Greetings Spotted-elk: Since you didn't indicate what type of knife and what type of steel you carry for your EDC, and whether your primary concern is lubrication, rust prevention, resistance to dust adhesion, smoothness of operation frequency/ease of application or all of the above, the following is a generic response and ONLY my personal opinion. My limited experience experimenting with different knife lubricants has not disclosed any one overall winner. Different locks, pivots, steels, metal finishes, blade retention designs and the environment in which the knife is used apparently benefit most from different lubricants, sometimes utilized on the SAME knife. I have had acceptable results by using a dry lube on the Axis lock bar and it's liner races to reduce the adhesion of foreign material in these open areas of the mechanism. A moisture displacing thin film lube on the Omega springs to prevents corrosion. A Teflon based medium viscosity liquid lube on the blade pivot to smooth overall opening and closing. Ball detents seem to benefit most from a teflon based light grease, especially when the blade contact area is not smooth steel. Wide tolerances in friction areas get thick lube ~ narrow tolerances get thin lube. Sebenza bushings and washers use thin teflon grease. IKBS pivots come packed in a medium weight petroleum based grease. Benchmade uses their proprietary BlueLube. Specific lubricants for specific applications. Whatever you choose, there is no substitute for frequent maintenance. On the other hand many people have successfully maintained their knives using just mineral oil or whatever else was at hand. As Alberta Ed suggested, BreakFree is a good start. It apparently depends on your level of obsession. OldDude1
