Don't underestimate the importance of keeping your knife oiled.

[sbaker345]

Decided to see if I could strip the oil off a couple knives to make sure there was no hidden dirt and to try another oil.... I definitely underestimated the metal on metal friction knives have :eek: The liner lock on my millie seized on the steel and required several times the usual force to disengage it, it also nearly took 2 hands to open the first time, though there was oil hidden under the washers that seeped out and made it slightly smoother. The manix 2 lock almost cannot be disengaged without oil, and makes a lovely grinding sound. I know some guys say they run their knives dry because of dust, but I suspect dry must not be truly dry.

[dubya3]

I'm in Minnesota and don't have to worry about corrosion too much but I've always been diligent with oiling my knives. I rarely oil the pivot/tang though, it's usually just the blade and edge and I use a high quality gun oil since that's what I have on hand. What state are you in?

[The Deacon]

I know some guys say they run their knives dry because of dust, but I suspect dry must not be truly dry.

My lignum vitae Stretch is nearly 10 years old. Steve Rice may have lubed it when he built it but I've never used any kind of lubricant on it. Back when I was working and using it for food prep at lunch time, it got rinsed off with hot water more times than I can remember and washed more than a few times with hot water and dish detergent. Since then, not so much washing, but still no lube added. I suppose there's a one in a million chance that there's still a trace of lubricant remaining, or that some of the natural oils from the wood are seeping into the pivot, but I'm not sure how much dryer a knife could be run.

[SpidieGrizz]

This is a very good point for a number of reasons.

In addition to what you mentioned regarding the lock mechanism actuation, the non stainless blades like CPM-M4 and CPM-3V need a coating of oil on them at all times. They will rust very quickly if you do not keep a close eye on them. What I do is keep them coated with Breakfree CLP when they are sitting in my knife drawer and they I wipe it off if I decided to EDC it that day.

[VashHash]

For my M4 millie i use marine tuf cloth because it's hot and humid here most of the year. I took the knife apart and rubbed the whole blade with it. It has a little bit of patina and a few pits but only on the side that faces my leg. I usually put rem oil on the pivots of my spydercos. Just a little and wipe out the excess after. Usually the lockbacks are the ones i notice if i don't oil them enough. It's like night and day on my H1 SE spyderhawk. Deacon i guess you have a prime example of a good knife. I've never had any spydercos lock up from lack of oil but i notice the difference in action.

[bh49]

My lignum vitae Stretch is nearly 10 years old. Steve Rice may have lubed it when he built it but I've never used any kind of lubricant on it. Back when I was working and using it for food prep at lunch time, it got rinsed off with hot water more times than I can remember and washed more than a few times with hot water and dish detergent. Since then, not so much washing, but still no lube added. I suppose there's a one in a million chance that there's still a trace of lubricant remaining, or that some of the natural oils from the wood are seeping into the pivot, but I'm not sure how much dryer a knife could be run.

+1
I can say almost the same about my C83 Persian. It is 9 years in service. A lot of lunches and apples cut. After each used any of my knives getting cleaned. May be I drop a drop of oil on pivot few times. The same about Caly3.5, just less years. I certainly lubed Caly3 after it went through washer and drier. I never oil blades.

[RLR]

Yeah, I'm from a different camp on this one. I've taken apart a thousand knives. Some get a touch of white lithium grease before reassemble, others get totally dried off (esp with brass washers) and put back together. I use them, and probably don't lube much if ever. I think if you start to lube, continue, so particulate gets worked out. If you don't lube, no goo or gunk really accumulates much. Blow it out and carry on.

[Bodog]

I have a feeling that what may be true for one person may not be true for another with neither person being right or wrong. And what may be popularly believed may not be truly accurate. I also believe that there are people who have genuinely no idea what they're talking about but speak about something as if they've actually talking from genuine experience. And I believe some people speak from a position of extreme bias and will hound, bully, and insult those who speak against their beliefs. Lastly, there are those who are so obstinate that they will even refuse to acknowledge that a fair question has been asked and will divert and deflect to keep from answering your question.

To directly answer the OP'S question, if you need lube, use it. If you don't, then don't. I suspect some people don't use their knives anywhere close to what they say they do. Don't let another's findings dissuade you from what you know to be true after seeing it for yourself, but don't go pushing your own views as fact on someone else, either.

[Jeffmcmullen9807]

I'm 10 months in the Netherlands after a lifetime in Denver and have learned the hard way that I ought to keep mine well oiled. No issues regarding lock up etc but rust spots abound. Silica gel packets in every knife drawer along with generous amounts of oil on every blade is barely enough to keep rust at bay.

Jeff

[bearfacedkiller]

I don't use oil very often, just a little mineral oil once in a great while. I have knives that have broken in so nicely that they never need oil. I don't think you can get much smoother than two pieces of metal that have been polished together. If anything oil is gonna slow down that break-in/polishing process.

