I'm in mourning... (Knife Lube Info Requested)

orca8589

orca8589

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Jan 27, 2007
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It's a sad day in my house. :( Bear with me here. I need a little help.

My last old (metal) bottle of 3-in1 oil has dropped it's last drop...oiled it's last joint...filled the air with the faint scent of rubbed carbon steel for the last time...

I retired that old bottle Tuesday, went to ACE, was escorted to the "oil aisle"...and found out that 3-in-1 is in plastic bottles now. I swear, I almost fainted. Not a metal 3-in-1 oil bottle anywhere. Desperate measures were called for. (I thought of refilling my old metal bottle somehow, with new 3-in-1, but if my wife caught me doing that, I'd never hear the end of it...ever...) I've had three bottles for the last fifteen years, so I'm a little sentimental here. Every uncle & grandfather & redneck I knew had 3-in-1 oil, WD40, and motor honey in their garage or shed. It's what I'm used to, but I just can't get past the (shiver down my spine) "plastic bottle" thing...

Okay, Drama's over. Oiling my blades & joints form a plastic bottle isn't the blasphemy I thought it was. So, here's the deal: I need some recommendations. I liked 3-in-1 because I could wipe it off, sniff the blade, and know that if I couldn't smell any residue, I could go to work. When I wiped it on, it stayed on there, sometimes for months, and I didn't have to worry about it.

I'm buying a lot of old carbon steel knives these days, like the Schrade USA-made knives, BSA Scout knives, etc., and while all get used, some have more than a little monetary value. S-o-o-o-o-o-o, I'd like to hear what you guys think is best. The reason I'm asking is that after a couple of days of research, I'm pretty over-loaded with info. (When I'm starting to read molecular diagrams of suspended lubricant particles, my brain starts hurting...)

So there it is. In a nutshell, what do you guys use/recommend?

thx - cpr

ps - I started to put this in Maintenance & Embellishment, but since 3/4 (or more?) of my collection is carbon steel, and traditional patterns are my focus these days, I thought it would fit better here.
 
I know where your coming from, I too just bought a new bottle and hate the plastic one. You cant even squeeze the damn thing, just have to wait for the oil to run down that stupid long spout.No way to control it.
 
Nothing smells like 3 in 1. Whatever you like best is what is best! Don't get caught up in the whole "I need to use the absolute best thing available" The absolute best thing changes from month to month and will drive you nuts!

I remember using 3 in 1 on my b.b. guns at the end of everyweekend. Nothing can replace that smell.
 
My father died back in 2002. I got all his tools, boxes of screws, nails, nuts, drill bits, etc. But one of the better finds was one of the metal oil cans that has the long spout and you turn it upside down and push the bottom with your thumb to get the oil to run out. It has a screw cap so I can pour in 3 in 1 and don't have to mess with that long plastic spout that just don't work.
 
I've been out of 3-in1 for a while now, so I've been using either Hoppy's gun oil or mineral oil, just a drop in the joint now and then. But I don't use anything on the blades as far as rust protection. Only the joint gets oiled, the blades just get wiped down now and then with a clean dry bandana, and stropped at night. If they stain, so be it. Once a good patina builds up on a blade, it's going to be hard to get it to rust without alot of neglect under wet conditions.
 
I just picked up a couple of the original metal bottles of 3 in 1 oil at Home Depot(of all places:confused:) last week.They were the last two on the shelf.They were also very dusty.They must have found them in some back room & restocked them.

I use Hoppes#9 most of the time,but 3in1 has many uses that Hoppes isn't as good IMO.


For my carbon blades(for corrosion resistance) I'll either use A.G Russel's Rust Free or a Tuf-Cloth.
 
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I like Rem Oil as well but I have also been using a graphite based lube some. The carrier flows the graphite into where it needs to go and then the carrier evaporates leaving the dry lube in place. Very slick stuff.
 
If you know what works best for protecting your blades then you are already way ahead. But if you don't let me recommend a little experiment...

Get some carbon blades (or any fragments of carbon metal) and treat them as you would your best knife then glue them onto a paper plate and label the plate with the treatment used on each one. Put the plate in a 1gallon ziploc bag. Then get you a capful of iodine and set it in the middle of the plate and seal the bag. Take note every 12 hours at which treatment seems to be resisting the iodine particles the best.

I believe this is a time compressed test that is somewhat relative to real world protection (especially for safe queens). Now wear resistance may be another issue...

Mike Latham
CollectorKnives.Net
 
I prefer remoil and wipe my blades down everynight when I take them out of my pocket. It doesn't smell as strongly as 3-in-1 and just seems to be a cleaner oil, I have also seen the tests that show remoil having better rust protection than 3-in-1. I aggree, use what you like, but it could be worth your time to get a squeeze bottle(not spray can) of remoil.
 
I use this.

bjuice.jpg


It's designed for brass instruments for lubricating, cleaning, and protecting the close-tolerance piston or rotary valves. I play French horn and kind of figured I'd give it a go one day, and I've never looked back. It works great for restoration projects in particular. Goodness knows how many rusted-shut slippies I've cleaned up with it. Just drip it in the joint and back springs and work the blades back and forth and wipe. Try it even on your new slipjoints and you might be surprised at just how much junk comes out of them!

Like 3-in-1 oil, it does contain petroleum distillates so don't go using it around food--but it makes a great knife oil.
 
I use remoil and still cut food with my slippies. I think the petroleum distillate warning is over rated, look at how many people do it everyday and how many old timers didn't know it was bad for them, I never hear of oil poisoning. A light film on your blades won't kill you if you ingest a small amount. I am pretty sure that whopper from burger king I had last week did more of a number on my life span.

Sorry for the little rant, just always see people knocking petrol based oils in favor of mineral oil because it is "food safe". Been using it on knives that come into contact with food for years with no ill effects.
 
I use Tuf-Glide on the pivots/joints of my knives.

I use mineral oil on the blades and scales as needed.
 
Thanks for the input, guys - up to this point, I hadn't given much thought to what I use; it was mostly the traditional habit I learned growing up. (I forgot to mention that I use mineral oil on my bone scales.)

thx - cpr
 
I have been using Tuf-Glide but don't like the smell at all. I'm quite interested in a dry lube to try out....any recommendations? or even a oil-type lube that doesn't have the pungent odor?
 
Durwood said:
If you really want a good smelling protectant try Ballistol:D
Click to expand...
shudder :barf:

I've been using 3 in one ever since I tried it. (in addition to CLP)

I only oil the blades when I dont use the knife, just before putting it away.
But I dont really worry about an oiled blade coming into contact with food.

Peter
 
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