Preferred grease/oil for folders!!

I think that sometimes, the extreme amount of different lubes, oils, waxes might confuse things. Especially to someone who's brand new to it. The basic point of all of these things is to simply keep moisture out, or in the case of lubes, reduce friction in moving parts. Every one of these things works by forming a layer or film ontop of the, for example, blade, that keeps the moisture out. The quality of a good oil is measured by how long it takes to evaporate, break down or how resistant it is to the elements.

WD-40, for example, stands for water displacement-40. It's a very thin type of oil, so it'll probably dry out or evaporate quite fast compared to basic oil.

Renaissance Wax is a type of wax. I've heard that this is the best, at least when it comes to storage.
 
Screwdriver said:
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.
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I'm not a fan of Frog Lube for my guns or knives all Im saying is that it works just fine on knives without heat or disassembly. Knives aren't very demanding on lubricants so pretty much anything from plain mineral oil to Krytox will work just fine. I just use the same stuff I use on my firearms which is normally Slip2000 EWL.
 
jac_solar said:
I think that sometimes, the extreme amount of different lubes, oils, waxes might confuse things. Especially to someone who's brand new to it. The basic point of all of these things is to simply keep moisture out, or in the case of lubes, reduce friction in moving parts. Every one of these things works by forming a layer or film ontop of the, for example, blade, that keeps the moisture out. The quality of a good oil is measured by how long it takes to evaporate, break down or how resistant it is to the elements.

WD-40, for example, stands for water displacement-40. It's a very thin type of oil, so it'll probably dry out or evaporate quite fast compared to basic oil.

Renaissance Wax is a type of wax. I've heard that this is the best, at least when it comes to storage.
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Great info.

Some products can do more than one task, and they never evaporate or break down over time. Breakfee CLP (Cleans, Lubricates, and Protects) is a synthetic product that has these characteristics.

http://www.break-free.com/?location=/main.asp
 
Screwdriver said:
Breakfree CLP has only been around since 1980. How have you used it for 50 years?
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The product called Breakfree CLP is a commercialized version of a military spec Teflon based cleaner, lube used in Vietnam. The calcium carbonate used in the M16 bullets, to reduce acid formation of the gun powder, was causing jams if the gun was not kept very clean. A new gun powder recipe, a CLP-type mil spec cleaning product, issuance of M16's with chrome lined barrels (and replacement of the older style barrels), and more strict cleaning practices helped to solve the jamming problem. My father worked for Cities Service Oil Company at the time and was able to send me several gallons of the new Teflon based lube. Here is some good info from Brownells, a long time supplier of parts and service for firearms. It may be of some value to the forum readers.

http://gunwiki.net/Gunwiki/InDepthLubricantInfo

Here is quote I copied from Wikipedia

"On February 28, 1967, the XM16E1 was standardized as the M16A1. Major revisions to the design followed. The rifle was given a chrome-lined chamber (and later, the entire bore) to eliminate corrosion and stuck cartridges, and the rifle's recoil mechanism was re-designed to accommodate Army-issued 5.56 mm ammunition. Rifle cleaning tools and powder solvents/lubricants were issued. Intensive training programs in weapons cleaning were instituted, and a comic book style manual was circulated among the troops to demonstrate proper maintenance. The reliability problems of the M16 diminished quickly, although the rifle's reputation continued to suffer."

Here is the entire M16 history link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M16_rifle

I hope this answers your concerns.

FYI - Rem Oil is similar to Breakfree CLP. I have used both with good success on firearms and knives.

http://www.remington.com/products/accessories/gun-care/cleaning-chemicals-and-oils/rem-oil.aspx





Here is a little history of the evolution of the M16.
 
White Lightning chain lube for pivot lube. It is self cleaning in that it carries contaminents away from the high friction points.
 
Daveownsjoo said:
I just use stuff from my gun maintenance like rem oil, clp, and slip 2000 (my favorite lube for the guns).
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I finally found another Slip2000 fan! I also use whatever gun lubricant I have on hand which is normally Slip2000EWL. I'm surprised its not more popular with knife people its got every attribute you'd want in a knife lube. They also make a knife specific lube which is less expensive but Ive never tried it.
 
