How to deep clean a SAK?

powernoodle

powernoodle

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Just bought a nice little used 4-layer SAK with leather sheath, and need to clean it up. As in, really get the former owner's mung and skank out of it.

Thought about dawn detergent and a little brush, to be followed by compressed air drying and light gun oil. This leaves the possibility that I won't get all the water out and it will rust.

Carb cleaner is another option, and I know - having used it on AK-47s (the rifle, not the knife) that it will remove anything from anything. But it might melt or otherwise attack the scales.

No biggy either way, as I only paid $11 for it, but I'd rather not destroy it.

Any suggestions?

thx
 
you'd only get it to rust if you were washing it with saltwater. Saks are very stainless and mine get washed and shook out with water all the time.
 
Thx for the responses. Though I do have Krud Kutter in the Powernoodle Pantry, I went with the hot water/Dawn/toothpick/toothbrush/hair dryer/gun oil method. It appears to be pretty mung-free now.

thx
 
Stay away from the carb cleaner, especially if your SAK has the typical cellidor scales. They aren't made from the most chemical resistant plastics.
 
Just open all the implements up, remove the toothpick and tweezers and place it on the top rack of your dishwasher. Run it during your next dish cleaning.

Few drops of mineral oil in the pivots and you will be good as new.
 
Good idea too. I throw my toothbrush in the dishwasher from time to time, but skip the mineral oil part. :thumbup:
 
Dawn liquid soap in hot water for a hour. Then wash out with hot water and let dry. My process even after field dressing deer. Dawn cuts the old oils and gunk out pretty good. The hot water helps to loosen things as well.
 
One thing I did not do was let it soak long enough in the Dawn water to get really clean. I'll do that next time.

cheers
 
Don”t use carb cleaner – it will melt the Cellidor scales!


Windex followed by dish soap and hot water will clean most gunk out. For sticky or oily stuff that won’t come off with soap and water try WD40 and repeat the Windex, dish soap and hot water treatment. Allow it to dry thoroughly and lube with a bit of mineral oil if needed.




- Frank
 
I used dish soap + hot water + a generic bristle brush + some elbow grease to clean up a rusty and crusty SAK I found in the closet of my last house.

This worked well and with some light pivot oiling there has been no problems.:thumbup:
 
If you really wanted to get a second hand SAK clean you could pop off the scales and scrub the aluminum liners. Some people have managed to press the old scales back on without any problems. If not, you could glue them back on or buy new scales.
 
Saunterer said:
Just open all the implements up, remove the toothpick and tweezers and place it on the top rack of your dishwasher. Run it during your next dish cleaning. Few drops of mineral oil in the pivots and you will be good as new.
Click to expand...

done that exept it was washing machine and I just forget the SAK was in the pocket.
 
Wash it with hot water and detergent (dish soap or any other) using a tooth brush or the brush that you use to clean your guns, dry it with compressed air or just dry it with a cloth or direct in the sun and the most important part spray it with WD-40 you know that WD is for Water Displacement remove excess and you are good to go! :D
 
wd40.JPG


IT ALWAYS HELP!
 
Just put a pair of munged up Leatherman Waves in the dishwasher. Worked pretty well, removing 98% of the mung. The remainder was removed with a Q tip. Dried them off, layed them in the sun to bake, and then applied some gun oil to the pivots.

cheers
 
Remove the scales. Rinse in WD40. Then rinse in acetone. Clean the scales separately with water and detergent then pop them back on. Lubricate however you like.
 
I don't know what "mung and skank" are. Is that some part of the English language? When I get a used folding knife it's SOP for me to put it in the kitchen sink, run hot water from the faucet on it, in it, and all over it, then (with the blades open) wash it good inside and out with a stiff brush and dish detergent. The worst one I had to clean was a Victorinox Pioneer or Soldier, I forget which, with solid aluminum (Alox) handles. Mechanically it was in good shape, but it was stiff to open and close, and just plain nasty, gummy, and dirty inside. The fellow I bought it from said he'd taken it to Africa with him twice and used it for everything, including eating with it. It seemed to have a sticky mixture of fruit, blood, and God knows what in it. That one I had to soak overnight in hot water and detergent about three times with brushing in between soaks. :D

By the way, DON'T USE STRONG SOLVENTS on your SAK. Sounds to me like it's likely to damage the plastic scales, assuming they are plastic.
 
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