MRBS Lube?

[sogtrident7]

Good Saturday,

I have been EDCing a Shiro 95r three bears with MRBS for a while. When I got it, I tore it down, polished all cages, races, and blade flats (5/6 grind) to a mirror, reassembled with 10wt nano and off I went. It is the absolute smoothest, fastest knife I’ve had, until...

I own a construction company and am very hands on when there’s not owner type things, I’m in the field with my men. Any dust or debris gets into the cages and makes it gritty. I think perhaps because 3 rows of bearings perhaps it has a harder time moving the debris out if the bearing path. I’ve used many washer and single row, caged, ikbs etc. and didn’t experience the persistent grittiness.

That being said I love the knife but it bothers me enough to dump it and go back to a washer knife like a Sebenza to eliminate the issue.

Any suggestions? I have CRK grease, Finish Line Extreme Flouro, tuff glide and heavier nano oils, it did come greased from the factory. Perhaps that keeps crud at bay a bit better? They are probably astute about what works in their stuff. It’s torn down at the moment so I’ll wait to reassemble.

I appreciate in advance any suggestions. I’m not trying to start another lube debate. I don’t care what’s better or faster blah blah. I have a specific issue on a specific bearing and am seeking resolution I love the knife but I carry my stuff unless it’s not replaceable. For me this is not a sit it to the side and maybe Sunday carry it. I’ll dump it if I cannot rectify the issue.

Thanks,
Ben.

 

[Ajack60]

I haven't tore down a Shirogorov yet, but I'm sure it's coming. From what I understand, you have to use some type of grease/oil so the bearings will stay in place for reassembly. If that's the case, I'll use a grease because I'm thinking once the knife is opened a few times, the grease will migrate to the outer edges and act as a barrier against dust, grit and fine sand.
That may not work at all. I run my ZT's dry, because it seems they get gritty often. I use to put a drop of blue lube on them and found out that was a mistake. Haven't tried grease on one yet.
With the ZT's being run dry, I wash with hot water, flood it with WD40 and wipe it down. It's been working for me so far. I have checked to make sure that rust isn't an issue, so far so good.
I'm not looking forward to breaking down a Shirogorov at all.

 

[sogtrident7]

They aren’t that bad. Get good tweezers and a magnet to get the race out of the scale. I’ve never fumbled a ball bearing yet.

I will try grease. I mean worst case I clean it back out and I’m where I am.

 

[ChazzyP]

I use both my F95 Turtle (SRBS) and Hati (PB washers) on construction sites in my work as a carpenter and GC. I also have quite a few mid-techs running on both washers and BBs that I use in my work rotation. I really haven't run into any problems with my work-user pivots gunking up. I should note that I don't baby these knives but also don't abuse them. I generally use the right tool for the right job, which means a utility knife for most job cutting as is pretty much the norm. I also carry a beater for abusive tasks like scraping, pulling staples, plunging into drywall, etc. My very sharp good knives are for cutting/shaving/paring wood, plastic, and similar materials, not scoring DW, sheetmetal, or burying up to the pivot in dirty/dusty materials.

That said, when breaking down/cleaning/reassembling my knives, I generally eschew grease and use W85 NanoOil in the pivot axis and W10 on bearings or washers. If you're having trouble with dust and dirt getting in, you could use the heavier Nano on the bearings. My experience is that this slows the action below the threshold that I find acceptable for flipping or flicking. I've found that numerous BB knives from foreign sources come with quite a bit of heavy, viscous grease applied that I generally remove. CRK grease is meant to dry out and protect the PB washers, pivot, and other contact points and would likely not be a good dust-blocker for BB.

So, you could try heavier grease or heavier NanoOil for your MRBS. Or you could try a Hati with CRK grease or W10 Nano (which is what I use in mine). Or you could try just being a bit more careful with what gets close to your pivot and using a beater or utility knife when it seems more appropriate. On the job I most always have that choice of three on me.

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/post-your-real-hard-use-edc.1582265/page-2#post-18074697

 

[sogtrident7]

Thanks for the feedback. I use mine as you do, right tool right job. But the dusty invironment and any thing that makes its way into my pocket seems to grit it up.

Generally 85 does slow it up quite a bit. Maybe with polished surfaces it will be tolerable.

 

[Mo2]

Nano oil is snake oil and attracts dust like the plague. Grease would be idea for dusty environments. As it creates a barrier of ptfe to keep stuff out. Of course it's not full proof but better. Action may differ with grease than oil.

It would likely be idea to use a knife on washers instead. Some bearing knives have pivots designed where they are more encapsulated to fight against the issue while others are more open to the environment.

How's the knife do if you run it dry without lube to attract anything?

 

[AndreLinoge]

Try lubing with graphite dust. No oil at all, ever, to attract anything.

Also, what you're experiencing is actually designed into a bearing knife, changing lubes wont help that.

 

[ChazzyP]

sogtrident7 , I only have one MRBS—my Shirogorov 111–which I like a lot, but is frankly just too damn big for job site use. 3.625-3.875” is way more useful. It could well be as you posited and the multi-row bearings are the issue.

Let us know how this works out for you.

Of course I could always go buy an F95R MRBS and find out myself.

 

[sogtrident7]

Honestly I’ve never tried no lube. Graphite dust is interesting. Can I literally use #2 pencil lead ir is it a specialty.

The 95r is amazing. Large Sebenza ish but better slicer and ergos. If you are into hard use it’s not it. It’s ground extremely thin and very thin behind the edge. It slices like a Ferrari tho. I really love mine.

 

[ChazzyP]

I've been in love with the look of the 95R for quite a while now. Having the 95T as maybe my favorite knife does nothing but add to my desire to pick up an R. As expensive as Shiros are, I've been patient in pulling the trigger when buying any of my current 6 and haven't found the R I want at the right price-point yet. With all the knives I have, it's not like I need one, but I'm sure I'll have one some day. It would be good to move a few more (non-Shiros) out first, though.

On another note, I've been using NanoOil for quite a few years without any negative results and haven't found it to be a dust magnet at all. Of course I lube everything very sparingly. Perhaps my vials were wrung out of better quality snakes. Maybe that's why my Python is so smooth and free.

 

[Petunia D. Feeble]

Honestly I’ve never tried no lube. Graphite dust is interesting. Can I literally use #2 pencil lead ir is it a specialty.

The 95r is amazing. Large Sebenza ish but better slicer and ergos. If you are into hard use it’s not it. It’s ground extremely thin and very thin behind the edge. It slices like a Ferrari tho. I really love mine.

You can use pencil lead, but you can also buy graphite lube that's ground finer and will be easier to apply. Most hardware stores will have tubes of it as will any lock and key shop.

 

[wade7575]

I use an oil for guns called Go-Juice that stuff is extremely slippery and think and it seems to work on everything for me,have you tried holding the knife under running water and working the blade back and forth or do you put the knife in water and that's it.I have heard a lot of people complain about multi row ball bearing knifes being hard to keep the bearing's clean and running smoothly.

 

[sogtrident7]

I use an oil for guns called Go-Juice that stuff is extremely slippery and think and it seems to work on everything for me,have you tried holding the knife under running water and working the blade back and forth or do you put the knife in water and that's it.I have heard a lot of people complain about multi row ball bearing knifes being hard to keep the bearing's clean and running smoothly.

Yeah when I run it under water the mulled out areas in the scales are deep and tend to hold water for a while and in effect create a little slurry out of the crap and make it worse.

 

[Bladegunner]

I have had excellent results with "Quick Release" oil in my Neon. But I am no longer in the field they kicked me into the office so not the same environment your knife is in.