What do you guys use to clean and lubricate your knives?

I've yet to pick up some Tuf-Glide for myself (and after reading a thread about how well it lasts, I'm not so sure I ever will. Options are sometimes a good thing.)

My go-to pivot lubricants over the last few years have been RemOil (available practically anywhere, it seems) and Quantum Hot Sauce (an oil designed for fishing reels.) The only real problem I've ever run into with either of the above is that, unlike Tuf-Glide, they aren't dry-film lubricants, meaning they are more apt to collect dust and pocket lint. I am a bit hesitant to use them on knives that will see food use as well, as such, a good number of my knives go without.

For protection on carbon blades, I just use mineral oil... and very rarely at that. Living a mere 4 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, I have never had a problem with rust.
 
Last edited:
I usually do nothing. But if I do, its no more than a blast of WD-40 on the pivot. The mineral spirits clean away the gunk and then evaporate, and the mineral oil hangs around as a light lube. Plus, it irritates the people who hate WD-40.
 
To clean a knife (Opinel not included)

Wash with warm soapy water. Open and close the knife several times while under the water.
Rinse with clean, cold water
Use air duster/compressed air to remove excess water
Let air dry, no lube needed for most (just my opinion)
 
WD-40 for cleaning. 3-in-1 for a light coating and lube on pivot.

For knives I plan to use on food, I just clean with soap and water and apply a thin coat of mineral oil.
 
My knives tend to get a lot of grit in them, so I will used compressed air to clean them out from time to time. I also use mineral (baby) oil if a knife starts to get rust.
 
A clean cloth (generally microfiber) for wiping down, compressed air for grit/dirt, and mineral oil for lubrication. I like to take my knives apart and wipe the pivot and washers down then apply/reapply mineral oil. Except for my Spyderco knives, because taking them apart is bad. For them I just stop oil into the pivot and work it in real well.
 
I use Shooter's Choice FP-10; does everything you want a knife lubricant to. You don't want to oil the screws, you want to make sure they don't back out.
 
On knives I touch food with, I use mineral oil (something I learned on the forum). For everything else, I use REM oil in mechanisms and a thicker gun oil on blades.
 
Singer all-purpose lubricating oil.

If the screws are high-carbon, then oiling them sounds like a good idea. Usually, I just keep stainless screws clean and free from moisture and cover them up with cloth tape.
 
Tuf glide marine. not only is it a great protectant and lube, it also cleans light rust.
 
I use a small amount of 3-in-1 oil for the pivot. To clean them I do the same as RevDevil: wash the knife in the sink with warm and soapy water, rinse, and take the knife to my garage and use my air compressor to blow out the excess water.
 
To clean the blade I just use a silicone treated cloth, and to lube the knife I use SLIP 2000 a thick gun lubricant oil.
 
Lithium grease for the pivot, silicon oil for the blade. Blue lok-tite on the screws that tend to back out on their own.
 
+1 for RemOil. I use that on all my knives, guns, and even used it on my fishing pliers earlier this year. They were at the bottom of my tacklebox and the pivot had corroded so bad i couldnt open it. After a heavy application of RemOil, there like brand new.
 
I blue Loctite screws. Lube is 3:1, Hoppe's or Mobil 1. Same as my guns. Yes, I do use my blades occasionally with food using the same lubes. I just wipe the blade dry with a bandana or pant leg.
 
I clean with either Blue Lube Cleaner or lighter fluid.

The pivots get either TufGlide or Blue Lube and the blade gets a wipe-down with a ToughCloth.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top