Preferred grease/oil for folders!!

M

Maxentius Rain

Joined
Dec 11, 2013
Messages
8
Some help is greatly appreciated!! I'm just starting my own collection of knives, preferably folders, but that can change. I am asking the community, what is the preferred choice of grease/oil for folding knives, one that will also protect the blade, basically a general purpose grease/oil that prolongs and protects the life of the knife.
Thank you for your time and feedback!!
 
I prefer to run stainless knives dry. For non-stainless knives I use beeswax or beeswax chapstick.
 
I use mineral oil cause its food-safe, works great as a lube / rust inhibitor and is thick enough to not run off a stored blade, it also has no detectable smell. During difficult assemblies (to hold washers in place) and on springs I use a brand of food-safe grease called Super Lube, its actually designed specifically for slicers and other food processing equipment and is approved for direct, post-cooked food contact. I make sure any of my knives can be used for food prep that way.

And I know you didnt ask but it should be mentioned anyway- you may as well pick up a bottle of locktite while your at it, you always need more of that stuff. Blue or purple, NOT red.
 
Ime Baby Oil and Ballistol both do a good job, are inexpensive and non-toxic.
Maybe there are better things out there but until now I never needed anything else *shrugs*
 
Popsickle said:
frog lube
Click to expand...

So you recommend that a person disassemble their knife, heat the metal parts and apply Frog Lube...let it set and reassemble? I mean, that is what FL says what makes it work. They say that heat is what sets it in.....and should not be used as a straight lube.
 
A search would have got you going...

On that note for folder I use Nano-Oil in the pivot and Fluid Film on the blade.
 
I use Tuf Glide and a Tuf Cloth for corrosion protection and Slip2000 EWL or Rand CLP for the pivot.
 
Brian Enos Slide Glide in the Sebenza (Already had it laying around), Blue lube for my slip joints, WD40 on my non coated fixed blades.
 
Screwdriver said:
So you recommend that a person disassemble their knife, heat the metal parts and apply Frog Lube...let it set and reassemble? I mean, that is what FL says what makes it work. They say that heat is what sets it in.....and should not be used as a straight lube.
Click to expand...
They do make a liquid that could be applied without disasembly or heat. The directions say for best results heat the metal but nowhere does it say it won't work if you don't and in the long term care directions it states that heat is not required but that it does increase absorption.
 
I am a gun nut and have used Breakfree CLP (a synthetic product that will not break down over time, readily available, and relatively inexpensive) on guns and knives for many years with no corrosion issues at all. Some of my shotguns are very expensive Krieghoffs & Brownings and some of my custom knives run in the $1,000 + range. I can't afford to have any lube or corrosion issues with stuff this valuable. I buy Breakfree CLP in gallon cans and transfer small amounts into those empty WD-40 spray bottles that you can buy for a couple of bucks at any hardware store. I'm not saying that Breakfree CLP is the "end all, be all" of lubricants, just that for over 50 years it has served my needs perfectly. I first used it on M-16's during a small, but tasteful police action in SE Asia some years back and have stuck with it ever since.

I little bit of advice to new knife users is in order here. Good lubing is no excuse for not cleaning, and not storing properly, the gun or knife or any other metal tool. Smearing stuff on a dirty knife is a recipe for disaster. Same goes for storing it improperly. All my guns go in sealable plastic storage bags, and my collectible knives get stored in Ziplock type plastic freezer bags with desiccant tabs to keep the moisture down. Trust me it works. They don't get scratched up and don't corrode. My user EDC gets a cleaning and lube as necessary.

A very common fault of many gun and knife owners is to overlube. I have fixed many non-working guns, short & long guns, only to find after disassembly that they are loaded with dried grease or oil, stocks saturated with the stuff, and a big mess. After a thorough cleaning, they work fine without having to replace any parts or resort to any extreme mechanical surgery. So remember, "A little dab will do ya".

Here is a link to a firearms corrosion test that may be of interest to knife owners.

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

Here is some info about the technical specs of Breakfree for the curious.

http://www.break-free.com/?location=/main.asp



This is my very expensive Krieghoff 12 ga Skeet & Trap Gun.



 
Last edited:
nano oil 10wt is my current lube of choice, have used blue before but it gummed up pretty good after a while :(
 
I like to use blue lube on my slipjoints, but use CRK grease on my other folders
 
fsatsil said:
They do make a liquid that could be applied without disasembly or heat. The directions say for best results heat the metal but nowhere does it say it won't work if you don't and in the long term care directions it states that heat is not required but that it does increase absorption.
Click to expand...

I have had long conversations with the people from Frog Lube, and they say for best results, it has to be treated with heat, wiped off and allowed to run dry. I have a Glock Gen 2 G19 and a BCM AR that I did the hair drier heat and application. It did work, but was a pain in the ass. Went back to BF. I just do not see Frog Lube as a superior product to mineral oil in a knife application.
 
GatorFlash1 said:
I am a gun nut and have used Breakfree CLP (a synthetic product that will not break down over time, readily available, and relatively inexpensive) on guns and knives for many years with no corrosion issues at all. Some of my shotguns are very expensive Krieghoffs & Brownings and some of my custom knives run in the $1,000 + range. I can't afford to have any lube or corrosion issues with stuff this valuable. I buy Breakfree CLP in gallon cans and transfer small amounts into those empty WD-40 spray bottles that you can buy for a couple of bucks at any hardware store. I'm not saying that Breakfree CLP is the "end all, be all" of lubricants, just that for over 50 years it has served my needs perfectly. I first used it on M-16's during a small, but tasteful police action in SE Asia some years back and have stuck with it ever since.

I little bit of advice to new knife users is in order here. Good lubing is no excuse for not cleaning, and not storing properly, the gun or knife or any other metal tool. Smearing stuff on a dirty knife is a recipe for disaster. Same goes for storing it improperly. All my guns go in sealable plastic storage bags, and my collectible knives get stored in Ziplock type plastic freezer bags with desiccant tabs to keep the moisture down. Trust me it works. They don't get scratched up and don't corrode. My user EDC gets a cleaning and lube as necessary.

A very common fault of many gun and knife owners is to overlube. I have fixed many non-working guns, short & long guns, only to find after disassembly that they are loaded with dried grease or oil, stocks saturated with the stuff, and a big mess. After a thorough cleaning, they work fine without having to replace any parts or resort to any extreme mechanical surgery. So remember, "A little dab will do ya".

Here is a link to a firearms corrosion test that may be of interest to knife owners.

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

Here is some info about the technical specs of Breakfree for the curious.
Click to expand...

Breakfree CLP has only been around since 1980. How have you used it for 50 years?
 
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