GatorFlash1 said:
The product called Breakfree CLP is a commercialized version of a military spec Teflon based cleaner, lube used in Vietnam. The calcium carbonate used in the M16 bullets, to reduce acid formation of the gun powder, was causing jams if the gun was not kept very clean. A new gun powder recipe, a CLP-type mil spec cleaning product, issuance of M16's with chrome lined barrels (and replacement of the older style barrels), and more strict cleaning practices helped to solve the jamming problem. My father worked for Cities Service Oil Company at the time and was able to send me several gallons of the new Teflon based lube. Here is some good info from Brownells, a long time supplier of parts and service for firearms. It may be of some value to the forum readers.

http://gunwiki.net/Gunwiki/InDepthLubricantInfo

Here is quote I copied from Wikipedia

"On February 28, 1967, the XM16E1 was standardized as the M16A1. Major revisions to the design followed. The rifle was given a chrome-lined chamber (and later, the entire bore) to eliminate corrosion and stuck cartridges, and the rifle's recoil mechanism was re-designed to accommodate Army-issued 5.56 mm ammunition. Rifle cleaning tools and powder solvents/lubricants were issued. Intensive training programs in weapons cleaning were instituted, and a comic book style manual was circulated among the troops to demonstrate proper maintenance. The reliability problems of the M16 diminished quickly, although the rifle's reputation continued to suffer."

Here is the entire M16 history link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M16_rifle

I hope this answers your concerns.

FYI - Rem Oil is similar to Breakfree CLP. I have used both with good success on firearms and knives.

http://www.remington.com/products/accessories/gun-care/cleaning-chemicals-and-oils/rem-oil.aspx





Here is a little history of the evolution of the M16.
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Breakfree is good stuf I used it almost extensively on all my guns and knives until I discovered the non toxic alternatives. Do u happen to know why the military stopped using Breakfree CLP?
 
Here's my take- After watching the BMW motor oil debate over the last decade: Clean good, dirty bad, metallic grit very bad. WD-40 first to get rid of the cuttings, grinding dust, residue, etc. Spend a buck or two and blast it first for a few times with brake cleaning solvent followed by WD-40 followed by working the joint. When it's clean, then apply some lubricant (As the motorcycle folks say, new oil is always better than old oil and no one advocates that a quart low is better than full, so start there.) Now, compared to a firearm, motorcycle engine at 5,800 rpm for an hour or a watch at 36000 bph for 10 years-- the lube on a knife pivot is pretty low-key stress. So, for my take, the biggest issue is gumming up over time. (But this does prevent corrosion-- all about tradeoffs and optimization) so here's what I do:

- Clean the joints upon purchase.
- Lube them with Penn synthetic reel oil (cause I have it, it's easy and the guts of a saltwater fishing reel is about the worst environment I can think of off the top of my head.)
- Wipe the blades periodically with a Sentry Tuff-cloth. I'd use marine, but I got a 75% off deal on the regulars.
- I keep them all in a case with a Z-rust VCI pod.

Only issue I've had is when I fat finger the blades and then don't clean them before storage.

I've noticed all the micro manufactures (GEC, BHK, etc) wrap the knife in a vapor corrosion inhibitor paper. Perhaps I need to investigate that more.

Hope this helps.

For my guns, CLP, Rem Oil and OTTERS gun grease.

If I were buying it all over, I think I'd use reel-butter instead of penn-oil, but I'm not ready to out the seven bucks to make the switch...
 
fsatsil said:
Breakfree is good stuf I used it almost extensively on all my guns and knives until I discovered the non toxic alternatives. Do u happen to know why the military stopped using Breakfree CLP?
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I'm pretty sure they still use CLP. From what I understand, different units may issue different cleaners and lubricants though. For a while, Militec-1 was real popular until people discovered that it provides little to no protection from rust. It also costs a fortune.
 
I cut up an old t-shirt, impregnated a hand sized piece with just enough mineral oil to be slightly damp and dropped it into a baggie. Now when I clean and wipe down my blades, I don't have to make a big production out of it. As time goes on maybe I'll become more sophisticated.
 
fsatsil said:
Breakfree is good stuf I used it almost extensively on all my guns and knives until I discovered the non toxic alternatives. Do u happen to know why the military stopped using Breakfree CLP?
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I'm not sure what they are using now. Maybe a currently serving military person can enlighten us. I doubt they call it "Breakfree". Probably some mill-spec number. Good question. I have never had any toxicity problem. Of course I don't drink the stuff or inhale it. Like with any gun or knife lube it is best to use it sparingly.
 
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I did a lot of reading about the best corrosion inhibitors. Break Free seems to do a good job according to what I read. If I were storing a fixed blade (would gunk up a folder) for an extended period of time I would look at using CRC heavy duty rust inhibitor. It is not pretty but it works.
 
Nal0n said:
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*
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I second this....I tried 3 in 1 and ballistol works better for me.
 
GatorFlash1 said:
I'm not sure what they are using now. Maybe a currently serving military person can enlighten us. I doubt they call it "Breakfree". Probably some mill-spec number. Good question. I have never had any toxicity problem. Of course I don't drink the stuff or inhale it. Like with any gun or knife lube it is best to use it sparingly.
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I did a little research and the CLPs that are on the qualified product list are Royco 634, G96 CLP, Arpolube, Sent-CLP E, and Quicken CLP. It looks like G96 and Quicken are the only commercially available ones on the list.
 
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