Militec application: How hot is too hot?

B

Buck268

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Nov 5, 2006
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Applied militec to my Swisstool Spirit today and used a hair blow dryer to give 'er the heat treatment. Mighta gone a little crazy though, when I picked it up it was a bit to hot to hold... Although there was no reaction to a wet cloth (so it was defiantely under 212F). Can't imagine that low of a temp would be a problem, just concerned because it was too hot to hold (more or less).

Crying over spilled milk (to make a lame comparision)?
 
Crying over spilled milk, Buck. The metallugist-experts will be along soon to say the exact temperature where the temper might suffer, but I'm confident you didn;t hurt it with a hair-dryer..... not even the very edge (unless you left a wire-edge burr hangin' there :D )
 
Yeah thats what I figured... Rather curious about what the...annealing?... tempurature is, though.
 
tempering temps are usually in the 400F range and above.
 
I have applied Mil-Tec and put in an oven A heated to 150-200 degrees and then turned it off. Waited a couple of minutes and put the knife in the oven for about 1o minutes. I have also used a hairdryer. Mil-Tec has to be heated in order to be most effective. Watch out with natural handles and nylon washers. I think Mil-tec is the best lube but it has no rust prevention qualities.
 
Cool, glad to see those numbers up there ;)

As for rust prevention, not the #1 concern on a victorinox. Just figured it'd be a good place to start with the free sample. I'm actually planning on using it on my bike chain (I'm a bike commuter; over 1500 miles last year), so I'm curious how it'll work on that.
 
How/where did you get a free Militec sample? Is that from quite a while ago when they were shipping them out?

Thanks.
 
I contacted them directly inquiring about bicycle applications and they offered a sample. Even sent a little tube of grease! Thought about using it to overhaul my XTR rear hub, but I dunno...
 
You really don't need to use heat to activate the product. That occurs on a microscopic scale due to friction between two parts. It does help it soak in nicely into all the little nooks and crannies though due to the reduced viscosity under heat. No worries about a hairdryer, the only thing that might harm are the less durable plastics.
 
I use MIlitec 1 for my firearms. I usually apply a thin layer before I start to shoot, and after about 3 mags later (13 rnds each mag) I do a field strip and reapply.

As far as knives go, I take it apart as much as I can, heat it up with a hair dryer, apply militec 1. Let it cool off for a bit, and reheat with the militec 1 already on the knife. I think it works great, it just takes a bit more time to get everything lubed up. ;)
 
How do you guys apply the Militec-1? Everytime I do, I end up getting too much on the parts. So much so that the hair dryer wont dry it all. I just put a drop on but even that is too much. Are you using toothpicks or something?
 
While I no longer use militec, what I used to use with it and what I use now with weaponshield CLP are the needle oilers you can get from brownells. They're the fluorinated polyethylene bottles with metal needle oiler tips. They make it easy to apply the smallest drop just to where it needs to go. The militec won't actually dry, but any excess can be wiped off without affecting lubrication.
 
300 degrees will not hurt it you didnt do antything wrong anealing is done at about 1600 degrees you may have given it a partial second temper which is not bad
 
now if you heated it to 2000 degrees i would have to call you an idiot but again 200 degrees wont hurt the knife
 
yoda4561 said:
While I no longer use militec, what I used to use with it and what I use now with weaponshield CLP are the needle oilers you can get from brownells. They're the fluorinated polyethylene bottles with metal needle oiler tips. They make it easy to apply the smallest drop just to where it needs to go. The militec won't actually dry, but any excess can be wiped off without affecting lubrication.
Click to expand...

Thanks a bunch yoda. That helps a lot. I'll just wipe off the excess and not worry about it.
 
TOTALLY off topic, somewhat related to militec though, so let me retell a little story about MILITEC:

4 years ago i bought a case of MILITEC for various applications around the house, workshop (kitchen ;) ). I used it in my bicycles, knives, tools, air compressor motor, and in my 78 bronco with a 500CI custom block, with supercharger, C6 auto trans with three (yes 3) coolers all with driver switchable electric fans) , FIVE ton running gear, 38" tractor style tires, 100liter main gas tank, 250 liter reserve, 10 x 20;iter jerry cans for extended trips etc etc etc

about that 78 Bronc.....(no doors, no canopy, no rear seat, no tailgate, no roof, no passenger seat, and at times no hood. )..................I was up in Lilloet BC, during 48 degree celcuis temps , crawling along a "road" . The "road" was more like a old creek bed, with fallen logs, big rocks, and a incline. I had been driving for 4 days in this heat, averaging 14 hours a day solid driving, crawling, idling for hours while winching, etc etc. The heat was brutal, the heat from the engine blowing back was worse.

I was running REDLINE syn oil 50 w (20 liters worth, custom oil pan, three filters (bypass), and aux LARGE coolers - 2 fans ) and i added several liters of MILITEC to the oil. I misjudged a rock i was crawling over and pierced the oil pan (right thru the skid plate into the oil pan). Oil gushed out, the delectable fragrance drifted up into my nostrils, the oil gauge alarm beeping. I was at risk at tipping backwards due to the hill and terrain, so i kept steady pressure on the throttle and climbed over the rock, buring half my tires out , up and over and down the trail for several hundred feet, with less than a liter of oil in the custom 500Ci block. Temps were rising fast, the oil and temp gauges and alarms were buzzing and beeping. I pushed the truck to the top of the hill so i could coast down and i shut down the powerplant. I kept the fans running off the aux deep cycle batts to cool the engine.

I was pretty sure the engine was toast, prolly the cyl heads were wapred, and i wa spretty sure there was major damage. I repaired the oil pan gash (sheet metal from the quarter panel, and industrial epoxy putty. Refilled the oil and headed on my way back to town. had local guy tear the engine down. No scuffs, no warps, no heat scores, no spun bearings. Guy asked why he was tearing down this engine.

so here is a toast to MILITEC for protecting a custom engine used under extreme conditions. :thumbup:

its a fine lube for blades too! :thumbup:

I particularly like how MILITEC takes care of the finemen and women of the Military. Cheers!
 
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Annealing temperatures start around 400 degrees, not 1600-2000!
Bill
 
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