SAK maintenance

C

Charlie_K

Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
4,067
When you get a used SAK and all the tools are so tight they don't want to open up how do you fix this? How do you oil and de-gunk the insides? And do you need to take the scales off to do this properly?
 
A good wash with warm to hot water and soap, scrubbing with an old toothbrush, opening and closing the tools under running water, followed by a good wd40 bath spray, then dry it, and add a drop of oil if necessary.
You don't need to take the scales off.
 
+1 to a warm/hot water & liquid dish detergent bath. Dawn, Ivory Liquid, Palmolive & other dish soaps will work fine. Exercise the joints while wet (be careful; blades will be slippery). Rinse in warm/hot water (up to ~120°F), which will warm up the internals and help evaporate residual moisture. After it's all dry, lube with your treatment of choice.


David
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
+1 to a warm/hot water & liquid dish detergent bath. Dawn, Ivory Liquid, Palmolive & other dish soaps will work fine. Exercise the joints while wet (be careful; blades will be slippery). Rinse in warm/hot water (up to ~120°F), which will warm up the internals and help evaporate residual moisture. After it's all dry, lube with your treatment of choice.


David
Click to expand...

Everything he said.^^^

Maybe even wrap some duct tape around the two blades until it's all moving freely. :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Let us know how it goes.

Carl.
 
Well I took a toothbrush and some 3-in-1 oil to the older model Tourist I got in the mail yesterday, scrubbed inside as best I could. Everything is easier to open now although still a little stiff. The only one that gives me any real trouble is the reamer.
 
Most of the time the reamer/awl/corkscrew tools have the strongest springs. A few hot water and soap brushings followed by a good oil will eventually clean out whatever gunk is slowing the blades down. Don't be tempted to hit it with gunscrubber or other powerful solvents, I got a few permanent fingerprints on a wenger SAK when I was a kid thinking that if it was "safe to clean guns" it would be fine on the scales of a pocketknife.
 
I actually boiled mine like I was making hard boiled eggs, then took it out and left it out for a few minutes, then went to my backyard and got the hose and sprayed the SAK with as much pressure as I could, then blow dried the whole thing, then added a few drops of baby oil, haven't cleaned it since (1 1/2 years) and it's still working great
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top