Help me clean my 20 year old Walker

[bruce91748]

Hi All,
I've been carrying this Walker for over 20 years and it's been with me to at least 50 fishing trips and got lots of sand trapped inside the pivot area (edge is still super sharp). The AUS8 is still in great shape and no rust inside the knife that I can see. I've used electronic cleaner spray to clean out as much as I could but when I open the blade, I still hear the grinding sound of the sand inside the pivot. I really need to take the knife apart but looks like pins or rivets were used on the handle, so how does one take it apart?

[DSH007]

Wow, looks great for its age Bruce! Nice!

Unfortunately, without sending your knife in to Spyderco, you're probably going to be SOL on disassembly due to the pinned construction. If compressed air alone isn't working for you, I'd recommend cleaning your knife with hot soapy water (dish soap works great), using a small brush, toothpick, qtip, etc., to loosen any debris around the pivot, and then blowing/drying it out thoroughly with compressed air. If that doesn't work, it may be worth it to you to send it in to Spyderco to see if they can open it up and get it back to 100% for you.

For me personally, a little grit in the pivot of a user isn't a major concern.. I've gotten sand in pivots before and it usually works its way out on its own with time or minimal cleaning..just keep on using it! Oh, and welcome to the forum! :)

[JRinFL]

You may also have to over-oil it as the oil will help float out the sand particles. I would use cheap mineral oil for this, easily found in pharmacies. The electronics cleaner will clean, but it will also leave the metal bare with no lubrication. Always follow up with some oil. There are needle oilers that can be filled with whatever is your choice in oil and they allow you to get the oil down to pivot much easier.

[Accutron]

I'd try a mineral oil bath in an ultrasonic cleaner.

[odomandr]

Get a cheap vibrating toothbrush and try to go at it

[sal]

Hi Bruce,

Welcome to our forum.

sal

[Monty]

I'd try a mineral oil bath in an ultrasonic cleaner.

Yep, find a gun shop that offers ultrasonic cleaning. They might even do it for free since there's no disassembly.

[Michael Janich]

Ultrasonic cleaning would be great. If you can't find a place that does that, a great alternative is a WaterPik flosser--either an old one or a current one with an old head that's ready to be replaced. The focused pressure stream of the water does a great job of getting into tight spots. I'd do it outside, since there will be lots of splashing.

Lacking that, fill a sink with hot, soapy water, open the knife with two hands, hold it underwater, and work the blade back and forth while submerged. Do the same thing with clean water to rinse, and then blow out the interior with canned air.

I hope this helps.

Stay safe,

Mike

[Stuart Ackerman]

Disc brake cleaner in a spray can works the best for me.
Spray it everywhere in and outside the knife.
Let dry, and oil the joint.

[bruce91748]

Thank you for all the advise guys and thank you Sal for making such great products!!!

I had a can of brake cleaner laying around so I thought why not give that a try. And it seems to have a stronger spray than my electronic cleaner which I used up, and it did do the trick quite nicely. Now when I fidget with the knife, it feels smooth. This little gem fits my hand so perfectly too, love it.

[JD Spydo]

Wasn't the original, first run Michael Walker model an ATS-34 bladed model? It seems like this FRN lightweight version with AUS-8 came later didn't it?. Please pardon my ignorance because I've got a lot of my old Spyder info at my storage unit at this time.
Also wasn't the Michael Walker ( at least the first one) a collaboration between Spyderco and Swiss knife maker Klotzli? OH one more question>> wasn't the original, first run done with a Carbon Fiber handle?

As far as cleaning goes>> I've had great luck using Ballistol for a lot of jobs. It's worth a try until you got to use the really caustic stuff.

[RustyIron]

Harbor Freight sells affordable ultrasonic cleaners. Use some warm water, a few drops of dish soap, and let it go for half an hour.

[sal]

Hi JD,

yes, The original Walker was with Klotzli and made in Switzerland, thought the ATS-34 blades were made in Golden. Carbon fiber scales that came from the Sauber Formula one team, Ti liners and and clip. Walker Linerlock.

sal

[koenigsegg]

Hi JD,

yes, The original Walker was with Klotzli and made in Switzerland, thought the ATS-34 blades were made in Golden. Carbon fiber scales that came from the Sauber Formula one team, Ti liners and and clip. Walker Linerlock.

sal

That's amazing sal any other parts from f1 teams? :)
I want one now

[Doc Dan]

Thanks, Sal. That is good information. CAn someone put it on the new site that replaced spydiewiki?