What Lube for Bearings on the ZT 0561

BellaBlades

BellaBlades

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Hi guys. To maintain my ZT 0561, I only took apart to adjust upon arrival, I used the following lube. For the bearing I put on just the slightest amount of white lithium grease. And then lightly coated them and every other part in rem oil. This has worked wonderfully. Super smooth still and no build up of gunk even after getting it sandy doing a septic system.

HOWEVER, what do you use for the bearings that you know would last longer and keep them just as smooth. Any thoughts cuz im always up for the best of the best..
Thank you
 
I only have one knife with bearings, my Quartermaster Murdock, and I just some mineral oil on it. Super smooth action, and with a zip tie added for a pseudo stud it rockets open. I would stick with lighter lubrication instead of stuff like lithium grease. While it adheres better it also easily gets gummy in my experience, and is quite hard to remove.

All you really need for mineral oil is to add a drop bimonthly or weekly, and take it apart for cleaning at least every other month.
 
For bearings, I would suggest an oil that is more geared towards cleanliness than lubrication. From a theoretical physics standpoint, there should ideally be zero lubrication, zero surface roughness, and a high friction coefficient between the perfectly smooth bearing and the perfectly smooth race. Lubrication allows two materials to slip when in contact...this is not what you want with bearings. Bearings should ROLL, not SLIP.

When taking the concept from theoretical physics to engineering dynamics, we see that there is, in fact, surface roughness on both the bearing and the race. This causes imperfect rolling conditions, which leads to microscopic wear on one (or both) surfaces. This is where the oil comes in. Oil will suspend these worn particles, and help convey them away from the contact surface.

The important thing is that lubrication reduces the coefficient of friction, which is not beneficial for bearings. This will cause them to slide when they should roll, and will actually increase the wear rate of the system. Increased lubricity may seem very good at first, but is certainly not ideal for long term usage of bearings.
 
Thanks DK,BP and Tef. Yeah guys, from what I gather. It seems that a little rem oil. which I then clean out with a q tip seems to be the best option. That is probably the reason I practically had it buried in sand and nothing stuck in there.

Thanks for the heads up. I will stay away from the white lithium, That stuff is just plain sticky.

I will continue to use my rem oil drop bottle which has always been a great. And perhaps upgrade to the nano oil. I have not had any experience with that. But my trial and error has had me stick with rem for the past few years. I will just do my usual bi weekly drop on each side with a clean up. Unless otherwise directed.

I sure am impressed at how smooth you can keep this ZT with having absolutely no blade play. They really nailed that bearing design.

Bpeezer you spelt out every idea that I was thinking. Thank you
 
I've been using Slip2000 EWL on all my guns and knives including knives with ball bearing pivots and I like it better then any of the other lubes I've tried previously. Its odor free, colorless, non toxic, plastic safe, and doesn't seem to attract dirt like a lot of other oils. For ball bearing pivots I use a tiny bit on my finger and work it into the bearings and blade tang then wipe off the excess and reassemble. Its definitely overkill for a knife pivot but It works really well and I like that its non toxic and doesn't stink.
 
bpeezer said:
For bearings, I would suggest an oil that is more geared towards cleanliness than lubrication. From a theoretical physics standpoint, there should ideally be zero lubrication, zero surface roughness, and a high friction coefficient between the perfectly smooth bearing and the perfectly smooth race. Lubrication allows two materials to slip when in contact...this is not what you want with bearings. Bearings should ROLL, not SLIP.

When taking the concept from theoretical physics to engineering dynamics, we see that there is, in fact, surface roughness on both the bearing and the race. This causes imperfect rolling conditions, which leads to microscopic wear on one (or both) surfaces. This is where the oil comes in. Oil will suspend these worn particles, and help convey them away from the contact surface.

The important thing is that lubrication reduces the coefficient of friction, which is not beneficial for bearings. This will cause them to slide when they should roll, and will actually increase the wear rate of the system. Increased lubricity may seem very good at first, but is certainly not ideal for long term usage of bearings.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure theoretical physics does not deal with surface friction, that is covered in the first semester of general physics in college. Theoretical physics has bigger things to deal with, for example unifying theories, and various aspects of cosmology.

@ OP, I use finish line flourinated paste, basically same stuff that Chris Reeve uses with the Sebenza, and it works fine. I used it so far on Spyderco Southard , ZT 560, Military, Paramilitary 2, Manix, even endura 4 and all seem to work very well with the stuff.
 
mainaman said:
Pretty sure theoretical physics does not deal with surface friction, that is covered in the first semester of general physics in college. Theoretical physics has bigger things to deal with, for example unifying theories, and various aspects of cosmology.

@ OP, I use finish line flourinated paste, basically same stuff that Chris Reeve uses with the Sebenza, and it works fine. I used it so far on Spyderco Southard , ZT 560, Military, Paramilitary 2, Manix, even endura 4 and all seem to work very well with the stuff.
Click to expand...

I apologize for the confusion, when I said theoretical physics I didn't mean it in the academic sense. I meant "theoretically, from a physics standpoint". I intended it as a way to describe a concept that can't truly exist, but can be easily explained and understood in a way that augments our understanding of a similar real-world application. I am aware of the scope of theoretical physics, and I hope that my blatant misuse of the term didn't offend you in any serious way.
 
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