IKBS; Lube or not?

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Jun 23, 2012
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Just took apart my Boker Kwaiken today to do a heat anno job. While I had it apart, I cleaned up the internals. There was a seriouse amount of gunk in the bearings, and on the blade. It still worked fine, even though it was gummed up from old oil, and dirt.

Anyway, after I put it all back together, I have not put any oil in the pivot. It works and feels exactly the same as it did before.

So should I run it dry? I think it will stay cleaner, and it is a b**** to disassemble/reassemble. Will not oiling the IKBS cause any excessive wear?
 
Oil and pocket lint do have an everlasting love! I was turned on to DriLube made by Remington. It comes in an arisol and is Teflon based so there's no stick! Just use caution when using it, Teflon is pretty nasty stuff (I'm pro cast iron, feel the Bern)
 
Oil and pocket lint do have an everlasting love! I was turned on to DriLube made by Remington. It comes in an arisol and is Teflon based so there's no stick! Just use caution when using it, Teflon is pretty nasty stuff (I'm pro cast iron, feel the Bern)

I love cast Iron. Heats nice and evenly, and when well seasoned is pretty non stick.

On topic: Whats the name of the Remington product?
 
Oil and pocket lint do have an everlasting love! I was turned on to DriLube made by Remington. It comes in an arisol and is Teflon based so there's no stick! Just use caution when using it, Teflon is pretty nasty stuff (I'm pro cast iron, feel the Bern)

The gunk you cleaned out was there mostly because the knife had been lubed. It will collect again if you lube it.

I don't lube them. If you insist on doing so, use a dry lube like BusyBiryl suggested. I have used a synthetic dry bicycle chain lube with PTFE on the few occasions I have lubed such a knife.
 
The gunk you cleaned out was there mostly because the knife had been lubed. It will collect again if you lube it.

I don't lube them. If you insist on doing so, use a dry lube like BusyBiryl suggested. I have used a synthetic dry bicycle chain lube with PTFE on the few occasions I have lubed such a knife.

Ever have any problems from not lubing them?
 
I put a few drops of Tuff-Glide in my pivot, work it in, and let it sit and dry overnight.

Sometimes I'll just soak the pivot with TG and shake it out. Most of the dirt/lint etc comes out with the excess TG. I've also sprayed out my Thorburn (IKBS) with WD40 once and it worked great.
 
I use red n tacky grease on my bearing pivots. A very thin film works good. I put a tiny bit of grease on my index finger and thumb, rub the bearings or if it's caged bearing rub that between my fingers. Thin film is the key with any lube to minimize dirt attraction.
 
I basically never lube my knives and I've had zero issues. Not enough heat and friction generated to cause any problems.
 
I basically never lube my knives and I've had zero issues. Not enough heat and friction generated to cause any problems.

I don't think heat or friction would be a huge issue but rust is definitely something to think about; unprotected bearings will oxidize as any carbon steel will. I've been meaning to take apart my zt561 just for this reason as the action has gotten quite slow compared to how it used to work... :rolleyes:

Running them dry will definitely cut down on how much pocket lint they collect LOL. :thumbup:
 
I don't think heat or friction would be a huge issue but rust is definitely something to think about; unprotected bearings will oxidize as any carbon steel will. I've been meaning to take apart my zt561 just for this reason as the action has gotten quite slow compared to how it used to work... :rolleyes:

Running them dry will definitely cut down on how much pocket lint they collect LOL. :thumbup:

Never had any issues with oxidation, but all the bearing pivot knives I own also seem to use stainless or ceramic.
 
Never had any issues with oxidation, but all the bearing pivot knives I own also seem to use stainless or ceramic.

I've seen a few knives lately with rust in the pivot area around the bearings but stainless or ceramic would probably eliminate that risk altogether.

The last rusty one I can remember was a ZT0561; I read that it has stainless bearings but it'd be easy for moisture to get to them due to the gap between the blade and scales/bearing pockets... Like I said I need to check mine out of curiosity. :rolleyes::foot:;)
 
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