Oiling an Opinel pivot is dumb

Umm...what?

They actually suggest that you oil it as the handle expands and contracts a bit so you need to lubricate the pivot as part of "breaking in". I like to use Vaseline, personally.
 
So are you sure that oil actually causes the wood to expand, like water does? Are you really sure? How did you learn that? Or you just believe that it does because "all liquids should"?
Some people have treated Opinel's pivot with oils which polimerized with time and prevented wood from absorbing water. They say that the wood did not expand, so the desired effect was achieved. So what is your theory - are they somehow mistaken, or just lying? ;)
 
Poez said:
So what is your theory - are they somehow mistaken, or just lying? ;)
Click to expand...

Why in the &%#$^ would he lie? What would he gain? Jeeez.... An awful lot was read into a single sentence.

This forum just gets nastier and nastier.

Muaddib1116, if you want lubricate the pivot and you find oil not to your liking, use a dry lube like powdered graphite, or a quick dry lube spray.
(You can Google "dry lube spray" and you will find a bunch.)

Wow...

Robert
 
Poez said:
Or you just believe that it does because "all liquids should"?...
So what is your theory - are they somehow mistaken, or just lying? ;)
Click to expand...
Yep, all liquids behave like I think they should and everyone else is lying.:D

I guess my theory is based on oiling my #6 with 3in1 and having the pivot tighten up a lot, to the point where the blade was very difficult to open and close. So I suppose that my initial statement was a bit of a blanket statement, but I assumed there was an inherent implication that it was based on my experience. Maybe mine was tighter than normal, I don't know. I took it apart and sanded the wood a little, now it opens and closes very easily. I'm getting a #8 next week, so maybe I'll try vaseline on that one and see how it goes.
 
midnight flyer said:
Why in the &%#$^ would he lie? What would he gain? Jeeez.... An awful lot was read into a single sentence.

This forum just gets nastier and nastier.

Muaddib1116, if you want lubricate the pivot and you find oil not to your liking, use a dry lube like powdered graphite, or a quick dry lube spray.
(You can Google "dry lube spray" and you will find a bunch.)

Wow...

Robert
Click to expand...

Gotta agree with this man. Powdered graphite might do the trick as he said. You can find it in the key grinding department at Lowe's.
 
That's odd. I keep my #6 oiled so it won't absorb water and it seems to work out well. I don't saturate it.
I'm not saying that to doubt you. Just posting my experience. I've only done that with a 6 and 7 so far.
Good luck with the Vaseline. Let us know how it works. I might go that route on my next user.
 
What the hack is 3 in 1?
I think you are somehow mistaken. There are oils and there are oils. I would suggest you try something not lubricating at all. Like Danish oil. Or Teak oil - and then judge.
But I would recommend to disassemble the knife first (for example forcing the lock ring off by opening the blade in closed position using something like players, and then removing the pivot), soaking the handle in the oil, than giving the oil to dry completely and assembling it all back. Because some oils tend to dry after all!
Sorry, misunderstood your post completely - that is just one misunderstanding. Or rather two misunderstandings. :)

P.S. I did not say that Muaddib1116 lied. Or did I? So what is the fuss about?
 
Poez said:
What the hack is 3 in 1?
I think you are somehow mistaken. There are oils and there are oils. I would suggest you try something not lubricating at all. Like Danish oil. Or Teak oil - and then judge.
But I would recommend to disassemble the knife first (for example forcing the lock ring off by opening the blade in closed position using something like players, and then removing the pivot), soaking the handle in the oil, than giving the oil to dry completely and assembling it all back. Because some oils tend to dry after all!
Sorry, misunderstood your post completely - that is just one misunderstanding. Or rather two misunderstandings. :)
Click to expand...
3in1 is a popular all purpose lubricant. (google)
As I already posted, I already disassembled it and sanded the pivot slot to loosen it up. Everything seems fine now. Now that the slot is more open, I might try vaseline on it as a moisture preventative.
 
Why would not you try Danish? It will seal wood from water and Opinel's opening and closing will stay unaffected. All you need to do - is to soak it (the handle only - not the whole knife!) for few hours and then to let it dry completely! That is the oil. Vaseline is not exactly an oil - or is it?
 
I found after shoving Vaseline into every crevice I could find around the pivot (with a toothpick) and working the blade open and closed several times, it loosened up quite nicely - to the point of smooth opening. And it hasn't tightened up at all since.

Sanding is quicker, of course. But since you're probably removing the varnish (if you have a carbon model) in the process, I would definitely add some sort of oil as a moisture blocker.

EDIT:
Poez said:
Why would not you try Danish? It will seal wood from water and Opinel's opening and closing will stay unaffected. All you need to do - is to soak it (the handle only - not the whole knife!) for few hours and then to let it dry completely! That is the oil. Vaseline is not exactly an oil - or is it?
Click to expand...

Vaseline is petroleum jelly, which is made from some sort of oil. Not an oil per sé, but a good lubricant.
 
Pseudonym said:
....

Vaseline is petroleum jelly, which is made from some sort of oil. Not an oil per sé, but a good lubricant.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree that it is petroleum based, like oils, or some plastics... I just wish to make the point that people advising the oil treatment to Opinel's humidity problem in fact meant oil. But the oil which is capable of polymerization - like the Danish or Teak or Tung.... not petroleum based at all. That is all.
But whatever. Suit yourself. I did not treat my few Opinels myself. That oil treatment is too much a bother from my point of view. But if somebody want to go for it - better do it right. Or you will get that kind of result. That is all I want to say I guess.

P.S. My apologies again to PO for misunderstanding his original post. He was talking of his mistake, I thought he talked about this particular method.
 
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I haven't done anything special with my #6 and I wash it in water (i use it slicing tomatoes, very keen slicer) and oil the wood and its just fine and had it like 2 years now...some people over analyse the knives they have, like people saying they have to disassemble and clean out all the time yet some of my knives have NEVER been cleaned out and function within spec just fine.

It's a knife, not a nuclear reactor.
 
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I found exactly the same thing after I oiled my opinel #8 pivot with 3 in 1, took a few weeks to loosen back up, all good now.
 
mongomondo said:
Just use the Weirding Way and no lubrication is needed
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I see what you did there. :D

I just sanded the varnish off the slot without removing the blade, then used a q-tip with mineral oil on it and oiled up the pivot real good. I never did anything else to it after the one or two applications and it's done fine ever since. If it gets jammed up at all I just us the "coup du savoyard" to tap it open a little.
 
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