Quit lubing your knife to pieces

[stjames]

Ah, another devotee of St. Sebenza of Blades.

That is St. James of the Sebenzanistas, my son.

 

[Thomas Linton]

That is St. James of the Sebenzanistas, my son.

Ha! Try to tell them that in Blades.

 

[hardheart]

Before arguing if folders "need" lubricant or not from Mike point of view, you would first need to ask Mike what he requires behavior wise, and how he uses and what he values in performance.

Using knives in very dirty conditions for example most if not all oil based lubricants tend to make the situation worse as knives become near impossible to clean because you can't rinse/flush out dirt.

If you want knives buttery easy to open it is hard to achieve this without lubricant, but this is very difficult to maintain on working knives so it isn't difficult to see how someone would not value that at all.

I lube all my knives, especially the working blades. Wet sand, mud, drilling fluid, engine oil thick as tar and loaded with carbon and metal particles, dust from mixing concrete or cutting drywall, etc.; my blade pivots get gunk in them, and a drop of oil doesn't 'attract' any more, since a lot of this stuff works it's way in and sticks just like the lube I purposely apply. This damages the surfaces in the pivot area, and I need to lube the action to keep it smooth. I disassemble the knives, when the design allows, to clean things as best I can-using really hot water, brushes, WD-40, compressed air, whatever to achieve results. After reassembly, the knife is always a little rough, so I add oil. Even though my working blades do get gunked up often enough, they don;t become clogged for every task I perform with them, so having a lubed pivot for when I just want to thumb open a folder to cut a piece of string is nice.

I oil frn handled working blades, since that crapola tends to embed itself into the frn around the pivot and makes it gritty. I don't like teflon washers because the same will happen. I prefer metallic washers, which I find a little easier to clean up.

 

[Blackhearted]

I oil frn handled working blades, since that crapola tends to embed itself into the frn around the pivot and makes it gritty. I don't like teflon washers because the same will happen. I prefer metallic washers, which I find a little easier to clean up.

hmm. most pivots are the same size, does anyone know of a site where you can order brass washers/bushings? id gladly replace many of the teflon/plastic ones in my knives, even if it sacrificed a bit of the smoothness the blade would be tighter and it would be easier to clean.

 

[DGG]

This is the wierdess thread I have ever seen on BF! Congrats to all. It is up to five pages even!

Who could have imagined that lubricant would be so controversial.

 

[Megalobyte]

Allright, I'll go on record as saying KY is the best. :thumbup:

 

[Blackhearted]

Allright, I'll go on record as saying KY is the best.

astroglide > KY.
KY turns to jell-o when it starts to dry. bleh.

 

[digdeep]

I generally use Militec-1 on my knives but was wondering if there is any problem with damaging the scales like cocobola, walnut, or micarta if accidentally put on them?

 

[zman]

It's true, most knives do not need lube. Just a good cleaning, and that's about it.
Quite a few lubes on the market not only are not needed, but they actually increase the wear & tear, because they gum up and collect dirt/dust/debris, even when used sparingly, and most seem to be applied quite liberally.

I have explained this to numerous people, and they just do not understand.
I try to tell them, if it's not broke, you won't hurt it by not fixing it. Don't lube it unless it just absolutely needs it, and even then use very very little.

I think he might be talking about fixed blade knives. It's true it is useless and a waste of time to lube your fixed bladed knives, and furthermore to all those idiots ruining there (FB) knives with all them new fangled oils, greases, dry lubes etc. I concure "quit lubing your kniveses to pieces"!

 

[samhain73]

I usually take mine apart and apply the lube with a q-tip on just the pivot and washers. Then its smoooth sailing and no grit.

 

[Planterz]

I think he might be talking about fixed blade knives. It's true it is useless and a waste of time to lube your fixed bladed knives, and furthermore to all those idiots ruining there (FB) knives with all them new fangled oils, greases, dry lubes etc. I concure "quit lubing your kniveses to pieces"!

Yeah, I once tried lubing up a knife (to pieces) trying to get the frigging thing to fold, then I realized it was a fixed blade. I felt bad because of all the premature wear and damage I caused it.

