Ideal slipjoint oil

S

ShaiHulud

Joined
Jul 21, 2022
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Im likely going to buy nano oil 85WT or KPL ultralight oil for my slipjoint knives but im curious to know what other options are out there that'll work good. Any ideas or opinions welcome, ( and ive heard a lot of strange ideas over time) but lay it on me
 
I like Laco oil for about anything. I’ve got a small bottle that’s at least 20 years old and it’s still clean and thin. I’ve used all kinds of stuff though. Remoil, CLP, ballistol, nano oil, olive oil, beeswax and coconut oils. The world is your oyster.
 
I use food grade mineral oil. It is sold as a laxative in grocery stores and pharmacies for $5 for a pint. $35 for a gallon at Tractor Supply sold as a horse laxative.

Safe and tasteless if it ends up on food and works well.
 
Nano-Oil 5 or 10 weight is much better for that purpose, and personally i prefer the 5 weight.

85 weight is way too thick for slipjoints and other folding knives.
A Dutch special forces operator i know uses it only in his full auto guns, the semi-auto guns get the 10 weight.
 
I work on a LOT of knives. I use WD 40, Tri-Flow, lithium automotive grease, and some others. Different knives seem to prefer different lubes.
One lube that I have actually seen better results with is Latama's Quick Release. It seems to be slicker than other oils.
 
A non-petroleum alternative to food grade mineral oil that doesn't oxidize and get gummy is refined jojoba oil, which is actually a liquid wax. My Desert Whale fluid is a nicely refined grade of it in a nice squeeze bottle with both a conventional cap and a few different luer lock dispensing tips.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
I work on a LOT of knives. I use WD 40, Tri-Flow, lithium automotive grease, and some others. Different knives seem to prefer different lubes.
One lube that I have actually seen better results with is Latama's Quick Release. It seems to be slicker than other oils.
Click to expand...


Quick release is awesome. Can’t believe I forgot to mention it. The little applicator tubes are very nice

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Whatever is in the gun cleaning supplies works. It has been Lucas lately as this is what I have been using for a couple of years. Same bottle just keeps on lasting. I go light on oil for both firearms and knives.
 
Remoil or tetra, depending on knife. Almost out of the remoil. I'll go look at the wm and see what they have in stock when the time comes.
 
If the action on a folder is starting to slow down a step, I like to flush the joint with some super-thin penetrating oil before using a lubricant. A shower of Kroil gets everything but the steel out of the way. It is not necessary in all cases, but once in a while it rinses away any dust or grit or stiff old oil that can build up in that tight space. I use Kroil to penetrate, clean and rinse, because that stuff has a million uses around the shop, it has saved my life with stubborn bolts and nuts many times. It smells like cherries, maybe industrial cherries, which you may or may not like. Give the joint an enthusiastic shampoo, working the blade back and forth, and wipe it dry as best you can.

After the area is dry, I put on one of the lubricants and often get a really nice improvement. I use one of the high-tech gun lubes from Brownell's after the joint is clean, just because I have it on hand for the guns. They have different viscosities with different melting points and high prices, but I don't know that they perform better than mineral, jojoba, several cheaper lubes.

My new favorite lube and protector had to be food-safe since I am on a kitchen knife kick. I am using a giant and very reasonably priced tube of "Food Grade E.P. Grease" used for food processing and packaging equipment. This stuff is used to lube and protect bone saws and other heavy duty industrial butchering machines. I guess if you are going to shoot a bolt into a cow's head, you want your hardware to be slick and food-safe! Plus it is plant-based, so no aminals were harmed in producing this picture!

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I like the idea of getting a thicker-viscosity material into the joint where the large flat surfaces are sliding against each other. It is too thick to get into a slipjoint's joint at room temp, so I warm up a few drops in a bottle cap or something to get it thin enough to penetrate the joint. Some days setting it in the sun will do it, otherwise a cigarette lighter and a metal bottle cap will get a little dab very thin in a few seconds. Then I drip enough into the joint, working the blade back and forth. When the grease cools down it will revert to its thicker state, and maybe it tends to stay in place better than a thinner lubricant. It is a fine lubricant and protector and you don't want your bone saw to be running dry! ****!
 
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