far (after washing the actions with soap and hot water - then drying w/ compressed air). These are my Benchmade models 800 AFCK (w/ liner lock), and model 722 AXIS lock. Also, my new Spyderco S30V Military. The effect of this stuff on the knives was really quite remarkable. I just can't believe how slick it has made the actions, better than anything else I've used - hands down!

Jeff/1911. :eek:
 
I had used Mil-tec before but was not overly impressed with it. My standard was Sentry Tuff-Glide. I still use the Sentry product but have Mil-Tec on my JWS large Evolution. Due to the fact that I like the pivots to be tight, and I mean TIGHT, I have to have something that is slippery. Again I was not overly impressed with the Mil-Tec until I had applied the 3rd application to the folder. Now with it tight like it was before the blade just glides out and snaps to lockup with out anything but a thumb push. Before the 3rd application I was getting the blade to open about 3/4's of the way and then using my thumb to bring it into lock-up. I may switch my Cuda Aftermath over to this stuff!
 
For the benefit of those who have no way of evaluating the evaluators: Art (artsig1) is meticulous and expert in tuning up a knife. My Sebenzas are sharp and smooth. The Sebenza he sold me was smoother. His skills are incredible.
 
Do you guys disassemble your folders and clean out the pivot bearing and blade thoroughly between trying different lubes or do you apply one on top of the other?

I have been thinking of disassembling one of my folders and using some senty hi-slip grease rather than oil. Do you think this would be better than say, tuf-glide?
 
Just got my sample of Militec-1 this morning and used it on my Spyderco Delica Lightweight. BIG BIG difference! I will have to try the Tuf-Glide and White Lighting before I say which is better for my knife.
 
Well thank you Esav! Although some folks might just plain say I was ANAL!!:eek: :cool: :) Of course to a degree I am. I have always cleaned out the old lube before applying any new lube, especially if it is a different type. Sometimes this can be accomplished by hot water and soap but if the knife can be taken apart I would rather do that. The Sentry Hi-Slip is some good stuff, but doesn't work real well for me and my tight pivots.
 
Thanks artsig1. The knife i am thinking of does not allow overtightening of the pivot because it has a collar that goes right through the blade ans stops the screw from overtightening.
 
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