WD40 is bad for your blade?

It's never out of reach when working with knives...especially with re-handle jobs...great for getting off epoxy where you don't want it, and tape residue, re-finishing your strop.....WD 40 is good.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
<snip>... I think it would be better described by the maker as a short-term lubricant, with recommendation that it be re-applied on a regular basis. ...<snip>
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Hi O w E -

On this I agree with you 100% . :thumbup:

best regards -

mqqn
 
WD-40 is a mix of Stoddard's Solvent (dry cleaner's fluid) and ordinary mineral oil. The solvent thins the mineral oil allowing it to penetrate into small crevices making it an effective way to separate stuck parts or clean up residue from tapes or glues. The solvent evaporates quickly leaving behind a thin film of mineral oil.

Mineral oil is a lubricant. It's a good lubricant for items that aren't subjected to severe environments such as indoor use or in-pocket use. It's a less-than-ideal lubricant for outdoor use. You need something heavier for outdoor/marine/wet environments.

I like to use WD-40 to flush out a pivot, hinge, joint, etc. The solvent really does the job of getting down into the guts of things. But then I go over it with a squirt of a good synthetic lube that won't be affected by hostile environments. Gives me the best of both worlds... the WD-40 as penetrant and cleaner followed by a good reliable lubrication material. I usually won't rely upon WD-40 for lubrication except for indoor use.

WD-40 IS a lubricant. It's just not a lubricant that can be used for everything. Neither is 10w40 motor oil, lithium grease, or KY jelly. They are all lubricants. You just don't want to use them in the same places. :D

Stitchawl
 
To answer the original question: No, it will not hurt the knife. While there are better rust preventatives, WD40 does work as a rust preventative. The primary method of rust prevention is by forming a film on he surface that prevents moisture from getting to the substrate. Water is a required ingredient for rust. No water, no rust.

WD40 is not a particularly great lubricant once the solvent evaporates, though it is much better than nothing. The oil film that is left on the surface is a high viscosity material. It can be classified as "mineral oil", but is relatively high in viscosity. It has to be to perform its function. For lubrication of close tolerance parts, one specifies an oil with lower viscosity than this. That is why you can recommend it as a lubricant. It's more like grease than oil.
 
Johnny Warner said:
I use it as a solvent. Years ago I spayed it on my tire lugs when rotating my tires. Short story is 6 months later when I rotated again I sheared of several lugs, I started using white lithium grease afterwards.
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You likely sheared the lugs off because you left WD-40 on your lugs and/or lug nuts before reinstallation. Nearly all vehicle torque specs are dry torque specs. A lubricant, even water, will make it very easy to overtorque the fastener past its yield strength and caused them to shear.

DO NOT LUBRICATE YOUR LUGS.
 
According to the Curandera believers WD40 is a bursitis cure..Spray a little bit on the affected area rub it in, and your good to go....:thumbup:or is it windex Hmmmm?:confused:
 
gallonoffuel said:
You likely sheared the lugs off because you left WD-40 on your lugs and/or lug nuts before reinstallation. Nearly all vehicle torque specs are dry torque specs. A lubricant, even water, will make it very easy to overtorque the fastener past its yield strength and caused them to shear.

DO NOT LUBRICATE YOUR LUGS.
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Very True.
 
Steel Talon said:
According to the Curandera believers WD40 is a bursitis cure..Spray a little bit on the affected area rub it in, and your good to go....:thumbup:or is it windex Hmmmm?:confused:
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If WD40 contains DMSO, then that's why. DMSO is very good at penetrating skin, and when rubbed into skin, it feels warm. Helps take some of the pain away.

Problem is, DMSO carries other chemicals quite well. One common summertime poisoning cause for the elderly is garden chemical OD, carried through the skin by DMSO applied for joint pain.
 
The 'WD' means 'water displacement.' WD40 is excellent for that, for example when you get your gun soaked in a rain storm or fall down in a creek or water hole. Otherwise, yes it does provide some lubrication but when it evaporates leaves a gummy residue which holds grit and grime. In other words, internal to a gun or other mechanism, it becomes a sort of mild grinding compound over time if left in moving parts. As a gunsmith, I always advise my customers that WD40 is fine for the exterior but DO NOT use it for the innards unless you need to 'rescue' a water soaked gun or whatever, then we'll clean it out later and replace it with some proper lube.
 
As a gunsmith and cutler, I have never found WD 40 to gum anything.
Even if it did gum up, why wouldn't more WD 40 dissolve the gumming?
 
I don't think it'll cause rust, but I have had carbon steel blades that were coated with it eventually rust after a year.

Imho, it more of a lubricant than a rust preventive. For that you'll want to use some silicone oil or firearms oil.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
As a gunsmith and cutler, I have never found WD 40 to gum anything.
Even if it did gum up, why wouldn't more WD 40 dissolve the gumming?
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I have one datum for WD40 gumming up a knife. I have a Schrade 8OT that was my go-to knife for work for a very long time. One particularly busy summer, it was just kept in the truck, lubed with WD40 weekly, and honed with a file.

By the end of the first month, the spey had no snap whatsoever in either direction. Enough WD had built a resin on the spring, and it was making poor contact. Half an hour cleaning it and oiling with good old Zoom-Lube opened it up again, but the WD was the only difference from normal.
 
I'm not sure how this relates to knives, but since we're on WD40 I'll post this as a FYI: I had a trunk lock on a car I bought that wouldn't operate with the key. Sprayed WD40 into the key hole and still wouldn't open. Did this a couple of times. Then I sprayed "Deep Creep" into the key hole and within about 10 seconds it freed it up and worked perfectly. Deep Creep is made by the Sea Foam company. On the can is printed "Multi-use penetrating lubricant & cleaner - powers through stuck parts - Dissolves rust, varnish, carbon". "100% pure petroleum".

Again, just a comparison to WD40 and FYI, not a recommendation for use on knives - although I have used it to flush out crud on some old and new knives.
 
jnich005 said:
Im glad there is someone else in the world that knows what wd40 is for. Its not a lubricant.
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WD-40 is a lubricant. The problem is it dries up very quickly, and removes any other lube on the metal, leaving the metal unprotected. Once dried up,
the metal is unprotected, and is susceptible to rust. Never use WD-40 on car locks it will dry out any remaining lube and dry up quickly,leaving the lock empty to fill with water, which then causes rust. That said WD-40 is good for removing rust , cleaning metal, and as a very temporary light lubricant.
 
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I've used WD-40 for a lot of things and will admit it has lots of uses although not always the best choice. The one thing I've found that it does better than anything is hand cleaning. When I get all greasy like only a '78 F-150 can do, spray some WD-40 in each hand, rub together, wipe off with a paper towel and repeat. All the grease is gone and my wife will let me in the house again to wash the WD-40 off my hands with soap and water.
 
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