I cant believe i have to ask this...

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Backwoods_VT

Joined
Mar 27, 2006
Messages
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When you take a sebenza apart for cleaning, then relube it. Do you only put lube on the side of the washer that touches the blade or do you lube both sides of the washer? Thanks guys i know; i should know how to do this by now.
 
I think it's an excellent question.

IME their are circular marks between the washer and the blade, so that's where I put the lube, but then I also put the lube on the other side, just in case. :)
 
I also put it on both sides too just to be safe, although when I look at the washers when I open and close my blade they dont move at all. Better to be safe than sorry. I noticed that in the sticky post at the top of this forum about cleaning the Sebenza he shows only putting lube on the side that touches the blade. I guess its might just come down to whichever way you prefer a little more oil isn't going to hurt anything.
 
Backwoods_VT said:
When you take a sebenza apart for cleaning, then relube it. Do you only put lube on the side of the washer that touches the blade or do you lube both sides of the washer? Thanks guys i know; i should know how to do this by now.
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Here I am, 5000+ posts, been collecting and working on knives for years and years, I've owned 10 Chris Reeves...

I actually wondered that same thing myself when I disassembled my recent Sebenza about a week and a half ago.:D

(Just goes to show, there ARE NO STUPID QUESTIONS on Bladeforums!:cool:)

I assumed that the washers would stick to the beadblast texture of the handles and slide against the smooth blade, so I oiled the blade/washer and left the scale/washer dry. Then, I assembled and watched the washers very closely as I opened and closed. The washers stuck to the scales and the blade slid on the washers. I assume this is what one would want since the washers and blade are smooth but the scales are bead-blast (rough).

That's all I got on the subject.:)

.
 
I put oil on the blade everywhere it makes contact with the washers, in order to make the washers stay in place during reassembly. The fact that the oil doubles as a lubricant for the blade/washer interface is a fringe benefit . . . ;)
 
In my opinion, I think that it would be best to lubricate both sides of the washers. First, it would keep the washers in good shape and provide rust protection. Second, if you only lubricate one side and if the washer was "stuck" to the handle, it could cause the washers to wear down unevenly, so you'd be better off lubricating both sides to keep the washers rotating.

These are just speculations... I could be wrong.
 
I lube between the washers and the blade, that's it. The washers aren't really designed to move against the handle slabs so I see no need to lubricate them. I don't think the washers can rust either. Anyway, it works great for me.
 
I lube everything like it's going out of style, can't hurt. I also semi polished the contact point where the washers meet the bead blast on the scale with steel wool. I didn't completely remove the finish, but smoothed it out enough to make the knife smooth as ever. I'd highly suggest this as it doesn't change the tolerances at all (really doesn't remove anything) and the knife isn't exactly smoother (it's already as smooth as it gets) but makes it fly open even easier.
 
My theory in life has always been, if it's metal touching metal it going to need some lubricant. This applies to knives, cars, guns.....
 
This has been asked before, I'm not sure there has ever been an answer:

If the bronze washers are softer then the blade steel, why does the blade get all the circular scratches under the washers?
 
DaveH said:
This has been asked before, I'm not sure there has ever been an answer:

If the bronze washers are softer then the blade steel, why does the blade get all the circular scratches under the washers?
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Dirt . . .
 
everyone who has replied has great ideas, here are my two ideas. First if you lube both sides( like i do) then the washer has the potential to spin now you are spinning the washer against the ti slabs , so you might not get the optimal smoothness due to the bead blast finish vs the blade moving on the washers. ----Now the flip side, if you dont lube the slab side and leave it dry i would think eventually the section of say 90 degrese would wear and the washer would no longer be totaly flat. Think also of the main bearings in a car motor, where the crank spins its all lubed up; but the bearing is press fit in; if the bearing were to move its called a spun bearing. I think im going to call crk and ask them, Ill let everyone know what i find out.
 
I just bought a brand new sebenza, and I took it apart after a couple of days. I checked to see if the washers were lubricated on both sides, and they definitely were.
 
Recently got my first Seb, large classic with mamoth ivory. Took it apart for cleaning, became really amazed at the great fit. Used a Teflon based lube designed for trailer hitches. Any thoughts on that type of lube?
 
IMO as long as the viscosity of the lube is low enough so it doesn't get stiff, and doesn't attract dirt so that the action stays smooth it doesn't matter that much.
 
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