Hey all.
Bought my Endura a week ago. Now I'm a knife nut. I need to know how to properly care for it.
The info they give on this site is nice, but I need more.
Regarding the handle:
What lube should I use for the pivots? Will a motor oil react with the handle?
What are the temperature ranges for the handle?
Will it be ok to clean inside with ethyl alcohol? Methyl alcohol?
Regarding the the ATS-55 Steel:
What are the temperature ranges? Can I put it in boiling water without ruining the tempering?
What are the acidity ranges? How much will it rust if I cut a tomato? A lemon?
I am trying not to do it, but sometimes my Endura closes with a snap. Will it cause micro ... cracks? on the edge of the blade? Should I not worry about it? I was thinking about putting a little string of leather down there, so that the blade hits the leather instead of the plastic.
Thanks :D
Endura FRN ATS-55 Steel - questions about mainenace and tolerances
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4 s ter
- Member
- Posts: 2056
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
- Location: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Canada
Hi Dragunov. Welcome to the Spyderco Forum.
In answer to your questions:
I use Tuf-Glide on the pivot and blade. It provides good lubrication and rust protection. Motor oil won't react with the handle.
FRN should be fine under most temperatures you will encounter. If I remember correctly, FRN only becomes more brittle at temperatures of -50 degrees Celsius or lower. If you take your knife out of a pocket and use it, it shouldn't be anywhere close to -50 at the time of use.
Plain soap and hot water are all that's needed for cleaning.
Boiling water is not anywhere close to the temperatures required to affect the tempering or hardening of the blade. It's probably less than 1/2 the necessary temps.
Acidity - I'm not sure, but if you rinse the blade or wipe it off there shouldn't be any problems. ATS-55 is a stainless steel so only lengthy exposure to such food acids should cause rust.
The snap you hear on closing is not the sharp edge of the blade hitting the inside of the handle. It is the tang of the knife hitting the stop pin. This design prevents the sharp edge from contacting the inside of the hande, thus avoiding any damage.
Hope this helps! The FRN Endura is a great knife which you can use without worry and with only a minimum of maintenance.
David
"Not all who wander are lost"
In answer to your questions:
I use Tuf-Glide on the pivot and blade. It provides good lubrication and rust protection. Motor oil won't react with the handle.
FRN should be fine under most temperatures you will encounter. If I remember correctly, FRN only becomes more brittle at temperatures of -50 degrees Celsius or lower. If you take your knife out of a pocket and use it, it shouldn't be anywhere close to -50 at the time of use.
Plain soap and hot water are all that's needed for cleaning.
Boiling water is not anywhere close to the temperatures required to affect the tempering or hardening of the blade. It's probably less than 1/2 the necessary temps.
Acidity - I'm not sure, but if you rinse the blade or wipe it off there shouldn't be any problems. ATS-55 is a stainless steel so only lengthy exposure to such food acids should cause rust.
The snap you hear on closing is not the sharp edge of the blade hitting the inside of the handle. It is the tang of the knife hitting the stop pin. This design prevents the sharp edge from contacting the inside of the hande, thus avoiding any damage.
Hope this helps! The FRN Endura is a great knife which you can use without worry and with only a minimum of maintenance.
David
"Not all who wander are lost"
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vampyrewolf
- Member
- Posts: 7486
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
- Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Love my ats-55 frn/se endura... use it pretty much everyday and it's always clipped to my front/left pocket. Going to refer to my ss dragonfly though as I've had morwe time with it. Endura was early december 02.
I've been abusing my dragonfly for over 2yrs, so I can tell yah spyderco's HT on 55 is superb. I take it swimming, I eat off it and with it, I cook with it, I use it on branches and pencils, I cut boxes, tarps, rope... and some stuff I shouldn't post on here or I'll have SFO or SATC ppl at my door to rescue them.
Cleaning I use Miltech-1 right now, have used mineral oil, hoppes #9, LSA 0-158(mil spec break-free), gun blueing, wd-40, engine oil(inadvertantly, though it didn't damage it), or just plain air. Buy a set of dental picks, I got 4pcs for $5. Great for getting lint out.
You can toss the knife in the dishwasher, won't harm it if you dry and oil it right away after. Think a few have done laundry too. The best way to have an idea on affecting HT is if it boils water if you stick the knife in a glass. When applying miltech-1, it works best on a warm pivot. I get around this by putting a few drops of lighter fluid in and lighting it. Lube when the flames quit.
