Graphite knife lubricant?

T

tribalbeeyatch

Joined
Oct 19, 2002
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I'm curious whether any of you has tried graphite as a pivot lube. Many years ago I used flaked graphite as a lube for my Pinewood Derby car when I was in the Cub Scouts and it ended up working like a charm. I still have that flaked graphite somewhere, and have been meaning to dig it up and give it a whirl. It seems like it would avoid the major pitfall that other lubes I've tried have suffered from -- attracting pocket lint. Even the "dry" lubes that I've tried have done this to some degree. Assuming that I can't find my stash (a very likely possibility), where would I go to buy some graphite flake or powder?
 
Sounds cool. Is this flaked graphite any different from grinding up a bunch of pencil lead?

I wonder if it stays on for very long. Unlike wet lubricants with an applicator, you'd have to take apart the knife when it comes off.
 
Just curious won't it leave a grey smear on things that come in contact? Also I thought graphite was somewhat abrasive, but maybe I disremembering.
 
Originally posted by AlphalphaPB
Sounds cool. Is this flaked graphite any different from grinding up a bunch of pencil lead?
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You know, I'm not really sure. It's been a number of years since I've seen the stuff, but it sure looked a lot like ground up pencil leads. I got it from a member of my family who was then working in the aerospace industry, so it may have been "super duper space graphite" for all I know.

I wonder if it stays on for very long. Unlike wet lubricants with an applicator, you'd have to take apart the knife when it comes off.
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 I don't think that it would require a lot of re-application because it seemed to coat metal pretty well. If I can't dig that stuff up, maybe shading the pivot area of one of my folders with pencil (normal pencil, not super duper space pencil) would be a close enough approximation to give it a try.
 
pencil lead is grpahite plus clay and binders so it would probably not be a good substitute.
 
I think I'd stick with militec if you want something that won't come off easy and wont collect lint.
 
I've only tried Militec once, and I really didn't like it. It wasn't as smooth as White Lightning, but it was just as good at picking up lint. Is there some special trick to using it besides just working it into the pivot and wiping off the excess?
 
You have to use Militec extremely sparingly. I like to loosen the pivot pins on my knives somewhat so that there is a small gap between the washers and blade, then use rubbing alchohol to douse the knife really good to remove all the nasty stuff and old gooey oil, then use the corner of an index card to apply a VERY small amount in between the washers/blade and washers/liners, then retighten pivot screw to the right torque. This stuff lasts forever! I use my fingers to rub a undetectably thin coat into the blade to fight rust on occassion too.
White lightning is fantastic too!!
 
I use graphite on my butterfly knives. Works like a charm. You can buy it at any hardware store. Just put some on the pivot point and move it back and forth for a minute and then wipe off the excess.
 
one caveat when using graphite...don't use it on aluminum. at least where high performance import cars are concerned, it seems to be folk wisdom that graphite will cause corrosion of aluminum parts.
i find that tuff-glide does not attract lint either.
 
Hello , I used to to use graphite on door locks and various other locks .. one thing is that I found out is that if you use graphite , and later use oil lubricants in addition to the graphite it will cause the graphite to cake up and not work up to par .. Joe
 
Tribalbeeyatch,

I remember doing my boys Pinewood derby cars about 12 years ago, and I to thought that it would be great on all my folding knives, until I ran across an artical saying that,"Black graphite", was a extra fine abrasive and that it might harm very delicate moving parts. Forgive me I don't recall where the artical came from or where I read it. That was enought for me to not use it on my knives!
.....Ironhorse....
 
If it's an extra-fine abrasive, an alternative use for graphite could be for stropping. I'll try that out sometime, though I doubt that it will be very abrasive (i.e. it will take a long time to get a polished edge).

If it doesn't work as quickly as green Veritas, we'll at least know that it's finer than that.
 
I have used powdered graphite as a dry lube on many things with moving parts, knives included. Satisfactory results no lint gathering but it can be very messy to apply and clean up if you spill it. I get mine at the automotive store. Use it also for spedometer cable lube, small squeeze tube with pointy nozzle. I also like T 25 B made by Mil Comm. www.mil-comm.com I know some of their company reps and it is a fine product.
 
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