Paramilitary 2 Maintenence

Fish Boy

Fish Boy

Joined
Aug 2, 2014
Messages
369
I want to properly maintain and clean my PM2, there's some crud in the liner and on the choils, and the lock is a bit sticky at times.

Can anyone give me some suggestions for properly cleaning and maintaining my PM2 so the lock doesn't get sticky and I keep the knife free of crud? Should I blow some compressed air in there to get the crud out or take the knife apart and clean it with water?

All feedback is greatly appreciated.
 
I just flush mine with hot water. Towel dry and add a drop of Rem-oil. Keeps it working for me.
 
I put a drop into the lock cut out on the tang. Open a close a dozen or so times to let it work itself in. And wipe off any excess.
 
Somebody had a post in either this forum or the Spyderco forum recently. He was really perturbed because he followed somebody's advice and cleaned his knife with soap and water. He ended up with rust inside his knife. I don't know if he blew out the water or just let it dry- I'm too lazy at this moment to search two forums to find the thread. A contentious discussion followed regarding what was the exact advice he was following and whether the knife just rusted or he did something wrong. A generally unpleasant thread, it was.

If you're going to use water to clean the knife it would be best to completely blow out the knife with compresssed air, not just let it air dry.

Generally the more lubricant you apply the more gunk it's going to attract. Whatever lube you use, use sparing amounts.

I tend to take my knives apart when I first get them because I like to tinker, I'm nosy, I like to sand the washers, and I like to void my warranties. :D Before reassemling the knife I will apply FrogLube or whatever gun lube I have handy. I doubt it really matters what lube you use, as long as it's a true lube and not WD-40.

So far I haven't had to take apart a knife a second time. If the action starts getting a little stiff I just add a drop of gun lube to the tang and open/close the knife a few times to spread it around.



I'm more persnickety about the blade than the inner workings. I usually clean the blade off with Flitz sometime early in my ownership of the knife and then apply either a gun lube or some of my wife's mineral oil she has in the kitchen.


EDIT:
Here is the aforementioned thread.
 
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I can see why someone would be a bit perturbed.

I will simply state that I do flush with hot running water, dry, and lube my Military every day after work. Not a speck of rust to be found.

I make big rocks into little rocks for a living. Silica dust, sand, and just plain dirt gets into every nook and cranny.

You could pour beach sand into your folder, open and close it, and it would still be cleaner than mine at the end of my shift. :)
 
Todd21969 said:
I can see why someone would be a bit perturbed.

I will simply state that I do flush with hot running water, dry, and lube my Military every day after work. Not a speck of rust to be found.

I make big rocks into little rocks for a living. Silica dust, sand, and just plain dirt gets into every nook and cranny.

You could pour beach sand into your folder, open and close it, and it would still be cleaner than mine at the end of my shift. :)
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Wow, I didn't know the residents in Pelican Bay were allowed to have a knife; times sure have changed.:p
 
Hot water + Dawn dish soap + tooth brush
Combine all ingredients, use the brush to clean the G10, open and close the knife while submerged.

Rinse with cool, clean water, again open and close the knife while under running water to flush all the soap and gunk out.

Use keyboard duster/canned air to blow all the water out of the pivot area.

Add a drop of oil to the pivot, cycle it open and close a couple times and return it to your pocket.

Remember the KISS method, don't overcomplicate or over think simple things.
 
Alnamvet68 said:
Wow, I didn't know the residents in Pelican Bay were allowed to have a knife; times sure have changed.:p
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Well New England granite doesn't just come out of the ground in squares, rectangles, mosaics, and ashlers. ;)

Somebody has to split it. :D
 
Alnamvet68 said:
Ahhhh, New Hampshire ay? Is that where Shawshank is? :D
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Shawshank was Maine :) Great movie.

Op.... like RevDevil said, KISS works.

This is what I deal with every workday.

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Never had to take it apart to get it back to thumb flicking smooth.

And my PM2 looks the same when I bring it to work on occasion.:eek:
 
RevDevil said:
Hot water + Dawn dish soap + tooth brush
Combine all ingredients, use the brush to clean the G10, open and close the knife while submerged.

Rinse with cool, clean water, again open and close the knife while under running water to flush all the soap and gunk out.

Use keyboard duster/canned air to blow all the water out of the pivot area.

Add a drop of oil to the pivot, cycle it open and close a couple times and return it to your pocket.

Remember the KISS method, don't overcomplicate or over think simple things.
Click to expand...

Sounds good! Thanks for all the feedback.
 
I pretty much follow RevDevil's procedures except I just shake the heck out of the knife until most of the water is out and then I stab it into a sheet of plywood to drain for an hour or so. Once dry, it's ready to go. I seldom lube modern design knives unless there's sticking or squeaking in the pivot. Traditionals always get a little oil in the pivot and a blade wipe down with oily rag after cleaning but moderns seldom need any special attention.
 
I've always cleaned with 91% Rubbing alcohol or brake cleaner. Brake cleaner has been used more often, it's free where I work and dries without leaving much if any residue. It also helps push out any crap, it works like a mini pressure washer. I then use the air compressor at the shop or at my house (depending on where I'm cleaning it out) to blow out anything that didn't come out. Then I put a few drops of oil in the pivot and lock and open/close a ten or so times to work it in. I then wipe off any excess and use q-tips for any tight spots to soak up any excess oil that may be left.

I've used many different oils like air tool, motor, Remoil, Weapon Shield, and others and have yet to have a knife rust. The air tool oil and Weapon Shield seem to last the longest and don't seep as much as the rest. The Remoil dries out way too fast for my taste. This has been done on all my folders, mostly SOGs. I've been looking at FireClean oil lately, if it keeps its lubricity with carbon fouling and hot gasses it might just work great for a knife that only sees minimal carbon and dirt. Plus it's not supposed to attract dust and dirt. Maybe when my extra large bottles of air tool oil and Weapon Shield run out.

Now that I'm getting into Spyderco folders should I be doing something different?
 
Fish Boy

I use BreakFree CLP for firearms, knives, fishing gear, most steel things. It is synthetic product (doesn't gum up) that is a combination of a Cleaner, a very good Lube, and has good corrosion Protection. Started using the military version on M16's many years ago. You can buy it at most gun shops and sporting goods stores. Not expensive, I buy the gallon size and transfer to small spray bottles. Here is some info about it if you are unfamiliar with BreakFree CLP. I use it like most people use WD-40. BreakFree is ten times better, IMHO.

http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.htmlup

http://www.guncleaningtips.com/breakfree-clp-review/

It works super on my knives. After spraying my knives, I store them in small Ziploc plastic bags for long term storage. Never had any corrosion issues with this.
 
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Ive always used plain soap and water. Toothbrushes, q-tips, and toothpicks if i needed. Then rinsed with hot so it evaporates easier. Make a duckface and blow it out while everythings still hot.

I never had a problem with rust. Course simple common sense told me to make sure all those incidental crevices in a folder needed to be dry. Because steel rusts.
I guess i cant sympathize with someone getting perturbed when i naturally knew to make sure my knife was dry at the wise old age of 9.
 
Put anything away wet and you can expect the worst.
Are these top rack dishwasher safe lol.

Compressed air is a good thing.

Anyone else ever use bike chain lube? So far I'm pretty happy with it.
 
Air gun if you work in a machine shop like me ;) Id definitely want to blow all the water out of there after id washed it. Not a fan of oiling my knives. Washers can be replaced. Im not sure if the tradeoff between slightly slower lock wear for having your knife become a dirt magnet is worth it. If anything the extra dirt it attracts will place more wear on it.
 
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