Lubes

[RLDubbya]

Minds out of gutter, please - ok, thank you.

I know lubes have been discussed. I wanted to revisit based on some stuff I've been looking into at an empirical level, and get some feedback and ideas.

A good buddy of mine started off using FrogLube, but found that went rancid (or something) after a couple months. Basically, his dogs started to follow him closely and, ermmm...found his leg that had the knife in the pocket well, attractive. He stopped using the Frog Stuff, and investigated a bit, and discovered others reported similar problems. So he quit using it.

He switched over to EEZ0X Knife Care. He's been using it as a cleaner and protectant on the blades, per label directions. Basically, you wipe it on thick, let it sit for eight hours, wipe of any excess; then repeat. You can also lube your pivot with it. He was doing so, and he raved to me about how smooth the action was; he'd put the EEZ0X on the pivot, and immediately felt a huge difference, and it was better than frog's lube was when it was still wet.

He urged me to switch; I respect his work as a bladesmith, and he is going to be a heck of a knifemaker some day, so I switched.

I used it on all my knives for a while. I noticed a few things. Blade cleaning: I always followed this procedure: I washed a knife down in Simple Green, rinsed in water, dried with compressed air quickly, and then hung the opened blade in front of the fan for a couple hours to completely dry. Once completely dry, I would start with the blade, and I played around with the amount I rubbed on. If I used a very thin coat, I could it getting absorbed, which fascinates me - I need to understand what is taking place. Anyhow, I finally got to the point of applying a decently heavy coat, waiting 8 hours, and sometimes there would be excess, sometimes not. If there was, I'd wipe it off, but then I would recoat the blade.

I would then lube the pivot. I'd try to keep my use of the lube light, and not drown the pivot. I would find key places to place a drop or two, and then I would work the blade quite a bit. I could clearly feel when the lube hit the pivot, blade freedom really increased greatly. I would check pivot tightness, blade alignment, status of loctite on pivot screws, blade play. Finally, I would wipe off excess from any spots, and then let the knife dry overnight.

The following day, I would wipe off any excess, and then play. I noticed a couple things: first, there sure wasn't much to wipe off. Second, the pivot freedom, while better than before, was not as good as it was the preceding night. This indicated to me that the lube was more effective when wet, and that when it got absorbed, the friction reducing properties changed.

Information on the manufacturer website is sparse, but all it talks about is how the lube continues to work - better and better - as it dries. This was not what I was seeing.

*How I tested & what I tested*

One time only: check status of pivot on K2. Make sure that screws are loctited in place, using 243 Loctite. Check/fix blade play. Check / fix centering.
Clean K2 & Slysz Bowie with simple green, hot water, and dry thoroughly.
Apply one coat of EEZ0X to blade, and to handles of K2 and Slysz; wait 24 hours.
Apply second coat of EEZ0X to blade, apply lube to pivot. Use up to 4 drops of lube. The K2 would get the lube designated as new; the Slysz Bowie would get EEZ0X on the pivot. Play a lot with K2 blade to work new lube through the pivot completely.
Wait 24 hours.
*Test by feel. Basically moving the blade around a lot, does the K2 seem better / worse / same with new lube?*

Use K2 for a few days, and see how the new lube fares.

Lubes Tested
EEZ0X
BenchMade Blue
Hoppe's 9
Coda Extreme White Lithium Grease
Mobile One Synthetic
TriFLow

Test Results: New Lube Choice

In short, BenchMade Blue gives me consistently the best results after it dries. A couple properties: this is a light oil; I think it might be lighter than EEZ0X; definitely lighter than Hoppes. When lubing the pivot, I can basically aim the nozzle to where the pivot screws are, but just get the lube on the knife liner, between liner and blade, and then hold knife for a minute in a position for the oil to run down into the pivot area. It does, and will often run through the pivot and onto the blade.

The blue color makes it easy to know that I'm seeing this new lube, and not the old.

The lube is so light that again, if I get it on the liner, let gravity guide it down, it will flow into the detent on its own.

