I’ve used Ballistol for a while now and it seems to work very well. I actually used it with a match cut to a chisel tip to clean some accumulated crud at the hilt of my Sprig the other day. :)
BLOKE I've used soft to medium bristle toothbrushes with Ballistol to clean intricate grooves on G-10 handles and it has worked fine for me. Explain further why that would not work for what you are doing. Maybe I could learn something.
Hey Joe, no particular reason I didn’t use a toothbrush. Matches were handy is all and the scales were clean other than a little crud (maybe dry fish blood) where the blade and scales meet just back from the riccaso (Hilt?). :)
Edited to add: Not sure if it’s a good thing or not but, I give new G10 scaled knives a good wash with Ballistol before I use them particularly fixed blades that see blood, saltwater etc. thinking it may form a bit of a barrier and stop any liquids getting between scales and blade. :rolleyes:
Oh that's a great idea BLOKE I"m sure that Ballistol would also be a great preventative measure to protect a new G-10 handle. I'm going to start doing that myself. It wouldn't hurt a new knife at all if you intended to sell it or trade it late on. The only negative that I can find about BALLISTOL is that for about 3 to 4 days BALLISTOL has kind of a petro odor to it. But it subsides in a short period of time>> especially if you leave it out in the open.
But a treatment of Ballistol before using it would have a lot of advantages to it I'm sure. It would probably get down into internal parts of the handle to prevent any build up of stuff you don't want. I also believe a coating/soaking of Ballistol will protect the material in the long run from any bacteria build ups or any other corrosive elements too.
Just ordered a 2-pack of the 16oz cans off Amazon. At $28 it'll be well worth the cost if it can restore my old scales, and that much will last me forever. So you apply it, scrub with a soft toothbrush, then wipe off? Do you let it sit for a while? No water rinse?
Hi JuPaul, After cleaning I use plenty and scrub it in with a soft toothbrush, leave it overnight generally, if it’s still wet the next day I’ll buff it off and call it good. :)
Ok, so google also tells me that people use it as a protective coating in gun barrels, so I assume it's safe for knife steels as well? Does that mean I can use it on the scales without disassembling the knife? Currently I need this for a rex45 para3, and I'd love to avoid taking it apart again if I don't need to.
- Julia
"Be excellent to each other." - Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Just ordered a 2-pack of the 16oz cans off Amazon. At $28 it'll be well worth the cost if it can restore my old scales, and that much will last me forever. So you apply it, scrub with a soft toothbrush, then wipe off? Do you let it sit for a while? No water rinse?
Hi JuPaul, After cleaning I use plenty and scrub it in with a soft toothbrush, leave it overnight generally, if it’s still wet the next day I’ll buff it off and call it good. :)
Ok, so google also tells me that people use it as a protective coating in gun barrels, so I assume it's safe for knife steels as well? Does that mean I can use it on the scales without disassembling the knife? Currently I need this for a rex45 para3, and I'd love to avoid taking it apart again if I don't need to.
Sure, I use it all over my Rex45 Military. It's actually food safe I believe and smells a little like aniseed. :)
A day without laughter is a day wasted. ~ Charlie Chaplin
Just ordered a 2-pack of the 16oz cans off Amazon. At $28 it'll be well worth the cost if it can restore my old scales, and that much will last me forever. So you apply it, scrub with a soft toothbrush, then wipe off? Do you let it sit for a while? No water rinse?
Hi JuPaul, After cleaning I use plenty and scrub it in with a soft toothbrush, leave it overnight generally, if it’s still wet the next day I’ll buff it off and call it good. :)
Ok, so google also tells me that people use it as a protective coating in gun barrels, so I assume it's safe for knife steels as well? Does that mean I can use it on the scales without disassembling the knife? Currently I need this for a rex45 para3, and I'd love to avoid taking it apart again if I don't need to.
No you don't have to disassemble your knife scales. Because Ballistol has penetrating properties to it. It will coat anything that is exposed to the elements.
It's unbelievable how many good and practical uses that Ballistol can be used for. It's a great product. And yes it is very popular among gunsmiths and firearms enthusiasts. I actually bought my very first 16 ounce can of it from Spyderco's factory outlet back around 2005. It took me about 5 years to use it all. I'm still on my second can that I bought around 2011. But truly the aerosol cans of Ballistol are handy but costs you a lot more than a bulk 16 ounce can of it will.
But for just general cleaning and removal of grease and other types of grime you can't hardly beat the cleaning power of the newer DAWN 4X Platinum Overnite dish soap. As good as the regular Dawn dish soap is I can't believe how much better that Dawn 4X is. Also it doesn't do any damage at all that I can tell. You can get the Dawn 4X at most grocery and big box stores.
You can’t go wrong with Ballistol. I’ve been using it for years.
Non-toxicity is also a major benefit for me.
By non-toxic, do you mean food safe as well? Was thinking I wouldn't use it on anything I also use to prep food or forage with, but it'd be nice to know I could.
- Julia
"Be excellent to each other." - Bill S. Preston, Esq.
By non-toxic, do you mean food safe as well? Was thinking I wouldn't use it on anything I also use to prep food or forage with, but it'd be nice to know I could.
I don't believe it's food safe, I think the formal rating is 'safe for use on food manufacturing machinery and equipment'.
But it's definitely kind to bare skin, depending on how you react to the polarising smell. The manufacturers claim it contains no carcinogens.
It was developed for use by the German armed forces not only for general maintenance of rifles (hence the BALLISTic OiL name) and other metal gear, but leather too - it was also used as an emergency topical field dressing for wounds, if nothing else was available. If I recall right, it was used in both WW1 and WW2, so it's definitely well tested stuff.
You can’t go wrong with Ballistol. I’ve been using it for years.
Non-toxicity is also a major benefit for me.
By non-toxic, do you mean food safe as well? Was thinking I wouldn't use it on anything I also use to prep food or forage with, but it'd be nice to know I could.
No I wouldn't use Ballistol freshly applied to any knife I was going to cut up food with immediately right after application. But after it has soaked in and penetrated and then left to dry out for a day or two I would have no problem using a knife with G-10 scales treated with Ballistol. Actually I've done it quite a few times. But I would wait at least two days before I did. But like most of you here I have so many knives in my arsenal that I'm never short on a knife to use for food prep.
I even use chemical resistant rubber gloves when working with Ballistol. But it's relatively safe even compared to many products you use in your kitchen. Realistically I doubt if food comes in contact with your handle area enough to even have a reason for concern.
Well BLOKE it couldn't be any more of a hazard than that "Kangaroo Grease" that you use :eek: That combined with "Emu Oil" would make petro chemicals obsolete :D
I have to agree gloves are a good idea when using Ballistol. It might be safe to use on bare skin but your hands will stink afterwards and it doesn't wash off easily.
Full disclosure I've never used it on my knives, only to clean and lube guns so I'm sure I get some extra nastiness but I can tell you I ain't eating tacos after using it without gloves.
I"m sure that Ballistol would also be a great preventative measure to protect a new G-10 handle. I'm going to start doing that myself. It wouldn't hurt a new knife at all if you intended to sell it or trade it late on. The only negative that I can find about BALLISTOL is that for about 3 to 4 days BALLISTOL has kind of a petro odor to it. But it subsides in a short period of time>> especially if you leave it out in the open. 
