Loosening joints on a new Charge

[Mr. McMick]

Greetings All,
After 4 years, my beloved LM Wave went missing a month or so ago. It came to the point that I could no longer go without a multi and had given up any hope of seeing it again, so I got myself a LM Charge off amazon. While I think I'll love it so far, one thing I noticed right off the bat is that it is quite difficult to open up. Now, I know my wave had been around for 4 years, and had plenty of time to loosen up, but this seems rediculous. I seem to remember a shop owner reccomending me a brand of gun cleaner to loosen up my wave, but I cant recall what it was. I do remember he said not to use WD40, as that would cause rusting.

Long story short: Does anyone know of a good gun cleaner or other joint lubricator that I could use on my new Charge to get it to open more smoothly?

Thanks!

 

[powernoodle]

Opinions vary on this, but I think that there is not a lot of difference in lubes. Best bet to loosen up your Charge is to open and close the tools 19,000 times while watching Sportcenter. If you want a light lube, I'd vote for just about anything you had on hand from WD40 to CLP to any kind of gun or tool oil. Even plain Jane 3-in-1 oil.

And WD40 does not cause rust. Thats nuts. It contains mineral spirits, mineral oil and propellant. In fact, if I needed a multitool lube, I would reach for the WD40.

 

[znapschatz]

Greetings All,
After 4 years, my beloved LM Wave went missing a month or so ago. It came to the point that I could no longer go without a multi and had given up any hope of seeing it again, so I got myself a LM Charge off amazon. While I think I'll love it so far, one thing I noticed right off the bat is that it is quite difficult to open up. Now, I know my wave had been around for 4 years, and had plenty of time to loosen up, but this seems rediculous. I seem to remember a shop owner reccomending me a brand of gun cleaner to loosen up my wave, but I cant recall what it was. I do remember he said not to use WD40, as that would cause rusting.

Long story short: Does anyone know of a good gun cleaner or other joint lubricator that I could use on my new Charge to get it to open more smoothly?

Thanks!

In my experience, most Leatherman tools start off somewhat stiff, but break in quickly, keep a good level of tension for a long time, and after years of much use, get sloppy loose. How long have you had yours?

WD40 does not cause rust but helps protect against it. In fact, Leatherman recommends the stuff. But for your purposes, you don't need a special lubricant. Any light oil would do. One problem with gun oil is that it lingers on the metal. This is great for guns, but attracts grit into the pivots of folding knives and multi-tools. Occasionally, I give my M-T gear a clean and lube with WD40, wipe off the excess, and let air dry. In 15 years of carrying several varieties of Leatherman gear, some used hard, others not, none have developed any rust.

 

[Mr. McMick]

Well, I had my Wave for about 4 years, and it opened smooth and kept good tension. I've had the Charge for about three hours now, most of which time has been spent absent minded opening and closing it, which I am noticing is loosening the joints.

Apparently what I heard about wd40 was bunk, I believe they said it caused rust as it was water based. Thanks for the help ^_^

Also, znap, have you ever done any tricks to re tighten your LMs once they get loose?

 

[znapschatz]

Well, I had my Wave for about 4 years, and it opened smooth and kept good tension. I've had the Charge for about three hours now, most of which time has been spent absent minded opening and closing it, which I am noticing is loosening the joints.

Apparently what I heard about wd40 was bunk, I believe they said it caused rust as it was water based. Thanks for the help ^_^

Also, znap, have you ever done any tricks to re tighten your LMs once they get loose?

Water based ? No, WD40 is actually Stoddard solvent (mineral spirits), mineral oil and gas propellent, no water. The "WD" stands for water displacement, the primary function it is marketed for, although it does provide a light protective coating and lubrication. Some folks don't think WD40 provides enough lube, but I have never experienced problems with it. It's pretty much the same as Liquid Wrench, if that is more available where you are.

The only Leatherman I ever tightened was my Charge, by means of a #6 security torx bit. No tricks, really. The only other that got too loose was an original Super Tool that I haven''t bothered with because I don't use it any more. That was after 9 years of use (ah, the nostalgia ). Some others I have are too new to need that kind of attention.