Knife tip concerning adhesive

A

allenC

Joined
Jun 18, 2000
Messages
10,762
Adhesive!
We all hate it!

Today I was breaking down a bunch of cardboard boxes (we have recently moved) and there was a lot of packing tape holding these boxes together. :mad:

Very quickly, the edge of my Spyderco Endura 4, plain-edge, full-flat-grind became gummed up with the sticky tape adhesive.:mad::thumbsdown:

While vexed, I noticed my lovely wife was on the sofa and was removing the nail polish from her tiny little toe nails.

So, I seized the concoction that she was using, and with the assistance of one of her cotton balls, I applied the potion to the blade's edge of that Endura.

With a single wipe the gummy mess was gone!
The smell was strong, but it worked great!

The potion:

Cutex Care, Ultra-Powerful, nail polish remover.
 
Yup. Most solvents will remove glue from a blade. I usually just use Iso alcohol.
 
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I do the returns here at DLT, and so my knives get tape gunked to the max after a few days of opening them up, Goo gone has been really helpful for getting off the leftover adhesive. I just use a spray bottle of it, half spray per side of blade and wipe with paper towel and its clean.
 
Acetone is usually the ingredient that makes nail polish remover work for stuff like this. The mfr site for the mentioned product (Cutex Care Ultra Powerful) states the product is 98% acetone. That should get the job done. ;)

I've occasionally come across some adhesives that don't come off and just get dry and very hard-stuck if cleaning with acetone or alcohol. But, most of the time, either can work pretty well.
 
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I've used Goo-Gone, old unused electric razor pre-shave, alcohol, even mineral oil, (especially on stickies on the dog to avoid harsh chemicals).

Each have their uses.
 
Lighter fluid also takes it off right quick. Just a matter of whatever is closest to hand when you need it.
 
100% acetone eats tape goop like a kid on a Halloween candy bag.
I show warehouse guys all the time that bring their pocketknives all gunked up. Some don't even need sharpening they are just gooped up so bad.

BTW watch it on handle scales. It will eat Wusthof Classic handles and the red Swiss Army knife ones
 
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Acetone can be readily absorbed through your skin. So avoid overexposure. My wife uses Ethyl Acetate (banana oil) nail polish remover because it is less noxious. Actually the solvents in nail polish can be absorbed through the nails.
Goo-Gone uses a cloth tipped dispenser bottle which helps avoid contact with the chemicals.
 
I have always kept a can of Zippo lighter fluid on the bench for removing adhesive from blades. Naptha, charcoal lighter fluid and Coleman fuel also work well. Acetone is way too strong for removing glue and won't even dissolve some glues and will melt most plastics.
 
Acetone won't absorb through your skin enough to hurt you unless you bathe in it - literally - 24/7. Even then maybe not. However if you drink it, that's another story, so...don't do that.

Acetone can irritate your skin if you're constantly exposed to it but it will mostly just dry the skin and possibly cause cracking with constant use. Listen, if the ladies can use it on their fingers all the time to remove nail polish you'll be just fine. I used it most every day for more than a decade cleaning stuff in a machine shop setting and it didn't do me any harm nor irritate my skin.

That said, lighter fluid or naptha is a little more gentle on a lot of materials and works just about as good.
 
I second the non pressurized lighter fluid is great,you also don' have to worry about it attacking plastic's I have never had it attack anything before,with nail polisher remover that's a different story.
 
Since we're listing solvents I'll mention Citra-Solv, which works on most goop and is safe on many materials. Unlike some other "citrus solvents" that just add a fruity smell to petrolium solvents, or which are highly dilute, this one's actually 90% D-limonene. (I try isopropyl first because I always have it on hand for wiping off Sharpie and it leaves no residue.)
 
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Acetone from the hardware store is cheaper and is the same thing as many have said.
Most solvents will remove it, and any oil will also. Mineral oil, WD40, Breakfree, Hoppes, Pam cooking spray, Crisco, whatever.

If you use mineral oil, or olive oil, or any other cooking oil you can completely ignore the debate about what is absorbed through the skin and what is dangerous or not.
 
Synthetic wintergreen oil works well and smells nice. Be careful when using, it will dissolve and soften certain plastics.

7o% Isopropyl alcohol is a one of my go de gunkers.
 
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