Oil and lubricating folders and full tangs..

S

ST36L7H1

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Mar 5, 2016
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What's a great oil or lubrication for folder pivots and blades, and full tang blades?

I bought a bottle of 3 in 1 general purpose oil, will that do the job or do i spend a little more for a certain brand?

I have a few folders from Cold Steel, Gerber and Spyderco, and full tangs also from CS and Gerber.

Opinions very much appreciated!!

Thank you all! :cool:

-Scott S.
 
3 in 1 will do just fine. Used it on all my knives, folders and fixed, for 60 years with no problems.
Rich
 
Yep, 3-IN-ONE will work just fine.

For knives that come in contact with food, Mineral Oil would be a better choice.
 
Assuming you are wanting to lube the handle on the fixed to prevent rust on the tang beneath it, regular oil won't do as good a job as something that will penetrate. I would use a "dry-lube" bicycle chain lube that is thin, applies wet but penetrates and dries leaving a lubricant like teflon or PTFE. It will better penetrate the handle interface to the metal after applying and letting soak for a while.

I think most "lubing" attracts more gunk than it's worth. I find my folders stay much cleaner unlubed. I allow the washers to be the lube as it's basically what they're there for on a good knife.

It certainly won't harm anything though, so if you want, lube away.
 
I just use the same oil that I use on my guns. Slip EWL. I keep it in a small needle tipped oiler so I can lube the pivots, etc, without getting it everywhere else.
 
A few drops of oil will work fine. Another alternative would be some grease. White lithium or Red, blue etc. the generic black stuff smells bad so I would stay away from that.
 
115Italian said:
A few drops of oil will work fine. Another alternative would be some grease. White lithium or Red, blue etc. the generic black stuff smells bad so I would stay away from that.
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Grease?!? Isn't that just going to gunk up the works? The joints are going to be full of lint and grit in no time at all.
 
A dab of olive oil........:D
I use to use 3in1, then switched to mineral oil, cause I eat with mine a lot..
 
marcinek said:
Grease?!? Isn't that just going to gunk up the works? The joints are going to be full of lint and grit in no time at all.
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You don't grease it like a wheel bearing. You put a dab on your finger and rub it in. I leave a light film.
 
115Italian said:
You don't grease it like a wheel bearing. You put a dab on your finger and rub it in. I leave a light film.
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On the pivot. A coating of grease rubbed into it. :confused: Maybe you are talking about on the blade? Putting a light coating of grease on it as a rust protectant (not lubricant)?
 
Don't get any on your handles if you're storing it, it may turn them, and same for 3n1.., make sure you don't leave any little air bubbles on CV or blades like that, those air bubbles may cause rust to set up..., when you apply it on for storage make sure you look close for any air bubbles...good luck bud..
 
1 ADAM12 said:
Don't get any on your handles if you're storing it, it may turn them, and same for 3n1.., make sure you don't leave any little air bubbles on CV or blades like that, those air bubbles may cause rust to set up..., when you apply it on for storage make sure you look close for any air bubbles...good luck bud..
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If you're getting air bubbles you're using too much oil.
 
Thank you all for the replies and great tips!

When cleaning the insides of flipper pocket knives, i usually use 3in1 oil on a qtip and wipe the insides down while leaving a thin coat of oil as a protectant!

I have a question on storing my full tang blades.. do i leave them oiled in its sheaths, i have plastic type sheaths on my gerber strongarm and prodigys.. would that be okay or should i leave the sheaths off when in the drawer?

I also have a few coldsteel srk's and oss tang knives i keep in paper made sheaths, when stored in the drawer should i keep the sheaths off while the blade is oiled?
 
For long term, I use chapstick on blades, mineral oil on the pivot. If I was planning on storing it for a really long time I would put (if it wouldn't hurt anything on the knife) WD40 on the pivot and wipe on a coating on the blade, then wrap in rust preventative paper.

Connor
 
silica-gel.jpg


I work at a retail store doing night stocking, when processing furniture i constantly come across silica gel packets, hundreds of them!

What do i do with them? I add a couple packets to my knife storage drawers to absorb any moisture that comes my way!

It's definitely a great precaution measure for battling rust in humid areas! Anyone else do this?
 
ConBon said:
For long term, I use chapstick on blades, mineral oil on the pivot. If I was planning on storing it for a really long time I would put (if it wouldn't hurt anything on the knife) WD40 on the pivot and wipe on a coating on the blade, then wrap in rust preventative paper.

Connor
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Thanks Connor! Great advice!

I'm not storing them for long untouched periods, every other day i'll open up my knife drawer collection and mess around with em.. I'm guessing 3in1 oil would be sufficient enough?!

Would it be better to have my full tang knives lay flat and naked without the sheaths attached? My Gerber's have the plastic type, my cold steel's also have that kydex type plastic sheaths..

I'm leaning more towards leaving the sheaths off, to let them breathe.. also would the 3in1 oil be harmful if it gets on the knife handles.. kraton handles on the Coldsteel and for the Gerber handles it's some kind of tac-hide rubber type handles..
 
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