Spyderco Forums

So I have the ambitious and tenacious. Unlike the delicas/enduras and my para3, both the "budget" knives sometimes squeak when opening them. I oiled the tenacious with a drop of 3-in-1 light household oil. Think this'll help?


Also, are there oils I should avoid using because they might hurt the g10 scales, or -- on the endura/delicas the frn?
lonerider

It's probably not the pivot itself that's squeaking, but rather the detent ball dragging on the tang. You'll have more success if you take the knife apart, clean everything and relubricate between the tang, washers and liners, and also along the detent track if you want to get rid of the chatter.

Lately I've been using Breakthrough HP100 knife oil, but I've also used sewing machine oil without any problems.

I personally use 10w nano oil but any of your standards will be fine- just be cautious of the food if using a non food safe oil

One of G10's qualities is that it's very resistant to most chemicals so it's pretty unlikely that any oil will effect it. 3-N-1 is fine if that's what you have on hand but avoid getting it on the blade if you ever cut up food. There are certainly "better" lubes like Nano oil but for the price it's kind of a diminishing returns kind of deal but they do go a long way so at least they'll last a while. Personally I use Phil Wood bearing grease on all my pivots and detent balls.

Thanks!

I would loosen the pivot, make some warm soapy water and swish it around in there, maybe use a brush to clean it nice. I wouldn't disassemble as it's not needed in most cases and I don't know your skill level with assembly. There are lots of good lubes available. Plain old mineral oil works well and is food safe. I also like tufglide- a dry lube that dries non-toxic, for about $9 on Amazon you can get enough to last a decade+. The needle tip lets you be very precise and is great for hitting the ball detents of liner locks. Lube sparingly with wet lubricants as they attract gunk.

My Ambitious was stiff, felt gritty. Opened it up. There was grit in there. Cleaned, drop of 3in1, good to go. I doubt the grit was from carrying or use since the knife felt that way right away but I didn’t clean it immediately because I wasn’t comfortable disassembling it at that time. I prefer my Chap,and Native 5, to the Ambitious just because of the feel, fit and finish and I passed my Tenacious on for basically the same reason. I guess I’m a knife snob, but the value line knives have very little appeal to me. I will likely try a Polestar or Alcyone sometime but I don’t expect to be blown away. However I like my Clipitool Standard and think the design fit and finish are quite good.

Another fun trick is to put some oil in the pivot. I usually use WD-40 or similar. Then I blow out the pivot area with an air compressor and blow gun attachment. I usually cover the knife with a rag so I don't get sprayed with oil and debris. I use that trick on pinned spydercos and traditional knives. Then you clean it up and hit it with air a few more times. After that I'll oil the pivot. I also do this with knives I've EDCed awhile and don't want to take apart.