Knife care essential accessories?

S

stevekt

Joined
Dec 10, 2003
Messages
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What items should every knife knut have for caring for his/her knife?

My list:

Sharpener - Take your pick. This is a separate thread on its own. I prefer the Sharpmaker or an EZE-Lap Diamond Rod. I still need practice with the diamond rod.

Tools - Hex, torx, slotted and phillips screwdrivers. I have the Home Depot Torx and sloted/phillips sets and a metric hex set from my work tool set. I may pick up a nice Wiha set. I also want a jewelers loupe or something for magnification.

Maintenance - I like 3 in 1 Oil and Mineral Oil to lube and protect. Blue Loctite for securing pivot and handle screws. I need to pick up polish for some of my knives with brass or nickel bolsters.

Storage/Display - I have a piece of crap small valet but am looking for a nice case to keep on top of my dresser drawer, maybe something with a glass lid/door.

Other Items - Computer with net access to research and shop for more knives, camera to take pictures of knives and show them off, and lots of cash to buy more knives.

What's on your list?
 
I'm pretty minimal. FP-10 for everything*, Sharpmaker and bench stones, and whatever tools are in my crappy toolbox.

*I used to obsess over different lubes, cleaners, and the like. Once I got into pistol shooting, I finally realized that FP-10 did everything I needed in one product. When I returned to knives, I took the FP-10 with me. :)
 
I looked up fp 10 and it sounds kind of like the CLP I used on my M16A2. I still buy it at wal mart, but it doesn't seem to give the smooth action of 3 in one oil on my pivots. It does leave a protective barrier on my knives, because I've gotten several of the high carbon steel ones wet and I've no signs of rust.
 
FP-10 and regular CLP aren't the same thing, although they cover more or less the same range of functions. The main difference I've found so far is that the lubricating properties of FP-10 far surpass those of Breakfree CLP, (militec-1 as well) and it doesn't need to be shaken before use. In case you haven't guessed it's my favorite lube/protectant after trying almost everything else.

Other than that, a lint free cotton rag is always handy for wiping off excess oil or polish (I usually use the same rag, but different areas for polish and wiping oil off. I wash that whenever it seems a bit dirty)

Sharpening equipment of your choice. My favorite is the Shapton 1000 grit waterstone as a general purpose sharpener, with a strop to finish and a steel or fine ceramic rod between full sharpenings.

Toothbrush. My favorite tool for cleaning folder pivots of gunk and dust that gets in them. I either use soap and water, FP-10, or just plain dry depending on the situation. Having some toothpicks handy is also good for cleaning stuff out of folder handles.
 
Sharpening: Pretty much just diamond stones or rods freehand. One of these days, I'm going to order a Sharmpaker or an Edgepro. I'm sure I'll own both sooner or later.

Lube/Cleaning/etc: G96 on a red shop rag to wipe off the blades. I usually have a white "finishing cloth" from the car-care aisle around, too. A drop of Tuf-Glide on the pivots every once in a blue moon. Also in any kit I have is one of those double-ended gun toothbrushes and some Q-tips. Usually have some cotton gun patches around, too. Also, if i want to put on a layer of lube and not wipe it off (for display or storage), I'll apply it with a shaving brush kept/used solely for that purpose. Picked that trick up from a gunshop owner.

G96 is to me what FP10 is to Schmackey. I break out the GunScrubber and Shooter's Choice solvent maybe once a year on my bird guns, but for everyday cleaning and light lube, the G96 is my favorite for darn near anything metal. Will use a small amount of a heavier all-temp lube (grease) on the choke tubes and the hinges & knuckles on my over/unders, but that's about it. Otherwise, it's G96. I always have a full-size can around the house and little can in the hunting/shooting/traveling bag. Cleans, lubes and protects and doesn't harm blueing.

Some Flitz is nice to have around for polishing metal that isn't blued.

Tools: A torx or two from the tool box is usually about all I ever need for the knives.

Display/storage: A wood, 5-draw chest on top of my dresser. All but the top compartment has knives and knife junk in it.
 
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