Valeline as a pivot lube?

[Evil D]

Has anyone every tried this? I'm thinking not, it seems like I'm one of the only people here who prefers a grease in the pivot over a wet/dry lube. I was just smearing up my 52100 with some because I figured it would be good for food safe rust prevention (and it seems to last on the blade longer than mineral oil) so I figured why not try some in the pivot too? So I took it apart and cleaned out all the bearing grease I had in there and slathered it up with some vaseline.

Right off I can tell you that the action is ridiculously smooth and pretty similar to the bearing grease, so I have high hopes. I don't really have a reason to use it in the pivot over my bearing grease but it seemed like a fun experiment. I know vaseline isn't any good for high speed/high heat bearings as it has a melting point of just above a person's body heat, but for knife pivots and/or pivot bearings that don't see the speed nor heat of something like a bicycle bearing, I don't see why it wouldn't work. I guess we'll see.

[anagarika]

David,

I do. After reading some older posts here, I went & buy & tried it. It's very smooth & better to protect non stainless blade, as you said it lasts longer. Also food safe from discussion over BF (by David/OWE).
The feeling is different though, vaseline is velvety compared to WD40 or mineral oil being silky.

[tvenuto]

Sooo many jokes....must resist!

[bearfacedkiller]

I would just wonder if it would attract and build up dirt and dust over time. I think that is the main reason I lean towards oils over greases. I would imagine that it would make a smooth and buttery action though.

[Evil D]

Sooo many jokes....must resist!

Ha! You know what's funny is I didn't think twice about the title, but if I were posting this on other forums I'd have definitely thought twice lol.

[SpyderNut]

I haven't tried Vaseline as a pivot lube, but theoretically, it should work well like you said. My only concern would be whether it attracts more dirt/grime?

It'll be interesting to see how this works.

[Evil D]

I would just wonder if it would attract and build up dirt and dust over time. I think that is the main reason I lean towards oils over greases. I would imagine that it would make a smooth and buttery action though.

Dust tends to collect around the outside edge of the washers and doesn't really get into the pivot itself. The thicker viscosity of grease is better at acting as a barrier than oil. It's also far better at keeping out water. Literally the only down side I've found with using a grease over oil is that when the pivot really does need washed out, you really do need to take it apart and clean off all the contaminated grease and reapply, whereas oils can typically be washed out. Although, this also means your oil can be washed out unintentionally while grease is better at sticking where you put it.

[Doc Dan]

I have said many times that I use vaseline on all of my knives that will contact food. I used to use mineral oil, but vaseline stays better. I also coat lightly my carbon steel blades with it and this has stopped spotting, which I used to get with mineral oil from time to time. Vaseline is mineral oil and paraffin, basically. It makes my pivots smooth as butter. However, it does not last as long as some modern synthetics do. But, who cares? It does well enough and is food safe.

[Lonehunter]

On a side note, I used to work for a safe manufactor , we used it to lube the hinge pins.

[anagarika]

I have said many times that I use vaseline on all of my knives that will contact food. I used to use mineral oil, but vaseline stays better. I also coat lightly my carbon steel blades with it and this has stopped spotting, which I used to get with mineral oil from time to time. Vaseline is mineral oil and paraffin, basically. It makes my pivots smooth as butter. However, it does not last as long as some modern synthetics do. But, who cares? It does well enough and is food safe.

If I remember correctly, your older thread on the subject was the one intrigued me to try for stopping pits on my M4.

[mb1]

Sooo many jokes....must resist!

Lol! Great minds...

[mb1]

Does anyone use Balistol on pivots? I believe I've read it's food safe. I know it's a little less "lubey." Just curious since I use it on my guns. But even if it's food safe, I wouldn't want to eat it after stinking up the house cleaning pistols.

[Evil D]

On a side note, I used to work for a safe manufactor , we used it to lube the hinge pins.

I was reading that Porsche recommend it for all sorts of things from conditioning door seals to keeping anodized rims from oxidizing.

[bearfacedkiller]

Petroleum jelly is wax and mineral oil. Rubbing wax on carbon steel blades to protect them is an old timer trick that goes back way before my time and may be a practice that is largely forgotten now. I remember my grandfather putting wax on his stockmen blades when I was little. People also either make or buy products for treating cutting boards which is just a blend of beeswax and mineral oil. You can buy it online. It is amazing as a wood conditioner and I know of a few people who use the beeswax/mineral oil blend to protect their carbon steel blades. I wonder if that beeswax/mineral oil blend would work as a pivot lube as well as a protectant since it is essentially Vaseline made with beeswax?

[Cor]

Hi All,

I remember a discussion on a local knife maker's Facebook page where protecting fluids and the like were discussed, some of the conclusion from other knife makers included;

Vaseline is one of the best mediums to use to protect blades because it does not react to other materials. So makes sense to use as a lubricant? Also interesting (to me at least) was creating a patina using vinegar. I used it on an opinel I use mainly for food prep and it worked out very well.

Regarding balistol or other products in the firearm industry; one thing to keep in mind.. Through the years, firearm cleaning procedures have gone downhill over the years. A couple of years ago, fluids were a bit thicker to better coat the bore. People became more lazy so today many of these cleaning fluids are designed that in an event that the firearm is discharged with some cleaning fluid still in the bore, it does not do too much damage. The downside to this is that fluids evaporate and generally tend to not last too long. So grease is still king for long term storage. So with that in mind, I would think vaseline would be a better option. For knives I use mostly for food prep I also use a light coating of olive oil (don't judge too much). But these knives I use often so its only short storage for periods between use. These knives also have a patina from leaving in clean vinegar to help with rust prevention.

Cheers,
Cor

[MacLaren]

This thread makes me think that the lube Robert Burke, The Sig Armorer gave to me would be good....

[Bloke]

Petroleum jelly is wax and mineral oil. Rubbing wax on carbon steel blades to protect them is an old timer trick that goes back way before my time and may be a practice that is largely forgotten now. I remember my grandfather putting wax on his stockmen blades when I was little. People also either make or buy products for treating cutting boards which is just a blend of beeswax and mineral oil. You can buy it online. It is amazing as a wood conditioner and I know of a few people who use the beeswax/mineral oil blend to protect their carbon steel blades. I wonder if that beeswax/mineral oil blend would work as a pivot lube as well as a protectant since it is essentially Vaseline made with beeswax?

I don't know how well beeswax would lube a hinge particularly in cold weather. :)

I make a few brews! Beeswax and mineral oil is great for cutting boards! My favorite brew is equal parts of beeswax, linseed oil and gum spirit. It makes a lovely paste that works to protect carbon steel, wood and leather. It works great on my GB hatchet and leather mask and carbon steel bushcraft knives and leather sheaths.

[Doc Dan]

Yeah, in cold weather the beeswax would be very stiff. That does bring up a thought. In Canada and Alaska the temperatures can reach -60 F and -30 F is common. I wonder how well Vaseline would hold up in those conditions? I think I will go put some in the freezer and get back to you.

[bengaiser]

Rubbing wax on carbon steel blades to protect them is an old timer trick that goes back way before my time and may be a practice that is largely forgotten now.

I think basically every museum and preservationist does this, though I won't dispute that the knowledge may have disappeared some from the general populace. Sad that so many things in our society are disposable now.

[Doc Dan]

I lubed up my Cat with vaseline and put it in the freezer at 6 F for 4 1/2 hours. It was still smooth when it came out. So, Vaseline will still work at temperatures at least that cold on pivots.