Depends on body chem a little bit, some ppl can rust ats-55 by looking at it. I wore my dragonfly under my shirt this summer when I was nice and sick. Sweating on it for 21hrs... not any signs of rust.
<img src="http://www.members.shaw.ca/pjharyett/sp ... pyder5.gif">
Mei Fides, Mei Victus
Coffee Before Conciousness
<a href=http://www.members.shaw.ca/pjharyett>My Homepage </a>
I've been abusing my dragonfly for over 2yrs, so I can tell yah spyderco's HT on 55 is superb. I take it swimming, I eat off it and with it, I cook with it, I use it on branches and pencils, I cut boxes, tarps, rope... and some stuff I shouldn't post on here or I'll have SFO or SATC ppl at my door to rescue them.
Cleaning I use Miltech-1 right now, have used mineral oil, hoppes #9, LSA 0-158(mil spec break-free), gun blueing, wd-40, engine oil(inadvertantly, though it didn't damage it), or just plain air. Buy a set of dental picks, I got 4pcs for $5. Great for getting lint out.
You can toss the knife in the dishwasher, won't harm it if you dry and oil it right away after. Think a few have done laundry too. The best way to have an idea on affecting HT is if it boils water if you stick the knife in a glass. When applying miltech-1, it works best on a warm pivot. I get around this by putting a few drops of lighter fluid in and lighting it. Lube when the flames quit.
Depends on body chem a little bit, some ppl can rust ats-55 by looking at it. I wore my dragonfly under my shirt this summer when I was nice and sick. Sweating on it for 21hrs... not any signs of rust.
<img src="http://www.members.shaw.ca/pjharyett/sp ... pyder5.gif">
Mei Fides, Mei Victus
Coffee Before Conciousness
<a href=http://www.members.shaw.ca/pjharyett>My Homepage </a>
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Sword and Shield
- Member
- Posts: 2050
- Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2004 10:33 am
- Location: USA
Howdy Dragunov! Welcome to <img src="spyder.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>Land! <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
>What lube should I use for the pivots? Will a motor oil react with the handle?
Whatever you have. Sewing machine oil is great, motor oil, while it won't affect the handle, is messy.
>What are the temperature ranges for the handle?
More extreme than yours are. Don't worry about it.
>Will it be ok to clean inside with ethyl alcohol? Methyl alcohol?
Yes, and yes.
>What are the temperature ranges? Can I put it in boiling water without ruining the tempering?
More extreme than yours- 400+ F.
>What are the acidity ranges? How much will it rust if I cut a tomato? A lemon?
Unless you're a bad knifenut and don't clean it regularly, no problem. Clean it after cutting and worry not.
>Will it cause micro ... cracks? on the edge of the blade? Should I not worry about it?
That's right, don't worry. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
The Man's Prayer- I am a man. But I can change. If I have to. I guess...
>What lube should I use for the pivots? Will a motor oil react with the handle?
Whatever you have. Sewing machine oil is great, motor oil, while it won't affect the handle, is messy.
>What are the temperature ranges for the handle?
More extreme than yours are. Don't worry about it.
>Will it be ok to clean inside with ethyl alcohol? Methyl alcohol?
Yes, and yes.
>What are the temperature ranges? Can I put it in boiling water without ruining the tempering?
More extreme than yours- 400+ F.
>What are the acidity ranges? How much will it rust if I cut a tomato? A lemon?
Unless you're a bad knifenut and don't clean it regularly, no problem. Clean it after cutting and worry not.
>Will it cause micro ... cracks? on the edge of the blade? Should I not worry about it?
That's right, don't worry. <img src="smile.gif" width=15 height=15 align=middle border=0>
The Man's Prayer- I am a man. But I can change. If I have to. I guess...
Isn't that a great thing about the FRN Spyders...almost zero maintenance. I usually polish my said knife every two weeks, clean out the lint in the handle and where the lock engages the blade and that's it...I have started using silicone oil that's for my airsoft aeg, and gas guns to lube my Endura and it works great. Great habit you got of caring for your knife, and you got a great knife period! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I also disassemble the clip screw and lube that also on the thread area.
ALOHA!
God will put you over...if you let Him!
Edited by - Daywalker on 10/22/2003 1:29:04 AM
ALOHA!
God will put you over...if you let Him!
Edited by - Daywalker on 10/22/2003 1:29:04 AM