Mineral Oil made my knife harder to open and close.

SpacemanSpiff23

SpacemanSpiff23

Joined
Feb 22, 2009
Messages
160
What did I do wrong?

My Mini Grip was getting a little stiff, and a had a lot of gunk and dirt in it. I cleaned it as much as I could (without taking it apart) with soapy water, then blew it dry with compressed air. I put a few drops of mineral oil on the back of the blade and worked it into the pivot. I also wiped down the blade with it, and put a drop into the axis lock.

After opening it and closing it a few dozen times the blade has gotten stiff and sounds scratchy. I t still flips open, but I can't just pull the axis lock down and flip it open and closed anymore.

Do I need to take it apart and clean it more thoroughly, add more mineral oil, or what?
 
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Get some better lube, I personally like BM blue lube best. Makes it feel better than factory all over again. :thumbup:

You might not have got everything out or you may have added too much oil or a combo of both.
 
I use the knife for food, so I didn't want to use something toxic. As I've been playing with it now for the past 30 minutes, it looks like a lot of black crud is coming out of the pivot, so I guess I didn't get it clean enough the first time. I'll try again.

Will I get the same performance as the factory lube with Mineral oil, or will it always be a little stiffer?
 
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You blew dirt into the pivot with that air. At this point a visual inspection would be ideal. If not just loosen the pivot a and flex the blade back and forth underwater to work soapy water into the pivot then blow it out when it's loose. Repeat until clean. Then a little mineral oil and you should be good. Might have damaged the washers and or the blade pivot a little.
 
I have never seen a lube work as good as the BM stuff though I have never used oils like tuffglide to compare it too. You should only be using two very small drops so I don't see a problem with using it around food.
 
BM Blue Lube and Blue Lube Cleaner are the best Lube I have used. It makes my Folders smoother and faster than anything I have used. They practically fly open.

RKH
 
I use both Tuff-Glide (mostly on folders) and mineral oil (mostly on fixed blades) but most of the common lubes are good. I just feel mineral oil is the least problem. It's cheap, easy to use, lubricates well, is foodsafe, and protects against rust.

Your MiniGrip just wasn't completely clean the first time around, and putting mineral oil in there loosened the dirt and got it grinding around the pivot. Do the soapy water wash again now that the dirt is loose and lube it again.
 
I cleaned it again, and re-lubed it. It's much better now. Not quite factory fresh, but I think that is just because the mineral oil is a bit more viscous than the Benchmade stuff. Maybe it just needs to work in a little more.
 
What you're describing isn't all that uncommon. Adding oil to the particulates trapped in the joint creates a viscous slurry. It's a common experience when oiling a rusty folder---when you first start working the joint all sorts of rusty ooze comes out.

You can either clean it again or just keep adding oil while working and wiping it until the slurry gets pushed out. My vote is for loosening the pivot until it's almost apart, then flushing the joint out with a good cleaner/degreaser.
 
elkins45 said:
What you're describing isn't all that uncommon. Adding oil to the particulates trapped in the joint creates a viscous slurry.
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I think there's a *lot* of truth in that statement. Plus many knives just seem to 'like' some lubricants better than others ... IMO probably due to the difference in clearances, and materials used.

Overall I've had great results with Militec-1, especially if you can disassemble the knife and 'cure' the Militec with heat (hair dryer) before reassembling. Done this way there's very little tendency to attract lint/dust/dirt/crud, and the Militec usually gives a great smoothness and action to the knife. A few knives of mine seem to like FP10 a little better ... and BTW I've never tried the BM lube many seem to recommend, but it sounds like it's certainly a good choice.

One nice thing with these premium lubricants is that even though they're a good deal more expensive per ounce than, say mineral oil, it takes so little that even a tiny bottle will keep a lot of knives lubed for a long, long time (heck, I spend more on beer in the average week to keep myself lubed than I'll spend on lube for my knives 'n guns in a lifetime! :) ) So go for the good stuff, you won't regret it.
 
