Maintanence specific to traditionals

Hickory n steel

Hickory n steel

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I know there's a section for this, but traditionals are different so I figured that it should go here.

OK so what do you guys do to upkeep your traditional folders ? Sharpening is obvious, but what about keeping the pivots from rusting , cleaning lint out, and what you do after having cut food.
 
Pivots: Small drop of light mineral oil every so often (I use Norton Honing Oil)

Lint: Wooden coffee stirrer. You can use the knife itself to whittle the coffee stirrer into more suitable shapes as needed. Tear off a piece of paper towel or gun cleaning patch if you want to scrub in there. Add a drop of oil or other cleaning solvent if desired.

After cutting food: Wash with warm soapy water and rinse under the faucet. Dry out with a paper towel and by blowing into it (with my mouth) to get the water out. (Note: I use stainless knives for food prep.) If using carbon, then maybe a squirt of WD-40 in the pivot, then wipe out with a paper towel, followed by the oil on the pivot if needed. Or if you didn't get that messy, just wash the blade itself and keep the water out of the innards.

No need to overthink it. It's just a knife. Sometimes all I do is wipe the blade off on my jeans or a towel. Unless you leave it wet, you won't have any real problems.
 
I use an old credit card to clean out the lint/garbage between the liners.

Also, renwax is helpful for keeping the inside of the backsprings corrosion free.
 
I use a sentry solutions tuff cloth to protect from rust, it kind of dries after awhile but still protects the knife so no oily messes, it's great stuff. For pivots I use Hoppe's no 9 lubricating oil, it has a little nozzle on it so it's easy to apply, I use it mostly cause it came with a 45 auto cleaning kit I bought recently so it's just there and works great. I have an air compressor available where I live so I use that to blow my knives out every once in awhile and when they are new for the standard flush out process every time I get a new knife. When it comes to food I just wash it off with soap like any utensil, but I normally let it sit for a few minutes first cause if I'm cutting food then I'm usually wanting patina to form. Maintenance is all part of the fun:thumbup:
 
I normally just rinse my blade with steaming hot water, but I should probably start using soap.
To clean my knife out , when there's not a lot of lint I use a ball pump to blow it out a little, and put that ball needle on our air compressor when more pressure is needed ( even if it's just for knife cleaning you can't beat the 5gal compressor on sale for 35$ at harbor freight )
I like that coffee stirrer idea, I often just tightly twist the corner of a napkin.
As far as oiling the pivots I use mineral oil.
When I'm not at home and have cut food I'll just wipe the blade off as I won't be cutting anymore food before I get home where I can rinse it with steaming water ( our hot waster comes out of the faucet scolding hot )
 
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I oil the joints maybe every other month. The blade channels I clean with a toothpick and scrap of oily paper towel (press it down into the channel and use the toothpick to sweep it clean).

I use my primary pocket knife for just about all cutting tasks, from opening the mail and packages to cutting string, cardboard, feedbags, food prep/meals, etc

Anytime it's exposed to anything dirty it gets rinsed with hot weather and if appropriate soapy water. My 77 Barlow is carried 24/7 and has served me well with very little maintenance - just what's described above.
 
I use a Opinel Inox #8 Garden Knife in my lunch box for food prep. Any other food just gets hot water and dawn on the blade only. I give it a shake and wipe down with my hanky. I clean and lube as needed when I rotate my Knifes out every weekend. Takes about 10 minutes tops and I done.
 
Well, with the coffee stirrers I just sort of improvise with what I have. Sometimes a folded up paper towel and just slide it back and forth. Somebody brought in some coffee and bagels once for a meeting at work and they (Panera Bread) put a ton of really nice wooden coffee stirrers in the bag. I grabbed a handful (unused, individually wrapper) that were headed to the trash and kept them at my desk and took a few home. Just gives you a stick to push around either a piece of towel or to use alone.

