How often do you clean/disassemble your user?

G

Gideons

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Dec 9, 2015
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Hey guys,

I'm curious how often do you guys disassemble/preform maintenance on your users?

-Gideons
 
Not much. I do sometimes use a q-tip with alcohol followed by oil. If the pivot gets stiff or gritty I might take it down.

I never take down my fixed blades.
 
You’re going to get a lot of variants of “when it needs it.”

I clean and oil the Victorinox every month or so. The sebenza gets taken down about every month or two as well. Whenever I do a dirty job with them.
 
I sharpen as needed and occasionally add a drop of oil. I might blow out the lint on occasion. A knife that gets dropped in the mud will get a wash, rinse, and oil treatment. I've never disassembled any of my knives.
 
Cleaning and maintenance?

Well, blades get wiped down with mineral oil each time they go back into the safe, even if they’ve only been out for pictures. Overkill perhaps, but I keep a lightly oiled swath around for the wipe down.

Other than that, whenever it needs it.

When something feels gritty, the action is slowing down, or it looks dirty, it gets cleaned with copious compressed air and a bit of lube. Sometimes, if needed, it’ll get a light solvent like lighter fluid, silicone spray, or WD 40, followed by even greater volumes of compressed air. More often than not, that’s enough.

If it’s still not to my satisfaction, it *may* come apart to some degree, depending on the knife.
 
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I takem apart all the time. Use acetone to remove old oil. Then use no more than a tiny drop of anti corrosion lube and spread it. Drenched in oil just gums it up sooner and slows down your action.

Use alcohol if your cleaning off composites or plastics. Acetone is not idea for these materials.

Use a good torx brand like wiha or better. Don't force screws... If there is locktite holding them in, your just gonna strip the screw or the driver. Heat it up to loosen the locktite.

New knife lube called 'knife pivot oil' showing to be the best oil most have tried.
 
Never.

I could never do more than 2 sides on a Rubic’s Cube, so I won’t take a knife apart. That’s what warranties are for.:thumbsup:
 
I take apart every knife at least once, I like to check out the construction, clean up factory crud and get them running smoothly. Afterwards more on a "when I feel it needs it" - basis. The only knife I haven't taken apart yet is the Reate JACK because I am not a 100% sure how it goes together, but I will take that apart too. I don't take them apart for no reason though, since I don't want to mess up screws or pivots.
 
Whenever they need it, which is pretty rare. My 0562 was a 5-6 day/week carry and work user for over two years. I’ve maintained the edge, but never disassembled it. Part of this is the nature of my work, I think. Zip ties, plastic straps, cardboard, etc. The biggest offender is cardboard dust, not gritty material.

I also use a Wenger Esquire or Victorinox Classic to bust tape and scrape goo, so my main folder doesn’t get coated with adhesive residue.
 
Only disassemble when necessary, ie very very gritty pivot. Most times spraying with WD40 penetrating oil and a wipedown is good enough. Always clean the knife and dry it out after each usage.
 
I carry most knives once or twice a month, so usually I only clean them when I first get them and otherwise after a dozen or two carries, or when the action starts getting worse. Right now I'm working on getting all of my knives swapped over from Clenzoil to Daiwa, got most of them done now.
 
My knives are all work knives in different capacities. My poor RAT 1 has been punished as a work knife for a couple of reasons. One, because it can take it and the second being that it dulls easily. So I tend to use it for all manner of dirty jobs since it seems more suited to them than a better cutter with better steel. As with all my work knives, it gets as much cleaning as it needs. It has been in the job about six years now and it still works as well as it did when I bought it.

In 40 plus years of construction work, I have never taken apart a knife to clean it. I clean off adhesives, tar, paint, caulk, etc. using charcoal lighter fluid or mineral spirits. When I find some inside the frame, I use brake cleaner and a wood pick that I whittle with the knife. I brush off the scales with a stiff brush and some kind of solvent. This has been my method for about 45 years... seems to work OK.

I clean them up, sharpen them, then put a drop of light oil (not the politically correct nano engineered stuff) on the pivot(s) and they are good to go. Never saw or had a need for disassembly.

Robert
 
Depends on the construction of the knife, as well as the use and carry method. Some folders accrue pocket lint, others don’t. Most of mine don’t need to be disassembled in order to be cleaned. Sometimes a problem with a faulty or worn washer requires disassembly. Knives aren’t watches, and as long as you don’t lose screws/parts you won’t have a problem with reassembly. As others said above, don’t strip screws.
 
I carried an Old Timer 7OT every day from Christmas 1988 until 1999. I used it a lot and carried it, both in the belt sheath and in the pocket, in mud and dust. It is still a good knife with never having been taken apart. So never would be my answer.
 
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