Frog Lube gummed up Mantra?

[RocketBen]

So after a couple of times getting caught in the rain and seeing some rust spots on my Mantra's blade, I bought some frog lube to help with rust protection, as well as lubrication.

Over time, I've noticed the pivot action of the blade getting less and less smooth. When new, I could flick the blade smoothly open with a light press of the flipper tab. It got to where I had to flick my wrist hard to open it fully.

I started suspecting the Frog Lube may be getting tacky and also mixing with dust and stuff. Tonight, I washed it out with hot water and blew it out with air, and it's almost like new again.

So the question: am I right to blame the frog lube? Or would this happen with any lube and I just need to wash out regularly? I'll still wipe the blade down Frog Lube for protection, but I might try something else for pivot lubrication.

[RocketBen]

Oh, and also, I love the Mantra. (Other than the "don't carry it in the rain" thing). It's lightweight but solid. Keeps a good edge. It's tough, but classy enough for business casual. And the flipper is super fun. Giving up the finger choil for more edge with the same blade length feels like a fair trade most times. Most work days, I either carry this or my Caly 3.

[RLDubbya]

A buddy of mine who is a darned good bladesmith stopped using Frog Lube because it became rancid and gummy after time.

You might be crazy, but I'd say you have good company to be crazy with, and you might as well just enjoy the ride.

He started using EEZOX, turned me onto that product, and I really like it.

[paladin]

A buddy of mine who is a darned good bladesmith stopped using Frog Lube because it became rancid and gummy after time.

You might be crazy, but I'd say you have good company to be crazy with, and you might as well just enjoy the ride.

He started using EEZOX, turned me onto that product, and I really like it.

FrogLube can be suspect to fungus and other decomposers, IIRC...maybe even FrogLube themselves reported this...can't quite remember just now.

At any rate, I stick with what each manufacturer recommends for lube...and AFAIK, no one recommends FrogLube...not that it's a bad product.

[greencobra]

i believe frog lube is vegetable based. the frog lube people say it's food grade and i read somewhere it's fda approved. ok, the shtf, your stuck without food and need calories. lick your knife, lol, seriously, being made from plant matter is probably why it turns rancid. frog lube doesn't react well in cold weather and it starts to....coagulate....i guess is a good word and turns "gummy." i've heard in summer the opposite occurs, it leaves a film on your hands.

in the firearms world, i know people who love it and defend with their life and others who can't get it off their stuff fast enough. they claim their guns have a "weird" feel and experience the same symptoms the op reported, gets tacky, attracts dirt/dust, etc. i've never used it so i can't give a first hand report.

one thing i've heard about frog lube is it penetrates the metal and is tough to get rid of once it's applied. you try and remove it and it seems to seep back to the surface. again, can't confirm from personal use, just info i've heard over the years. i was going to start using the stuff but thought better of it and didn't.

[Bloke]

I used Frog Snot on a brand new CZ 527. I tricked up the trigger and lubed it with Frog Snot too.

Two months later the thing felt like I lubed it with contact adhesive. About the same time a mate of mine became the Australian distributer. After it glued up the slides on a couple of his pistols he gave it away. To the best of my knowledge no one else took it up.

I contacted Larry Lasky (Mr Frog Snot) and after several emails I'm convinced he's a charlatan and a dunce! His replies where guarded to say the least and read as though they had been written by a lawyer.

This may sound too hard to believe, but he tried to tell me his product was sound and it was my fault because I washed the original packing lube off with isopropyl alcohol and somehow it reacted with the snake oil he pedals. I also put a drop of Frog Snot on a pair of hair clippers and when I went to use them next the blades were stuck fast.

To make things worse I'd put a few mates onto his snake oil and we all had the same experience, glugged up guns and the onset of corrosion. The stuff turns to brown glue and doesn't wash off. The only thing that would shift it was petrol.

Such is my experience with Frog Snot. :eek:

[Evil D]

If not specifically the lube, it could just be pocket lint mixing with the lube. I prefer to use bearing grease myself.