Nice thing about having a pocket knife is that you can modify other things (like pieces of wood) into tools as needed. Those coffee stirrers whittle down into pretty good toothpicks, too. :)
 
In a pinch, spit and the hem of a t-shirt do a dandy job cleaning off a carbon steel blade. :-)

-- Mark
 
Most of my knife task call for cutting food for my daughters. Ive been using this as it's natural. I could even eat it directly and not be harmed. Not pushing it, but my wife sells it so we get a discount. Just rub on, rub off, add some oil to the joints, and clean out the interior.

 
Light oil, of some sort, on the pivot and blade every now and then, but I am really liking froglube on my knives. Non-toxic, all natural and food safe. The stuff even smells like spearmint gum, been using on guns for a couple of years now and much prefer the smell of that over all other oils and cleaners. And it's a cleaner, so it removes any gunk from the inside and doesn't damage the scales, can even be used on wood.
 
serratededge said:
Pipe cleaners for the lint. They fit and work great.
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Right! They're useful for putting a light coat of oil inside the knife too.
Old toothbrushes for cleaning out factory funk from the joint or when giving a wash&brush up to the oldies.
Furniture polish/Rem Wax/Beeswax based stuff, for cleaning up wood and stag.
A good microcloth, great for a general rubdown on scales, bolsters and backsprings for a nice shine.
 
Anyone ever thought of using cooking oil to coat and lubricate carbon steel blades ?
I was gonna put some of my mineral oil in a small dropper bottle for easier application but realized it all ended up getting spilled, so I thought about just filling that bottle with oil from the kitchen. After all I do cook my food with it all the time so it's definitely safe.
What do you guys think about this ?
 
Hickory n steel said:
Anyone ever thought of using cooking oil to coat and lubricate carbon steel blades ?
I was gonna put some of my mineral oil in a small dropper bottle for easier application but realized it all ended up getting spilled, so I thought about just filling that bottle with oil from the kitchen. After all I do cook my food with it all the time so it's definitely safe.
What do you guys think about this ?
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Not a good idea to replace your mineral oil with cooking oil.

Cooking oil goes rancid. It oxidizes and gets gummy. Gummy enough to inhibit the free functioning of a folding knife.

Also, "cooking oil" is not very good at being a moisture/oxygen barrier. It has reactive sites that do not repel water and oxygen. The reason any oil inhibits corrosion is that it is a good barrier to both oxygen and water. Mineral oil forms a better barrier.
 
knarfeng said:
Not a good idea to replace your mineral oil with cooking oil.

Cooking oil goes rancid. It oxidizes and gets gummy. Gummy enough to inhibit the free functioning of a folding knife.

Also, "cooking oil" is not very good at being a moisture/oxygen barrier. It has reactive sites that do not repel water and oxygen. The reason any oil inhibits corrosion is that it is a good barrier to both oxygen and water. Mineral oil forms a better barrier.
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OK thanks, and it just so happens that I located a small bottle of it that I had put in a tool box so I'm not all out after all.
 
In a way, another specific piece of maintenance is simply carrying and using the knife often. With regular carry & careful use after cutting stuff, a knife really takes on a fine burnished look. Just leave it in the desk or drawer for a couple of months and check the difference in appearance....
 
Guitarist7.62 said:
Light oil, of some sort, on the pivot and blade every now and then, but I am really liking froglube on my knives. Non-toxic, all natural and food safe. The stuff even smells like spearmint gum, been using on guns for a couple of years now and much prefer the smell of that over all other oils and cleaners. And it's a cleaner, so it removes any gunk from the inside and doesn't damage the scales, can even be used on wood.
Click to expand...

That stuff is a dry lube too, right? I've never tried it, but I've heard great things from gun-land.

How does everyone flush out the factory gunk? I feel like I don't do a good enough job there.
 
Im sure there is a better way for factory gunk, but I shoot a little Remington oil in the joint and work it a bit. I then run it under hot water working the joint as it runs throught the joint. I run it again away from the water checking for more gunk. Once dry I mineral oil the joints, blade, and spring. Ive thought of taken a hairdryer to it to dry it out better but havent.
 
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