 

[yoda4561]

I generally use Militec-1 on my knives but was wondering if there is any problem with damaging the scales like cocobola, walnut, or micarta if accidentally put on them?

Militec can attack some plastics, and if the wood is light in color it may discolor it. As long as you're just applying a small drop to the pivot and cleaning any excess immediately it isn't a concern. Micarta (and in my experience FRN, G10, whatever SAK scales are made of) is immune to it. I've not heard of it doing serious harm to wood, but prolonged exposure isn't something I'd recommend.

 

[KeithAM]

Just for fun, here's an incomplete list of manufacturers who recommend lubing the pivot:


Benchmade (specifically recommends Miltec-1)

Boker

Buck

Case

Chris Reeve

Spyderco

Victorinox


Of course, they just make the knives -- how could they possibly know anything about how to take care of them?

 

[Daniel Moore]

Actually, lubricants ARE necessary on many fixed blades. 01 blades for example need to be oiled to prevent rust. So even if it's not for the purpose of preventing wear on moving parts, you're still using a lubricant.

 

[Thomas Linton]

Actually, lubricants ARE necessary on many fixed blades. 01 blades for example need to be oiled to prevent rust. So even if it's not for the purpose of preventing wear on moving parts, you're still using a lubricant.

Dayum, even more "controversial" advice.

 

[zman]

Actually, lubricants ARE necessary on many fixed blades. 01 blades for example need to be oiled to prevent rust. So even if it's not for the purpose of preventing wear on moving parts, you're still using a lubricant.

I'm sorry, I was just trying to be funny. I think the bottom line is that just like anything else in life there are no absolutes. Maybe Mike mck2 has found that he needs no lubricant in his "folding" knives and that his friends use too much which in there cases attracts contaminants which inturn will tend to promote premature wear. I myself have found that small amounts work best. But nothing at all is counterintuitave to me. That's just my two cents. AZ...

 

[yoda4561]

Actually, lubricants ARE necessary on many fixed blades. 01 blades for example need to be oiled to prevent rust. So even if it's not for the purpose of preventing wear on moving parts, you're still using a lubricant.

Just make sure that you know that a good lubricant does not a good rust protectant make. Militec for example is absolutely useless compared to breakfree or any other oil (Ballistol and FP-10)I tested in regards to corrosion resistance. Speaking of which I really should get back to the rest of the tests I had planned for that.

 

[Cliff Stamp]

Just for fun, here's an incomplete list of manufacturers who recommend lubing the pivot...

You can generate a huge list of makers/manufacturers who will promote sharpening at 20 degrees per side and in general support a great many knife myths. Popularity in general doesn't make an arguement.

-Cliff

 

[DGG]

I think nose grease from the side of your nose works great! Last long and is cheap.

Just run your finger down the outside of your nose and then put the grease on the blade.

It is even safe for use when cutting food but the thought is rather revolting, IMHO.

 

[KeithAM]

You can generate a huge list of makers/manufacturers who will promote sharpening at 20 degrees per side and in general support a great many knife myths. Popularity in general doesn't make an arguement.

-Cliff

Yes, yes, it's exactly like the 20 degree per side sharpening myth. It's a huge conspiracy to propagate yet another popular knife a myth that you've so persuasively busted. Really, they want you to "lube your knife to pieces" so that you end up having to buy more knives. Pretty clever actually. Metal on metal friction being reduced by lubrication? Smoother opening and less wear? I'm glad we've put that one to rest!

I can hardly wait to see the results of objective testing showing that the average knife user, who isn't working in a particularly dusty environment, is actually better off without lube. Until then, I'll follow the internationally accepted "myth," especially since the time and money spent doing so is so minimal.

I think it's also worth pointing out that I asked the originator of this thread what kind of knives he used and the conditions under which he uses them, in an attempt to fairly explore his assertion that we all need to stop "lubing our knives to pieces." Bear in mind that his original post went well beyond asserting that lube isn't necessary -- he avered that it is harmful, with no qualifications. Since he hasn't bothered to respond, perhaps you could take up his defense, in the spirit of being a gratuitous contrarian, of course.

While it is obviously true that generally accepted ideas can turn out to be false, I think it's unwise to dismiss them without evidence.