Little knife tricks that work

[norcalAF]

For me, tape residue is most easily removed with a small amount of CLP on a microfiber cloth.

I lube my washer actions with TW25 and my bearings with KPL original. Works for me, YMMV.

 

[AntDog]

Don’t use cheapo torx bits. Spring for some Wiha and never look back.

0000 steel wool with a little oil works wonders for rust.

Sometimes disassembling and reassembling a knife will fix centering. Especially if you go slow cinching up the screws and finesse the blade to how it needs to sit when closed. Use loctite and tune it perfectly - it’ll stay that way until you break it loose.

Invest in quality sheaths for fixed blades. If you don’t like the sheath, you’ll never carry the knife.

Get a sharpening system or method that gives you solid, repeatable, spectacular results. The ability to get and keep your own blades sharp is paramount.

Buy a quality strop and good abrasives to maintain your edges, and a good smooth steel for when the edge just needs realignment. They’re worth their weight in gold.

Don’t fret over every little ding in the edge of a medium to large fixed blade and try to sharpen them all out. They’ll all work their way out over the course of a few sharpenings and you’ll save a lot of blade life. Sharpening out every little ding is not important on a good sized fixed blade like it is on a small folder.

 

[Knives&Lint]

This is more of a cosmetic fix, but I personally am not a fan of the polished finish that Case knives and many other traditionals have on their blades and bolsters. I remedy this with simple painter's tape and one of those 3M sponge type sanding blocks, giving them a brushed/satin finish. All you have to do is have a somewhat steady hand, and drag the knife across the sanding block in a straight line. It may seem a bit daunting to attempt, but you can always just keep going to fix any mistakes you might make. I actually find the process somewhat meditative.

This may be more along the lines of a minor modification, but it does solve the issue of smeared fingerprints common on these knives; and I've personally found it a great way of avoiding having the reflection of a guy with a big dumb bald head, crazy beard, and bloodshot eyes in my knife pics

As you can see on the top knife in the pic below, you can even tape off a portion of the bolster and keep it polished. (Note: the visible pin in the bottom knife was like that out of the box)

 

[sgt1372]

This is just a slow version of sanding (abrading) the G10. The dust is the same fiberglass you were hoping to avoid now combined with cotton dust. Best to sand under water if you don’t have an adequate dust collection system.

Or just wear an N95 mask. A lot of them around these days.

 

[sgt1372]

For me, tape residue is most easily removed with a small amount of CLP on a microfiber cloth.

I lube my washer actions with TW25 and my bearings with KPL original. Works for me, YMMV.

Any oil or lubricant will remove tape or gummy residue. Some are obviously better than others.

WD40 is what I normally use for this purpose but I've used cooking oil to remove labels from cookware.

Then again, I've used acetone & "Goof Off" which are very volatile solvents on metal parts to remove really stubborn, gooey residue.,

 

[A.L.]

Sanding G10 produces nasty fiberglass dust, so to avoid that I use this method...

...blow the knife down all over with a can of compressed air...

Hmm

 

[jfk1110]

I just use my thumb and pressure and wipe it off.......whilst dropping. A duece. 2 birds and all that.

 

[mitchnola]

Instead of cleaning fingerprint smudges from blades just put ya prints all over em to make it consistent. No more of that finger smudge by the thumb disk. I do this on all my blades rather than wiping them down. Works great on dlc coatings too.

 

[eveled]

Whompping the end of a Torx bit with a steel hammer while the bit is in the screw head to unlock Loc Tite on stubborn screws.
Actually I use that more at work than I do on my knives.
Thank you Sal of Spyderco.
PS: another upside of doing that is it "upsets" the end of the bit and makes it fit tighter in the screw.

A lot of those bits torx and allens, have rounded ends and benefit from gently grinding them flat.

The hammer trick is one I use all the time on stuck bolts. Especially tankless coil bolts.