Items marked with * : need ideas for some kind of measurement tool.

[jmh58]

Quick-Release is what I have been using for the past 3-4yrs.. John

[Evil D]

I've been using a light weight bicycle oriented bearing grease, and for the last few months I've used nothing but good old Vaseline. Super cheap, works, keeps rust at bay, it's food safe in the amounts I use it in and my pivots are silky smooth.

[tonijedi]

The first and only time I needed to lube a pivot I searched my house for what I could find and I found a 60 cent (of euro) oil. "Multi porpuse" it says but as i recall it's used to lube sewing machines. It works just fine, the pivot is nicely smooth and I can open my Delica with a flick of the wrist. That was about 2 months ago on my most used Delica. I had to wash it with soap and hot water hence the need for lube.

[ZrowsN1s]

These are pretty handy. The needle fits through the pocket clip holes near the pivot on most spydies that have a 4 way clip.

[Archimedes]

Ballistol my favorite, but stinks seriously terrible. I have grown to like the smell. lol Good old CLP BreakFree. Or any number of random bottles of gun or bike lube laying around.

[holeshot]

I'm down with the Blue Lube. :)

[RocketJ]

I use Break Free CLP or Dawn/hot water and a soft scrub brush to clean and degrease. The Dawn detergent works like a charm to remove any dirt and grease prior to dyeing if you're inclined to change colors. For lube, I really like Otis Technology Dry Lube. Smooth action, no dust and lint attraction, and seems to last a king time. I lightly wipe the blade and metal parts as well to prevent rust and corrosion.

I suspect that most of the lubes on the market and those that will be discussed here will all work fine....the fact that we're making an attempt to protect and maintain knives, tools firearms, etc. is a huge part of it. The above is just what I've come to prefer over the years.

[Midnightrider]

Yeah like John said. Try breakfree. Works on .45s, great for knife pivots or any metal to metal sliding moving parts.

[gmhauy]

I have been using Tuf Glide on my pivots for years, easy to apply, no residue, works well. Only the smell is terrible but disappears after one or two days.
I don't lube my blades, just a good cleaning with soapy water or alcohol when needed, followed by a thorough drying. Never had any problem with any blade (1095, VG10, S30V, 154CM etc.).

[bearfacedkiller]

For those who use there knives for impromptu food prep the choices get slim. Is mineral oil the ideal lube? No. Does it work well enough? Sure. Will it kill me or make me sick? Not as far as we know. Is it dirt cheap? Yup. Do I already have a huge bottle lying around? Yes.

I am not talking anybody into using it but this is why I do. :)

Thanks for sharing your observations. :)

[JD Spydo]

Ballistol my favorite, but stinks seriously terrible. I have grown to like the smell. lol Good old CLP BreakFree. Or any number of random bottles of gun or bike lube laying around.

I too find BALLISTOL to be not only a great product for general lubrication jobs but to also be a great cleaner and a great restoring product as well. Nothing brings G-10 back to life like BALLISTOL does. Archimedes is right it does have a really rude petroleum smell to it which takes a while to dissipate. But as far as removing any kind of residue or build up on knife blades it works like a charm. I also find Isopropyl, rubbing alchohol to work great for removing tape residue and other sticky stuff that builds up on blades as well.

For my overall favorite lube product I still like MILITEC for folding knives and several other mechanical applications as well. MILITEC also has a synthetic grease that is really good as well. I also find EEZOX to be great on many firearm applications as well as on some high end fishing reels too.

One other product I would like to give honorable mention to is a solvent that breaks free rusted bolts and nuts on mechanical jobs. I'm speaking of a ZEP product which is primarily a nut & bolt breaker>> it will free up any rusted or corroded part like nothing else I've ever used.

[Midnightrider]

For those who use there knives for impromptu food prep the choices get slim. Is mineral oil the ideal lube? No. Does it work well enough? Sure. Will it kill me or make me sick? Not as far as we know. Is it dirt cheap? Yup. Do I already have a huge bottle lying around? Yes.

