Sentry Solutions: Tuff-Cloth vs. Tuff-Glide vs. Smooth Kote

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koolstof

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Sep 21, 2002
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Can anyone tell me what's the difference between Smooth Kote and Tuff-Glide. I read their entire website but they remain quite vague. Does Smooth Kote has any use for knives (pivot area, lock, coating...)?

Is their Tuff-Cloth anything more than a rag soaked with Tuff-Glide... I mean, I have plenty of rags, seems to me that a bottle of Tuff-Glide is quite enough... What is so special to the fabric used in Tuff-Cloth?

Someone hinted me to post here in stead of shop talk.

Does not seem that anyone can give me a satifying answer.
 
I think Tuff-Glide is a better choice because you could use that to lubricate the pivot too...
I don't know what's the cloth made of, but it's pretty much a cloth soaked in Tuff-Glide in a pouch. If you leave it in the open for too long, of course, it would evaporate.
 
Tuf-Cloth is similar to the cloths you use to wipe eyeglasses, the very thin and smooth ones, not the furry ones. I think it's anti-dust (dust doesn't stick to it much) and very smooth feeling. You could try using one of the eyeglass cloths, though I'm not sure how well the cloth would absorb Tuf-Glide. You might be better off just buying the Tuf-Cloth, as it only costs a mere fraction of the cost of a knife, though you can use it pretty much forever on all your knives.

The Tuf-Cloth will dry up, so what I did was I bought a large 8 oz. bottle of Tuf-Glide. Every few months, I pour some into the Tuf-Cloth's bag and I'm good to go again. The large bottle of Tuf-Glide can also be used to refill the precision applicator. The bottle will probably last many years.
 
koolstof :

Is their Tuff-Cloth anything more than a rag soaked with Tuff-Glide...
Click to expand...

No.

What is so special to the fabric used in Tuff-Cloth?
Click to expand...

It is low-lint and fairly durable, but would be simple to replace, lots of materials are similar.

-Cliff
 
I apply a layer of the Smooth-Cote and allow it to dry. You can blow on it and it will dry. It does need to cure for a couple of hours to acheive best results. You can use a hair dryer on it for a minute or two and that will take care of it. Once cured I apply the Tuff-Glide over the top of it. I've used Tuff-Glide by itself and over the top of Smooth-Cote. I can tell a little difference, as using both do result in a smoother opening, but not sure it is actually worth the extra work. I think you can use the Smooth-Cote by itself also even though I have not. Sentry also makes a grease that you can apply over the Smooth-Cote.

I've used a lot of lubricating products in the 20+ years I have fooled around with knives. Tuff-Glide is the best I have ever used.
 
Cliff Stamp, excatly what I suspected... I will make my own little cloth... I also bought the biggest bottle of Tuf-glide and a plastic sealable bag I have too. Don't see the point in buying such a rag. Anyways,I need cue-tips with Tuf-Glide too to coat those hard to get area's.
 
tuf-cloth is a polyester cloth soaked with tuf-glide (which is 100% oderless mineral spirits and petroleum mixed together).

smoothcote is similar, but is more of a protectant for things that are stored longterm, same idea as gun grease, but without the mess.
 
Actually I am not impressed with Tuf-Glide at all. I had a new auto knife custom made and was very tight at the blade pivot pin. Generally would only spring the blade half way out. I tried Tuf- Glide and it did nothing to alleviate this problem. I then talked to the knifemaker and he told me to try Breakfree CLP. Knife opened like greased lightning immediately thereafter and hasn't missed a beat since.Y'all try some of this on your knives, I think it is a very good product.
 
I have tried all the brands mentioned above and had fair to good results. On a friend's, gunsmith, advice, I now use a prodct called Ballistol. It has been around since WW1, invented by the Germans, non toxic , and can be used on just about anything. I now use it exclusively on all my guns, knives, and even my sheaths.
Ken (wwjd)
 
Ive always had good results with tuf-glide. Ive noticed though on my ken onion speed safes that I put very little on the pivot point, work the blade back and fporth, wipe the excess off and I let it dry with the blade open before I close it. It has not caused any problems, however I have noticed it, like many other lubricants, if put on too heavy will slow a blade down.
always make sure you do not put too much on, and you work the blade and wipe off any excess after you are finished.

I use it on all my knives, and those I make. I cote all the blades I ship with tuf-glide and has never had a problem with corrosion.
 
The issue is not wether Tuf-Glide, or any other product for that matter, works or not. I would like to know the difference between Smooth-Kote and Tuf-Glide. This has been partly answered.

And also, why should I use Tuf-Cloth instead of a rag with Tuf-Glide on it (plenty of soft-polishing, non-abrassive, lintfree stuff around and a sealable plastic bag too.)?
 
Since we are on the subject of lubricants, has anybody compared all these lubes to Militec-1? Apparently, it has a very low toxicity level and it seems to last a long time. Benchmade seems to use it as it's company's exclusive lube. It's funny - everybody has their favorite lube they are loyal to. It's just like seeing the infomercial plugs for car engine conditioning lubes on tv. Msaybe we might have to start a new thread on this or go to the archives on to read the old ones. Just my 2 cents. :footinmou
 
Smooth-Cote is a dry film lubricant that can be used alone or in conjunction with the other two. It will actually dry and cure out leaving the surface it covers with a dark gray to black dry coating.

I have noticed that Tuff-Glide, upon immediate application, will make a knife a tad harder to open. Once it has had a chance to penetrate and coat, usually overnight, it is a much slicker opening knife the next morning. Any lubricant in excessive amounts will slow the pivot down.
 
Not real sure what tuff glide contains, but the tuff cloth appears to be just mineral spirits. It says to add mineral spirits to restore the original feel of the tuff cloth if it dries out.

Mike
 
Tuff glide: It is a dry lubricant suspended in mineral spirits it needs to be applied and allowed to dry to be effective, a little goes a long way, don't use it like it is a oil just because it looks like oil in a bottle. Tuff glide dries and won't collect dust and dirt like other oils, it works great when used in moderation.
The Tuff glide rag is just a lint free rag, the advantage of using it over another rag soaked with tuff glide is that the Tuff Glide rag is impregnated with the Tuff Glide dry lubricant when the rag dries out you add mineral sprit its to it and it continues working instead of adding more Tuff Glide this saves you money since mineral spirits is fairly cheap and you can use keep adding the mineral spirits for quite a few years under normal use.
Don’t know much about the other lubricant.
 
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