[greencobra]

i was revisiting this thread again and i thought i remembered that to apply the frog lube properly, you had to apply heat. i'm not certain and i'm too lazy to research this.....getting ready for the sox home opener. :D

maybe someone who has experience with it can confirm that or deny.

[Bodog]

As a firearms instructor I've personally seen a lot of guns broken down and cleaned after going through hundreds of rounds a day for months on end using only frog lube. To say the pistols, m4's, and shotguns were cleaned only lightly is kind of an understatement for a lot of the guys. The pistols were shooting frangible rounds for most of it. Those are extremely dirty rounds, not only the carbon build-up but fragments of the round itself coming off inside the chamber. Really foul stuff.

Anyway, never had a problem in pistols, automatic rifles, or pump action shotguns. That was the liquid form. I also used it in my knives. It's ok. I bought the paste stuff for myself and used it as directed. In bearing knives it sucks after awhile. Gummed it up pretty bad.

Quality dry lube may be the best but I haven't personally tried it myself.

I'm currently using this stuff and it seems pretty good, haven't tried it on bearings yet











And yeah, I've met guys who genuinely never felt an honest need to break their guns apart to clean them, same as guys and knives. :)

[MacLaren]

Will not mess with Frog Lube.
Far too many stories of them fouling up weapons.
A very good lube I've found to be is Weapon Shield.

[Sharp Guy]

A very good lube I've found to be is Weapon Shield.

Been using WS for awhile now. I like it! Works well on knives too!

[MacLaren]

A very good lube I've found to be is Weapon Shield.

Been using WS for awhile now. I like it! Works well on knives too!

Dude....exactly. Good for knives too :)

[adamlau]

I use FrogLube exclusively on knives these days. Mediterranean climate of SoCal. Paste for treating and the CLP for lubrication. I have not noticed any signs of rancidity with the recently reformulated version. I am aware of anecdotal reports regarding the previous formulation and am wary as well as anyone regarding long-term usage of the reformulation. Taking note of the limitations of FrogLube CLP based on the claims of FrogLube Extreme, the CLP appears to lose viscocity in cold weather and evaporates in high heat (open storage in a vehicle left outdoors under the CA summer sun certainly qualifies). 1/2 drop of CLP as lubricant per pivot side maximum. Less is generally more in terms of efficacy, a light sheen across components is all that is required. Regarding the release of FrogLube to the surface of treated components, all I can say is that I have taken a sheet of blotting paper to a treated blade hit with a heat gun to 125 F and the paper remained unaffected i.e. the blade did not become slick with released lubricant. Firearms continue to use a combination of Militec-1 for conditioning and Weapon Shield (WS) for lubrication only because I have retained a surplus of those products. Not a fan of WS for knives. The stuff gets everywhere, on my hands and clothes (the odor persists) even with an application volume of just one needle drop per pivot side.

[The Mastiff]

Some oils can cause more problems than others. I've seen a flipper gummed up with too much and too thick oil. Trying to fix it he smashed the plastic thing that contains the bearings by tightening too much. Leaving it dry and untouched would have served him better obviously. These aren't getting as hot as firearms, nor are they subjected to the recoil forces seen even in moderately loaded pistols. Not the same animal. A light touch is usually best and that includes when selecting and applying lubes. The actions on these knives can easily be run dry without any lubes. When selecting lubes lightest is sometimes best.

For corrosion resistance the least you can do that is adequate is best also. Cleaning salty/corrosive stuff off is better than adding lube when possible. I use drying aerosol spray applied teflon/silicone after cleaning and as lightly as possible. Wax suits me on the blades and exposed parts. Whatever I use, if it takes fingerprints from my handling it gets replaced.

If it's oily, sticky and goopy get rid of it.

:)

[JRinFL]

I like the smell of Froglube, but it does not get used a pivot lubricant on my knives, only as a blade treatment occasionally since it is non-toxic. I have noticed that Froglube ,and some others, will tend to lift previous lubricants and form a sort of dirty gel. My guess is there is something acting like a surfactant in Froglube.