I am not talking anybody into using it but this is why I do. :)

This is what I did up until yesterday when I got my Pacific salt.. H1 FTW! :D soap and water is all ya need.

[Bloke]

I use Eezox on anything that's likely to rust but it isn't much of a lubricant.

I use Nycolube 127 on anything that's likely to rust but has moving parts that need lubricating.

Both these products have served me exceptionally well over the years and I've managed to keep rust at bay in a temperate coastal climate.

Shimano reel grease rates a mention also. I've only recently started using it on the handle and main shafts of a couple of new Shimano spinning reels and it works much better than the teflon grease I used for years on my old reels. :)

[Archimedes]

Ballistol my favorite, but stinks seriously terrible. I have grown to like the smell. lol Good old CLP BreakFree. Or any number of random bottles of gun or bike lube laying around.

I too find BALLISTOL to be not only a great product for general lubrication jobs but to also be a great cleaner and a great restoring product as well. Nothing brings G-10 back to life like BALLISTOL does. Archimedes is right it does have a really rude petroleum smell to it which takes a while to dissipate. But as far as removing any kind of residue or build up on knife blades it works like a charm. I also find Isopropyl, rubbing alchohol to work great for removing tape residue and other sticky stuff that builds up on blades as well.

For my overall favorite lube product I still like MILITEC for folding knives and several other mechanical applications as well. MILITEC also has a synthetic grease that is really good as well. I also find EEZOX to be great on many firearm applications as well as on some high end fishing reels too.

One other product I would like to give honorable mention to is a solvent that breaks free rusted bolts and nuts on mechanical jobs. I'm speaking of a ZEP product which is primarily a nut & bolt breaker>> it will free up any rusted or corroded part like nothing else I've ever used.

JD! how are you? Great minds think alike. The Ballistol really is a great oil. It also works well on firearms and leather. It is kind of a miracle oil if you ask me. I once read that RJ Martin of knife maker fame tested a bunch of oils for corrosion resistance and he mentioned Ballistol as one of the best he had found. Also like you said, cleans up G10 like a miracle. Makes those old faded handles look new again.

[MacLaren]

Ive used many good lubes.
Ballistol, Slip2000 products, Weapon Shield, M-Pro7, TW25B, Super Lube, Hoppes Elite, etc...
Ballistol, Imo, cleans up carbon really well. Very pungent odor though, as mentioned before.
As far as protection from high heat (fire arms) I really haven't seen anything come close to Weapon Shield.
But, as far as getting a bore clean and general protection, I'd say Slip2000 just ever so slightly ahead of Weapon Shield and M-Pro7. It took a good many a patches to get the bore clean with Ballistol. Nothing against Ballistol though! I love how it cleans carbon and powder residue off of a pistol. And Ballistol is good for a lot of things besides fire arms cleaning. Good stuff Ballistol.
Slip2000 gun cleaner and degreaser is very impressive in the amount of time it takes to get a bore clean. As is Weapon Shield and M-Pro7. And all 3 are excellent at reducing wear. Especially Weapon Shield.
Thats just my 2 pennies.

[JRinFL]

Basically what MacLaren said. ^
Add me to the Ballistol users list. Great stuff, except for the smell.
Checkout FinishLine Extreme Fluoro grease as well. It did wonders on a Manix lightweight that was "draggy" when opening.

[cabfrank]

Ballistol for me too, although I haven't tried many. It smells funky, but not horrible to me, and it really works! It's food safe, and it can used on almost everything.

[abbazaba]

Thanks for the testing. I'll have to try Blue Lube.

For the most part I like to run dry and avoid lube, but there is no denying that lube can make a big difference sometimes. I use Nano-Oil Nanolube, and sometimes Finish Line Extreme Fluoro Grease depending on the application.

[D-Roc]

Plain old food safe mineral oil here...always just clean with dish soap. Not the highest tech, but the safest for any food prep.