Dog of War said:
I think there's a *lot* of truth in that statement. Plus many knives just seem to 'like' some lubricants better than others ... IMO probably due to the difference in clearances, and materials used.

Overall I've had great results with Militec-1, especially if you can disassemble the knife and 'cure' the Militec with heat (hair dryer) before reassembling. Done this way there's very little tendency to attract lint/dust/dirt/crud, and the Militec usually gives a great smoothness and action to the knife. A few knives of mine seem to like FP10 a little better ... and BTW I've never tried the BM lube many seem to recommend, but it sounds like it's certainly a good choice.

One nice thing with these premium lubricants is that even though they're a good deal more expensive per ounce than, say mineral oil, it takes so little that even a tiny bottle will keep a lot of knives lubed for a long, long time (heck, I spend more on beer in the average week to keep myself lubed than I'll spend on lube for my knives 'n guns in a lifetime! :) ) So go for the good stuff, you won't regret it.
Click to expand...

Great post~:thumbup: If I ever get away from traditional slipjoints, and into modern folders, I know what to do. Thanks Dog!
 
I wonder if synthetic motor oil would work well?....like Mobile1

I've always used mineral oil. Wasn't impressed with Militec-1 (and yes I heated it up and all that).
 
I like the Militec grease for a lot of applications. I ordered the little free sample pot several years ago and still haven't used it up--a little goes a long way. If I live long enough I might have to finally order some when I run out. I sometimes think that I need to order a batch just to play fair for all the use I've gotten out of the free sample!

Someone mentioned synthetic motor oil: I used to shoot with a fellow who shot competitive pistol in the National Guard and he shared his recipe for homemade lubricant that he swore by. It's two parts automatic transmission fluid, one part Mobil-1 synthetic and one part STP. I whipped up a batch just for fun and I've got to say that it's some pretty good stuff for both knives and guns., I made a quart bottle of it in 1992 and I'm still using the stuff.
 
David Lowry said:
I wonder if synthetic motor oil would work well?....like Mobile1

I've always used mineral oil. Wasn't impressed with Militec-1 (and yes I heated it up and all that).
Click to expand...

I use a little syn motor oil (drained from the bottle after filling the motorcycle), and apply it with a syringe I got when I had to give myself injections of anticoagulant (long story). Took a grinder and flattened out the tip of the needle. It works as well or better than anything I have tried.. The syn oil does not break down the seal on the syringe, but regular 3 in 1 type oil does.
Just my experience. :cool:
 
elkins45 said:
I like the Militec grease for a lot of applications. I ordered the little free sample pot several years ago and still haven't used it up--a little goes a long way. If I live long enough I might have to finally order some when I run out. I sometimes think that I need to order a batch just to play fair for all the use I've gotten out of the free sample!

Someone mentioned synthetic motor oil: I used to shoot with a fellow who shot competitive pistol in the National Guard and he shared his recipe for homemade lubricant that he swore by. It's two parts automatic transmission fluid, one part Mobil-1 synthetic and one part STP. I whipped up a batch just for fun and I've got to say that it's some pretty good stuff for both knives and guns., I made a quart bottle of it in 1992 and I'm still using the stuff.
Click to expand...

STP what? Fuel treatment?
 
History: Some years ago television was flooded with STP automobile oil treatment commercials. They featured Andy Granitelli hawking how good it was for your cars lubrication. He would dip a screwdriver in STP and have big guys try to hold on by the tip. STP was supposedly so slippery they always dropped it. All the local hot-rods had big yellow STP decals on their windows.

But then the car makers started putting in their user manuals directions to not ever use any oil additive, as it would be very bad for the engine. Andy disappeared overnight, but had made enough money selling that relatively worthless stuff to live high on the hog for the rest of his life.
 
years ago a friend had a car that burned so much oil.... He loaded the engine full of way too much STP and sold it. Guess it worked for a little while. Imagine that. I know one thing, after he told me that, I knew I'd never buy anything from him!!
 
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