Lubrication Advice

N

numbersman

Joined
Nov 28, 2010
Messages
596
I can't get White Lightening in Australia, and no one wants to order it in for me. I have several folders, mainly Spyderco, and a Leatherman, which I really should lubricate. I have just found an old bottle of bike lubricant in my shed, called Finish Line. It is Teflon fortified, and claims to have a quick dry, 100% biodegradable penetrant. It claims to dry to a clean wax like finish, which holds under great pressure and resists water wash off, although I generally avoid dunking my knives in water. Can anyone advise as to whether this is a suitable lubricant for folders, which will be carried in my pocket? I can't afford to ruin another pair of pants, I've had bad luck with pants lately.
 
I'm a big believer in 'simpler is better'. My concern with using the 'Finish Line' product would be, if you ever use your knife for any kind of food prep, there may be some additives and other chemicals in there that you might not want to ingest. Considering that the 'Finish Line' lube is originally made for bicycle chains & such, I'd personally find something else.

Many people get by just fine with something like mineral oil. You can get it in a 'food safe' variety. A lot of knife people use the 'pharmaceutical grade' mineral oil, sold as a laxative. There are other possibilities for lube, such as a product called Break Free (I haven't tried it, but a lot of knife nuts seem to like it). Others get by with just an occasional spritz of WD-40 (which is a mix of solvent, which evaporates quickly, and a little bit of light mineral oil). It's all I've ever used for my knives. The main thing is, keep the knife clean & dry when you aren't using it. So long as it's cleaned regularly & kept dry, the lube won't be as much of an issue.

By the way, if you've had problems with your lube of choice staining your pants pocket, I'd bet you're applying way too much. Excess oil will also attract & hold more dirt & lint. Just a very light drop or two in the pivot will be fine, and wipe away any excess that oozes out after exercising the pivot.

Keep the knife clean, and lube it very LIGHTLY with whatever works best for your needs. That works very well for me.
 
It sounds good to me.

I use Tri-Flow, which I originally used on my bike chain. It sounds like it's a perfectly suitable lubricant. As a side note, Tri-Flow is a dry-lube so it won't be ruining your pockets.
 
I use Militec-1, it bonds with metal surfaces to create a teflon like effect.
A very small amount goes a long way. It goes on wet. But, since it bonds with the surface. It still works even after the liquid is wiped off. Some say to apply heat next, like with a hair drier. But, I find this step not really necessary. For an occasional squirt I will use TriFlow.
But, if I'm doing my lubing correctly; it will look something like this:
Disassemble & Clean the knife completely.
Add a very small amount of Militec-1 to the pivot.
And then as Obsessed with Edges says:
"wipe away any excess that oozes out after exercising the pivot."
If you are using Militec-1 there will be no need to lube again for a very long time. Your mileage may vary.

I also think Obsessed with Edges is spot on (pardon the pun) when he says:
"By the way, if you've had problems with your lube of choice staining your pants pocket, I'd bet you're applying way too much. Excess oil will also attract & hold more dirt & lint. Just a very light drop or two in the pivot will be fine, and wipe away any excess that oozes out after exercising the pivot."
 
I found wax lube made by White Lightning that's for bicycle chains in a bike shop. Not exactly like the one for knives , but works just the same and the bottles' 3 times the size. Excellent lube if you can find it :thumbup:
 
I would suggest 3 in 1 oil or WD-40. I wouldn't want to personally put that bike chain lube on my knife but if its all you have I believe it would be better then nothing. :)
 
if you ruined your pants then you have used way to much lube. a drop or two at the pivot,open and close knife a few times and then wipe off the excess. you should be fine. btw finish line works fine for me and is a whole lot cheaper than mil-tec or tuf-glide. wd-40 seems to let grit accumulate way to fast for my liking. and i may be funny but i love the smell of tri-flow.
 
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