Noob questions (3)

[OolongRasta]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

1. I like Nano Oil. One tube will last several lifetimes, and the needle applicator is perfect for precision. Also, I really like CRK fluorinated grease, available from CRK directly I believe.

2. I use mineral oil, or Frog Lube for blade protection/rust prevention. Both are food safe.

3. I have found that WD-40 cleans off the most stubborn tape residue. Spray the blade down good, let soak for a minute or so, and wipe off.

Thanks! That frog lube looks really interesting-much appreciated!

[OolongRasta]

Welcome to the forum!

1. I like Knife Pivot Lube (KPL). You can find it at online retailers (I buy it from DLT).

2. If you aren't cutting food, I recommend Tuf-Glide. Get the cloth applicator, rather than the bottle, and just wipe the blade down every now and then. If you are cutting food, then mineral oil is my first choice, but mostly because I have a bottle of it in the kitchen for our countertops (soapstone). The only non-stainless kitchen knives I have, I just tend to let patina.

3. I'll second WD-40. Works great for me.

Appreciated! Thank you

[OolongRasta]

I no longer use oils for my pivots. I found vaseline works the best for me.

I second that. Plus, the paraffin combined with mineral oil in it protects the metal very, very well, and is food safe. It is good all around stuff.

Welcome to the forum! I use g96 gun treatment to remove the toughest of tape residue. Its a lube also so can spray the pivot too. Not food friendly though

Great info! I would have never known that:thank you!

[BangBang77]

I use Quantum Hot Sauce grease and oil to lube / protect knives. I like the grease for the pivots and the oil for the blades.

It was designed for high speed fishing reels. As such, it also goes into all of my Shimano reels and Lamson fly reels. I bought it years ago when I started tearing into reels and rebuilding them. Good stuff.

[OolongRasta]

1. what knife lubes are suggested?

Mineral oil. Cheap, can be purchased at any grocery store or drug store, and it is food safe.

2. my most recent purchase is an m4 steel, so what suggested oil would you use if you were living on the west coast near the ocean?

I've heard good things about sentry solutions tuf glide. Personally I just carry a rust proof knife, since that's much less hassle than fighting rust.

3. I’ve noticed box tape adhesives LOVE S45 and BD1N and seem impervious to rubbing alcohol? Suggestions to clean?

If you can just use the very tip to cut tape on boxes it makes this a non-issue. Otherwise a mineral oil soaked rag wipes it off quite easily in my experience.

Thanks for the info : mineral oil seems to be the winner here based on all the replies! Yeah if I wasn’t a newbie I may have rethought the M4 purchase, I wasn’t really aware of the issues with it in a coastal environment until I read in separate insert that spyderco put in the box then did some more research.
Good point on the top cutting, not as satisfying admittedly but worth the cleaning trade off! Cheers!

[OolongRasta]

Gunny Glide is a new pivot lube that uses graphene and has some really impressive results. REC (rivers edge cutlery) and Omaha knives have had it in stock recently.

I’ve used nano oil, kpl and militec in the past and this gunny glide blew them out of the water.

Thanks!
For adhesive removal I use goo gone. It works quick.

[SpyderNut]

Welcome!

Agree with the others’ suggestions. Just wanted to add that FP-10 is my go-to lube for knives and firearms. It likely isn’t food-grade safe, but it might be worth a try on the pivots, etc. (FWIW, I’ve inadvertently tasted it a few times and it hasn’t done any harm).

[aaronkb]

I like kpl, but I haven’t had a chance to try a new one called gunny glide and everyone says it’s way better.

Get more concentrated alcohol, like 99%

[Doc Dan]

Another thing about Vaseline besides slicking up the action is that once you put it on a blade like M4 or K390, it sort of like soaks in. It really doesn't, but it acts like it. It puts a waxy film on the blade and you can wipe off all of the excess till you can't see it and it will be there protecting the blade, still.

[aaronkb]

Another thing about Vaseline besides slicking up the action is that once you put it on a blade like M4 or K390, it sort of like soaks in. It really doesn't, but it acts like it. It puts a waxy film on the blade and you can wipe off all of the excess till you can't see it and it will be there protecting the blade, still.

Like Mufasa

[Airlsee]

Since it hasn't been mentioned here yet, Nasal Sebum (the oil on your nose) will remove adhesive from blades with a quick rub.

I use fishing reel oil for the pivots and either mineral oil or frog lube (which will also remove adhesives) for corrosion protection.

M4 is my most owned blade steel and I have never had corrosion become a problem as long as you don't neglect it.

[chronovore]

I've disassembled, cleaned, and maintained a lot of knives over the years. It's usually the first thing I do with a new knife. After cleaning with alcohol, metal surfaces get a very light coat of mineral oil. I use the regular non-toxic mineral oil that's available at most pharmacies. The exception is moving parts or surfaces that rub. I don't like the texture for this so I leave those spaces for better lubrication.

I use Lubriplate FMO 350-AW for both gun and knife actions. It was designed for kitchen and food-prep machinery. It is non-toxic, works well, and costs a tiny fraction of what you'll pay for specialty lubes like KPL. You can get it in reasonably sized containers from Lubrikit:

https://lubrikit.com/store/index.php?ro ... duct_id=54

As far as removing tape gunk left from cutting boxes, neither oil nor alcohol are all that great. I don't love WD-40 either. I've found that Zippo fluid or Ronsonol lighter fluid work wonders. I squirt a little on either a cloth or cotton ball. I put it over the gunk for just a few seconds and then wipe away.

[Airlsee]

Nevermind : question answered.

[kodai78]

Rubbing alcohol is terrible for tape residue, acetone works and my wife keeps it around to remove nail polish. Mineral oil for knives used for food prep, White Lightning chain lube for pivots and surfaces needing protection from rusting, tuff cloth works too.

[me2]

I don’t live or oil my knives as I live in SC. The best I’ve seen for getting tape and cardboard residue off is mineral spirits.

[waylander]

I’m not a knife noob but a noob to this forum. I can’t offer much advice beyond the excellent advice that has already been posted. Except I’ve had good results with 3-in-1 oil for both pivot lube and rust protection.

The video below was a very valuable experiment to me. It makes a good case for using 3-in-1 oil for corrosion protection. The guy who filmed the video is a knife maker and he coated a bunch of 1095 knife blanks with various coatings and oils and left them outside for a few weeks where they were rained on occasionally.

I didn’t expect RemOil to do that well and that’s what he also found. I expected WD-40 to do a little better in his tests just as a pure water repellent. I was also surprised that mineral oil didn’t do that well.

Furthermore, I was also surprised how well 3-in-1 oil performed. If you want to skip to the end results, they start at about the 15 minute mark.

https://youtu.be/O7ZThs1y8xs

Also, Goo Gone works good for removing some adhesive films.

[Woodpuppy]

Welcome aboard! M4 is a fantastic steel; it does corrode though. Mine has some pits and some patina, makes it “mine”. I like mineral oil since I have it on hand for maintaining cutting boards and I use my knives to eat in the field- cut slices of cheese, fruit, etc.

Avon skin so soft, acetone (and prob MEK), and denatured alcohol make quick work of tape stickum.