Is "Honing Oil" okay for use as a lubricant/protectant for knife blades and pivots?

[fishwatcher]

It says on the can (Norton), something to the effect of, "Meets mineral oil purity standards and may be used around food prep operations".

I know there are many opionions on various other lubes for knives here on the forum, so was just wondering about the use of honing oil for folder use (other then when honing).

Thanks.

 

[Cougar Allen]

It's been a while since I've used that, but doesn't the label also say in large print "DO NOT USE FOR LUBRICATING PURPOSES"?

 

[coolcrow]

It says on the can (Norton), something to the effect of, "Meets mineral oil purity standards and may be used around food prep operations".

I know there are many opionions on various other lubes for knives here on the forum, so was just wondering about the use of honing oil for folder use (other then when honing).

Thanks.

Are you wanting to use the honing oil on knives that are going to be used for food prep? If you are, I would recommend Mineral Oil. I'm not really sure how well the honing oil would work for folder lubrication. I would think there would be better options (Militec-1, Tuf-Glid, etc), but somebody should be able tell you for sure.

 

[fishwatcher]

It's been a while since I've used that, but doesn't the label also say in large print "DO NOT USE FOR LUBRICATING PURPOSES"?

No, actually, it says, "INGREDIENTS: Highly refined mineral oil for sharpening and lubricating... NORTON OIL can be used for all sharpening applications, including kitchen and food preparation. It acts as an effective lubricant during sharpening to float..... It is excellent too for lubricating power tools, hinges, locks, generators, distributors, electrical fans, sewing machines and hundreds of other applications."

Cool Crow: I'm considering using it as an alternative to lubricants like my Militec and Tuf Glide, on knives I might use around food more often. Seems like this actually is mineral oil. Not sure how "Specially Formulated" or "highly refined" differentiates this, from standard mineral oil.

Thanks for any add'l insight that is shared.

 

[knarfeng]

The term "mineral oil" merely indicates that it is refined from petroleum as opposed to extracted from a plant.

"Highly refined mineral oil" has no specific technical meaning. But it would imply that the molecular weight range is narrow and there are no sulfur compounds or other impurities left over from the original petroleum.

If the oil is recommended for food prep it would imply that there are no added corrosion inhibitors or other additives in it. It is just a pure parafffinic oil, again the implication would be that there would be no extraneous compounds left over from the original petroleum.

Add: I just found a blurb on the stuff that says it is USP tested. That means that it is indeed a pure paraffinic oil with no additives and no impurities.

I think it would be an OK lube for your pivot pins. As a protectant it would provide a barrier to air and moisture (both necessary reactants for the corrosion reaction and therefore their exclusion is helpful in preventing corrosion). But there are no actual corrosion inhibitors in it nor any additives that would grab onto the metal, so there are probably better products for corrosion inhibition unless you specifically need to use it around food.

 

[Dog of War]

While it sounds as though Norton honing oil is pure mineral oil and therefore OK to use as a lubricant, I don't see any reason why you would want to use it for that purpose. FP-10, Break-Free CLP, Militec-1 and others are much superior lubricants, and the cost of using these advanced products for lubing knife pivots is going to be negligible.

Besides, if Norton honing oil is pure mineral oil, why not go to WalMart and buy pharmaceutical grade mineral oil which you know is going to be food safe and definitely won't have anything added that might compromise lubrication, and will almost certainly be a lot cheaper?

 

[knarfeng]

While it sounds as though Norton honing oil is pure mineral oil and therefore OK to use as a lubricant, I don't see any reason why you would want to use it for that purpose. FP-10, Break-Free CLP, Militec-1 and others are much superior lubricants, and the cost of using these advanced products for lubing knife pivots is going to be negligible.

Besides, if Norton honing oil is pure mineral oil, why not go to WalMart and buy pharmaceutical grade mineral oil which you know is going to be food safe and definitely won't have anything added that might compromise lubrication, and will almost certainly be a lot cheaper?

I've not seen the honing oil, but it is probable that it is lower in viscosity than the mineral oil available from the pharmacy. That would give it better performance as a cutting oil/lubricant.

Though I agree that there are better things to use if you are not going to be around food.

 

[Dog of War]

I've not seen the honing oil, but it is probable that it is lower in viscosity than the mineral oil available from the pharmacy. That would give it better performance as a cutting oil/lubricant.

Yeah, my concern with honing oil is that it could be any of several liquid paraffins, or a blend. Personally I prefer the more viscous, laxative-type mineral oil for honing, at least on medium India and SiC stones because it stays on the surface longer and seems to do a better job of keeping the stone from loading up. But then I know some guys like lamp oil better (and also a lot cheaper at WalMart.)

I think it's pretty much inevitable that anyone who gets into knives, and particularly if you're a shooter as well, is going to wind up owning a bunch of different oil and lube products -- and danged if you don't find that different knives just work better with different lubes. Part of the interest and fun of the hobby, IMO.