SAK Cleaning

S

soccergod04

Joined
Apr 24, 2006
Messages
685
Ok, so what's the best way to clean an EDC SAK? With all of the little grooves and gaps for lint and gunk to get into, what's the fastest, easiest way you guys have found to clean 'em?
 
A little soap, water, qtip, 3-in-1 oil & tlc.
Not necessarily in that order...

-Ron
 
Take a book of plain paper matches. Tear one out and use the torn end to dust mop out any dirt and debris. Works like a charm, no rocket science needed.
 
jackknife said:
Take a book of plain paper matches. Tear one out and use the torn end to dust mop out any dirt and debris. Works like a charm, no rocket science needed.
Click to expand...

Great idea on the road!
Getting harder to find book matches these days though.
I just bite the end of a q-tip flat at home for all my folders..
Always amazed how black they come out after swiping inside a knife!

-Ron
 
A toothbrush can help if it's gunked up bad. If you use soap and water it helps to rinse it with the hottest water you can (just very hot tap water; It doesn't have to be boiling or anything like that) and keep rinsing it 'till the metal parts heat up pretty well. This will help the water evaporate out of the the knife more quickly. A hair dryer can be used to dry it out the rest of the way, but I really have never felt a need to go that far with a stainless knife. A little dampness won't hurt it and will dry out pretty quickly in your pocket. If you just need to get the dust and lint out of it try the canned air that they sell for blowing the dust out of computer keyboards.
 
A paintbrush from your wife/kid's watercolor or oil painting set works well for most pocketknives, SAK's included.
 
Ted H said:
A paintbrush from your wife/kid's watercolor or oil painting set works well for most pocketknives, SAK's included.
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But don't use expensive paintbrushes. Kolinsky sable brushes, especially. As much as I love mine, SAKs are not worth having to replace a brush that cost $50 or more. :)
 
A "pipe cleaner" (twisted wire with bristles along it) can help get the junk out of small spaces. Once clean, use a dry lube or no lube at all to keep it cleaner longer. Oil really holds the pocket lint in the joint.
 
The soap and toothbrush method has worked well for me. I'll have to remember the matchstick and cheap paintbrush trick.

Vic SAKs are dishwasher safe (top rack with scales on, bottom rack with scales off). I've done this to clean up a few SAKs that I got used that I was giving away (I was replacing the Cellidor scales with StayGlow ones so I took those off first, opened them up and put them in the cutlery basket). Worked very well. I've heard that the color of the Cellidor can fade if the water is to hot (not sure about the nylon), the scales might also be scratched by something else washing, so if you are replacing the scales then the dishwasher is the way to go.
 
The only problem with the soap and toothbrush method is that the toothbrush will taste funny for a couple days afterward, so be sure to use your wife's.
 
Hot water and soap, then rinse.
Q-tips, toothbrush and yes the vic toothpick are great de-gunking/de-linting tools!
:)
 
Don't have a SAK yet, but my Para I soak in cleaner and blow out with compressed air. Then oil...works for me. Should be a much faster/easier way to clean a SAK than picking everything out. Although I suppose not everyone has compressed air on hand as conveniently as I do.

-Sean
 
A wooden Toothpick, only be sure to shave the tip down to a size that would fit the gaps which need "picking"!
Followed by a compressed (thumb on the piped water nozzel) "jet spray" of water from your ordinary sink faucet.
Be sure to pour warm water (as it evaporates quickly) and wipe away all remaing excess water.
And don't make the mistake of using oil to lubricate the joints as oil gunks up the grime all over again.
Try a dry lubricant!
 
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