IS OIL A NO NO ??

Whenever I buy a new folder knife, they don't always open smoothly. Can I use a drop of oil, or do I just keep using it until it breaks in(hopefully)? Some say never use oil, it attracts dust and dirt, others say its o.k. I hear about this "Tuf-Glide", and another brand that is a wax base? Just wondering what others think out there!! Thanks for your help, Tom
 
Chris Reeve Knives suggests using a Fluorinated Grease to lubricate their knives. I don't have any yet but assuming thats what they lube Sebenza's with when they are new I'd have to agree that it doesn't seem to attract dirt and lint very badly. Also a Sebbie can be taken apart very easily and many knives cannot. If you use a sticky lube on a knife that can't be easily disassembled for cleaning then you are never going to get grit out of the joint.

I'd tend to stick to dirt and lint resistant lubes.
 
Razoredj

Razoredj

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Use whatever oil you find works best to lubricate the folder pivot -- just don't use too much. I mean, dust and dirt are going to end up on any knife you carry around with you; that's why you clean it from time to time.

White Lightning is a good folder lubricant; it dries to a sort of waxy film that lubricates but (I think) won't attract much in the way of debris.

-Razor

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AKTI #A000845
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but i heard that you shouldnt use wd40 for knives. maybe to clean it out,but then rinse the wd40 out, and apply tuf glide or some other lubrication.
 
WD-40 won't hurt your knife; it just won't lube it either. It's great for cleaning out crap and displacing water. Then you'll need to use a legitimate lube. I use Tri-Flow.
 
thats exactly what i thought,shmackey.
i think i might have to give tuf-glide a try.
 
I usually use whatever chain lube I have sitting around. At the moment I have some Tri-Flow chain lube and some Pro-Link chain lube. The Pro-Link is great for knives because it dries up but it doesn't get waxy like White Lightning. I don't know how it works, but it's the best stuff I've ever put on my bike chains, and seems to work really well for knife pivots too.
 
wd40 is ok for cleaning, but it eventually rubs away leaving bare metal-on-metal contact, which is bad. you can use a silicone-based spray lubricant to clean out your hinge, which works better, but then go with something like tuff-glide as the final lube. militec1 is a great one -- it is a gun lubricant that is tested by firing thousands of rounds. i figure that if it can continue to perform after such extreme use, it may even hold up under my daily balisong flipping.
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peace.
aleX.

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"i flip you... i flip you for real..."

"come and get one in the yarbles, if you've got any yarbles."
 
I use Militech-1, Teflon grease and Tuf Glide. All work very well. Militech-1 is the best, followed by the Teflon grease, but Tuf Glide attracts the least fluf and dust etc, while at the same time it still works.

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Wayne.
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!
 
I've used Militec 1, Tri-Flow, and Tuf-Glide with favorable results. However, I prefer the extra lubrication of Militec and Tri-Flow and I haven't noticed any detrimental attraction of dust and lint.

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"I'm out there Jerry, and I'm lovin' every minute of it!"--Kramer
 
I have found that Tuf-Glide Is an excellent for keeping rust off of blades.
However it doesn't do much in the way of lubrication.
For lubricating the pivot point I now use Reeves Grease, but any oil does fine as long as you dont use very much of it.

Later, Jeff
 
I use a drop of Hoppes #9 oil to lubricate the pivots on my folding knives. I also use it to clean the blade and keep the rust off. You only really need one drop and in my experience, it doesn't seem to collect much pocket lint or dust.

The easiest way to keep the pocket lint out of your pivots is to use the pocket clip and clip it to your waistband, that way it doesn't ride around in dusty and lint filled pockets. Keeps my anodized aluminum handles from getting scratched up by my keys or change too.
 
I have had good success with lubricating with TufGlide. The only thing is not to view one application as doing it all. I usually apply a drop or so of TufGlide once a day to each side of the pivot for 3-5 consecutive days. Then, the knife is generally extremely smooth. TufGlide basically evaporates, leaving a thin layer of the bonding materials. That layer is truly thin, so multiple applications are successful.

I bought the litle half oz. bottle a month ago or so. Have been lubing a number of knives on a daily basis since, quite lavishly in some instances. Have perhaps lowered the quantity in the bottle by 1/8th inch. I also bought an 8 oz bottle, assuming it would be used up more quickly than it has. At my present rate of application, doubt I'll empty the 1/2oz bottle for approximately 15-18 months.

The Sebenza I bought recently had apparently been lubed extensively with either White Lightning or the grease provided by CR. While the residue didn't seem to attract dust etc., too badly, it was all over the place, and simply unsightly. The TufGlide leaves no visible evidence of its presence after evaporation, at least that I have been able to see. But then, am going to have eyes/glasses checked shortly too.
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Asi es la vida

Bugs
 
Anything for bike chains would be good, since they are dry lubes and will help keen your knife clean, and i agree WD-40 is great for cleaning, but not for lubeing
 
Graphite powder is a great lube, but for a few things. Firstly its a messy as a messy thing! Secondly it migrates away from that which it is intended to protect. Thirdly once it moves away it offers no protection at all.

Products like Tuf Glide and Militech-1 provide lubrication after they have dried. MT-1 in particular is a heat activated bonding process. Once several treatment with heat have been applied, it is unlikely you would need to use it more than once per year, it is THAT good!

Tuf Glide dries to offer a protective film, and it does work, but not as well or as long. But it does not require a hairdryer or 20 mins at 150c in an oven to get it to work to the max. MT-1 still offers very good protection even without heat activation an IMHO is the best light oil on the market.

I would stay away from the graphite powder or grease products unless you are working on a nucular sub!

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Wayne.
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!
 
What about BreakFree CLP? Any experiences with that? I was gonna try it...but maybe I should ask first...
 
I use Break Free CLP, and have found it to be excellent for my folders, (AND for my Glock pistols.).

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Dann Fassnacht
Aberdeen, WA
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As most of you may surmise, or already actually know, this topic has been discussed nearly to death.

Here is the problem with using Tuf-Glide as a lube. It is first and foremost a Thin Film Corrosion Inhibitor. Made for preventing corrosion, got it? Now, it does have slight lubricating properties, and some people have successfully used it on the pivot point of their folders. However, a lot of people (especially Sebenzanistas) have tried it for this purpose, and ended up with a sticky liner lock or frame lock. There is a reason that Sentry makes a heavy duty lube called Hi-Slip Grease. It is my guess from the color that it is a MoS2 product. It works well, but suffers from the same problem all MoS2 products have: it is black, and gets everywhere. If you have a difficult lube problem, however, there is nothing like it. My old Gold Cup, shooting mouse pressure loads with a reduced power recoil spring, will only work reliably with MoS2 or Shooter's Choice grease, a non-MoS2 product.

There is another problem with using dry lubes in bearings, whether the lube be a TFCI, graphite or powdered PTFE. There is a certain clearance built into the bearings for the lubricant. When this space is not filled, bad things happen.

I lube my knives with a PTFE/oil (but wouldn't hesitate for a moment to use any good engine oil in a pinch), or PTFE/grease, as supplied by Chris Reeve.

For those of you concerned with the collection of dust and lint, either get higher quality clothing, or carry your knife in a nylon pouch. An added benefit of the latter is that you don't pick up scratches from other metallic objects in your pocket.

Hope this helps, Walt
 
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