spraying wd40 into a pivot?

C

chrisfa

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Is spraying a little wd40 into a pivot of a gritty dirty knife okay? Will it clean it out without having to rip the knife all apart?
 
It will degrease the knife and kind of sort of clean it. maybe. It's not a lubricant though, so you'll need to add some lube afterwards.
 
Chris Pierce said:
It will degrease the knife and kind of sort of clean it. maybe. It's not a lubricant though, so you'll need to add some lube afterwards.
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This.

As a bike racer, my friends always complain about their bike chains being squeaky, even though they pound them with WD-40.
 
It's a lube, if it's gritty, and stays gritty then you may need to at lease loosen the screws and flush it out.
 
Cypress said:
This.

As a bike racer, my friends always complain about their bike chains being squeaky, even though they pound them with WD-40.
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It's a lube, you won't see me changing out the oil in my vehicle with it... Right lube for the job.

It's a knife, the lubrication from WD-40 should be just fine. As would a drop of Mobile 1 etc.
 
WD 40 is not a lube, it's a water displacement mixture, it will dry out a lot quicker than any lube although it might give you an impression of lubrication initially.
 
It won't hurt the knife unless you have some sort of weird, delicate handle material, but I don't know of anything used in knives that WD-40 would do any damage to. I've had success using it to blast out grime, but I'm paranoid and I clean my knives out with canned air afterwards then add honing oil as my actual lubricant, since I know WD-40 isn't the best lube. I suppose with certain knives that are extra grimy or has many nooks and crannies, it may not work, but most of the time I'd say it's a safe bet.
 
Tymah123 said:
WD 40 is not a lube
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Sigh. :)

WD-40 contains about 25% petrolatum base oil (MSDS data sheet), a.k.a mineral oil, and mineral oil is a lubricant. If you doubt its lubricity, spray some on your fingers and experience the slickness. Johnson's Baby Oil is 100% mineral oil (plus fragrance), and it is slicky too.

From the WD-40 website: "WD-40 Multi-Use Product is a unique, special blend of lubricants." Link. Is it possible that the WD-40 company is lying to consumers and violating about 50 consumer protection statutes in the process? Eh. But is it likely? No.

Leatherman recommends WD-40 to "protect the tool from further corrosion and sticking". Link. Its possible that Tim Leatherman is wrong about the sticking thing, but I bet not.

Does WD-40 reduce friction to zero and last forever? No. No lube does. Are there "better" lubes? Its depends, but there are few better if cost is a factor. But WD-40 is most certainly a lube.
 
cas # 64742-47-8 @ 45-50 % is commonly used as a solvent and is similar to kerosene from what i can tell. Kinda defeats the "lube" part of wd-40 in my opinion. I find wd-40 to dry way too quickly and attracts too much dirt post cleaning if you don't wash it off quick enough and re lube with something better. like 3 in 1
 
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The solvent evaporates from WD-40 after application, leaving 'petroleum base oil' (YES, it's a lube) behind. The oil accounts for about 25% of it's weight. It's easy to look up this info on WD-40's site; check the MSDS. It's a light lubricant, and works fine on knives that aren't ordinarily subjected to harsh use (constantly wet/salty/corrosive conditions). The light nature of it means it's also not prone to gumming up a pivot; just enough to inhibit light rust. It's all I've needed for my knives for 20+ years.

On that note, it is very useful for flushing dirt/grease/grime from the pivot. That's how I start the clean-up on newly-acquired old knives. Spray it liberally into the pivot while repeatedly working the joint opened/closed. When it's apparent the grit is flushed out, give the knife a bath in hot water & liquid dish detergent, and then rinse in hot water. Dry everything out, and re-lube with the oil of your choice (I use a little spritz of WD-40 for this).


David
 
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This is exactly what Strider recommends for cleaning your dirty knife. For maintenance they recommend hosing your strider knife down annually with WD-40.
 
I used WD40 for a very long time before i moved onto better things for the job. The right lube for thejob for me is Nano Oil in the pivot. Fluid Film on the blade. I always have a can of WD40 around for the intial cleansing of a grubby knife though.
 
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