 

[GmpaJim]

I'm on a roll . . .
these two are not little, THEY ARE HUGE and they totally changed my knife life that I started being frustrated by from about age six and into my thirties but once learned has made the last thirty years MAGIC :

1. Use a coarse enough stone to sharpen.
2. Thin the blade and or edge as much as possible but still hold up to the work at hand.

I have gone to 17* on all but my biggest field knives.

Stropping was a mystery to me untill I saw a guy say, “Use only the weight of the knife against the strop.”
This doesn’t make sense, it shouldn’t work, he’s nuts….then I tried it.
I’m now a stropoholic.

 

[SharpBits]

Or just wear an N95 mask. A lot of them around these days.

Doesn't contain the dust, it only keeps it from your lungs while you are wearing it.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Taming rough G10 without sanding

I always have a couple of nearly used up sanding sponge blocks that I refuse to toss until they are smooth. I had one I sprayed down with WD40 and would round the edges of G10 to knock down the corners. Then just wipe the excess and clean with iso.

 

[sgt1372]

Doesn't contain the dust, it only keeps it from your lungs while you are wearing it.

Seems like that's the most important thing to me.

As far as containment, if you're just a hobbyist, as most of us are, just sand your G10 & blow off the residue with your compressor outdoors.

Professional shops are another matter.

But, in either case, IMO, you should still do this kind of work wearing a mask to avoid inhaling the dust & particulate matter.

 

[mitchnola]

I like my g10 sticky!

 

[TC]

Most importantly: Always carry one!

 

[tony281sc2]

I have found graphite/pencil helped as well regarding sticky frame locks.

Idk if it has been mentioned, but the pencil trick works for the compression lock too if you’re having lock stick

 

[DangerZone98]

Don’t use cheapo torx bits. Spring for some Wiha and never look back.

0000 steel wool with a little oil works wonders for rust.

Sometimes disassembling and reassembling a knife will fix centering. Especially if you go slow cinching up the screws and finesse the blade to how it needs to sit when closed. Use loctite and tune it perfectly - it’ll stay that way until you break it loose.

Invest in quality sheaths for fixed blades. If you don’t like the sheath, you’ll never carry the knife.

Get a sharpening system or method that gives you solid, repeatable, spectacular results. The ability to get and keep your own blades sharp is paramount.

Buy a quality strop and good abrasives to maintain your edges, and a good smooth steel for when the edge just needs realignment. They’re worth their weight in gold.

Don’t fret over every little ding in the edge of a medium to large fixed blade and try to sharpen them all out. They’ll all work their way out over the course of a few sharpenings and you’ll save a lot of blade life. Sharpening out every little ding is not important on a good sized fixed blade like it is on a small folder.

Every reflective ding I see on my edge after sharpening is like a flashbang to my eyes.

 

[Riz!]

DO NOT hand your knife to non-knife-knuts when they ask “can I use your knife?”…

...instead ask them “what are you trying to cut?”…

No matter what they say, cut it for them!!!

 

[Riz!]

Another centering trick that worked fantastically on a knife that wouldnt recenter after maintenance…

I think I got this one from a youboober that has a “complex” and never met a knife he didnt like…

-Loosen all the standoff/spacer screws and pivot.

-Start at the pommel end and snug up the screws and pivot but dont set them at their final tension.

-Open the knife half way.

-Use paper folded up to make a wedge. (I used a paper towel)

-Place the wedge in the frame channel and close the knife on the wedge

-Make the wedge thick enough that when the paper is between the frame and the blade it pushes the tip a little past center in the opposite direction that the tip was pointed before wedging

-Snug up the screws to their final torque setting and slightly over tighten the pivot.

-Remove the wedge. Your blade should stay where it was set while wedged.

-Back the pivot off until that perfect action/centering balance is achieved.

 

[Riz!]

This one directly contradicts my last post and will probably twist up some people…

As long as your blade isnt suffering from side to side wobble that doesnt compromise lock integrity and doesnt touch the liners/frame…

BLADE CENTERING DOESNT REALLY MATTER THAT MUCH!!!!