If it works for you then use it. I find some of my knives like a drop or two every now and again and some don't care so some get it and some don't.

[sbaker345]

I don't use oil very often, just a little mineral oil once in a great while. I have knives that have broken in so nicely that they never need oil. I don't think you can get much smoother than two pieces of metal that have been polished together. If anything oil is gonna slow down that break-in/polishing process.

If it works for you then use it. I find some of my knives like a drop or two every now and again and some don't care so some get it and some don't.

That is a good point actually, part of the reason my knives felt like grinded rocks together was the oil most likely prevented much break in wear.



Oil is a little more persistent than people think though, I've soaked the same Millie in hot water mixed with dawn, for 15 minutes, opening and closing, swishing it etc. rinsed it off, gave it a blast of brake cleaner, let it sit on in my hot car, took it back it, gave it another soak in dish soap and water too hot to the touch, gave it a good rinse off, and an hour in my car and enough oil was still in the knife to smooth it back out.

Recently I did the same soak in concentrated simple green for 1.5 hours, rinsed it off, still found oil under the washers.

That's not to say a knife that has been washed daily for years still has oil, but the stuff sticks around pretty well.

[jabba359]

I never used oil on my knives. Had a Delica that I carried every day for 7 years and never applied a drop of oil to it, despite having been washed many times

Then, a couple years ago, I decided to try out Nano Oil after hearing great things about it. I wanted to see if it made a difference. So I applied it to a knife, worked the action...and it seemed pretty much the same as before. However, now I had a bottle of oil I paid for and it wasn't hurting the knives at all, so I figured I might as well put my purchase to use and add a drop to all my pivots. I still can't tell if it's made any difference, so to me, oil isn't a necessity. I only do it because I spent the money on the oil, so I guess I'll use it.

[sbaker345]

This makes me wonder how many times a knife could be washed and retain lube, maybe send the millie through the wash with my pants each time?

[Evil D]

This subject likely depends as much on where you live and how you use your knife as anything else. I recently switched to bearing grease in my pivots and I couldn't be happier.

[JD Spydo]

For my M4 millie i use marine tuf cloth because it's hot and humid here most of the year. I took the knife apart and rubbed the whole blade with it. It has a little bit of patina and a few pits but only on the side that faces my leg. I usually put rem oil on the pivots of my spydercos. Just a little and wipe out the excess after. Usually the lockbacks are the ones i notice if i don't oil them enough. It's like night and day on my H1 SE spyderhawk. Deacon i guess you have a prime example of a good knife. I've never had any spydercos lock up from lack of oil but i notice the difference in action.

I agree with VASH concerning TUF CLOTH which is one of Sentry Solution's top notch products. Now I do have a lot of respect for all of their products especially their dry lube "BP 2000" which I've had excellent luck with using it on multi-tools especially.

But my top pick for lubricating all my folders is good old MILITEC>> it's been around for over a decade and I've yet had anyone show me anything better for folding knives. With all of the newer "nanotech" lubes and other synthetic lubes I'm sure that there is probably a product with more lubricity but I've yet to find it.

But TUF CLOTH is great for the corrosion resistance for many different tools and items I use. The TUF CLOTH seems to have a resistance to all kinds of moist and harsh environments.

[Kirko]

I have a feeling that what may be true for one person may not be true for another with neither person being right or wrong. And what may be popularly believed may not be truly accurate. I also believe that there are people who have genuinely no idea what they're talking about but speak about something as if they've actually talking from genuine experience. And I believe some people speak from a position of extreme bias and will hound, bully, and insult those who speak against their beliefs. Lastly, there are those who are so obstinate that they will even refuse to acknowledge that a fair question has been asked and will divert and deflect to keep from answering your question.

To directly answer the OP'S question, if you need lube, use it. If you don't, then don't. I suspect some people don't use their knives anywhere close to what they say they do. Don't let another's findings dissuade you from what you know to be true after seeing it for yourself, but don't go pushing your own views as fact on someone else, either.

You got that right !!!! I maybe put a drop of 3 in one oil every few months , Don't think it really needs it

[JD Spydo]

OH I respectfully disagree with you guys who don't think that folders need to be lubed for optimal performance. I can really tell the difference in my C-44 Dyad especially and on my Stainless RESCUE model that MILITEC makes it work like a dream.

I've also noticed a huge difference when using my C-46 Lum Tanto folder>> it gets rather hard to deploy if I don't put some Militec on it. Now I will admit that I've had a couple of FRN folders that didn't seem to ever need to be lubed>> one was the original ZDP-189 Caly Jr>> that model did well no matter what you did to it>> I can say the same about the FRN Cricket model I used to own.

But I do think that lubricating Folders has it's advanttages for sure.