Lubes

[cliff_B07]

Food grade Mineral Oil

[Alchemy1]

Nano oil

[Tdog]

Never tried the EEZOX, but based on recommendations here may pick up some and give it a try. I've used the Ballistol, Slip 2000, and Militec (oil and grease) on my firearms and knives for years, but somehow always end up going back to the Slip 2000 on my knives. Not sure if it's the "best" lubricant, but it works very well in addition to being a superior rust retardant. My knives thank me. :p I keep a precision oiling pen handy to apply sparingly where needed, and use a thin coat on blades (especially those prone to rusting) for storage.

[anagarika]

Not exactly lube, but best thread on rust proofing:
http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/a-no ... 2.1057567/

Recently I've been using Vaseline (IIRC, Doc Dan started a thread about it) on top of baby oil and WD40 (especially after washing, chasing the remnants of water out, I can't afford open knife in front of fan overnight, my wife will kill me). That's all I use, and adequate for my use (mostly backlock, so the lubricant properties is miniscule compared to the tension from the lockbar). The vaseline treatment only when I disassembly them, after cleaning, put some in pivot and rubbing areas.

[Tdog]

Not exactly lube, but best thread on rust proofing:
http://www.bladeforums.com/threads/a-no ... 2.1057567/

Recently I've been using Vaseline (IIRC, Doc Dan started a thread about it) on top of baby oil and WD40 (especially after washing, chasing the remnants of water out, I can't afford open knife in front of fan overnight, my wife will kill me). That's all I use, and adequate for my use (mostly backlock, so the lubricant properties is miniscule compared to the tension from the lockbar). The vaseline treatment only when I disassembly them, after cleaning put some in pivot and rubbing areas.

Thanks for the link. From what I've read and seen on some of the gun forums, EEZOX,CLP, and Slip2000 all perform well for rust prevention and lubrication. Another that works well for rust prevention is CorrosionX. In the past I have used this in Marine applications and it seems to do the job. I guess any of the products discussed would work reasonably well if used as needed.

[JD Spydo]

It's been quite a while since I've heard anybody here mention "White Lightning" lubrication products. It's kind of strange too because a few years back it seemed like everyone was swearing by the White Lightning products but lately I've haven't even so much as heard anyone even say that they even use it at all anymore :confused:

They used to have a big booth at the BLADE SHOW and other major events but I don't even see them doing shows at all in recent times. They had some cleaners that worked rather nicely but I never really liked their wax based lubricants nearly as much as I do that BP-2000 that Sentry Solutions has. I'm leaning more to dry lubricants in the past two years or so. Other than the stuff I use MILITEC for. I still like the results I get with MILITEC products.

But it's almost like White Lightning has fallen off the radar screen and they used to be quite popular :confused:

[Evil D]

It's been quite a while since I've heard anybody here mention "White Lightning" lubrication products. It's kind of strange too because a few years back it seemed like everyone was swearing by the White Lightning products but lately I've haven't even so much as heard anyone even say that they even use it at all anymore :confused:

They used to have a big booth at the BLADE SHOW and other major events but I don't even see them doing shows at all in recent times. They had some cleaners that worked rather nicely but I never really liked their wax based lubricants nearly as much as I do that BP-2000 that Sentry Solutions has. I'm leaning more to dry lubricants in the past two years or so. Other than the stuff I use MILITEC for. I still like the results I get with MILITEC products.

But it's almost like White Lightning has fallen off the radar screen and they used to be quite popular :confused:

I used to use it a lot but I found I preferred other types of lube and I got sick of cleaning wax out of G10 peel ply. It does indeed make it smoother but can also slow down the action. It did a decent job of keeping lint out of pivots though and once dry it doesn't collect dirt and lint so it had some good qualities. I still use it on my bicycle chains.

[JD Spydo]

It's been quite a while since I've heard anybody here mention "White Lightning" lubrication products. It's kind of strange too because a few years back it seemed like everyone was swearing by the White Lightning products but lately I've haven't even so much as heard anyone even say that they even use it at all anymore :confused:

But it's almost like White Lightning has fallen off the radar screen and they used to be quite popular :confused:

I used to use it a lot but I found I preferred other types of lube and I got sick of cleaning wax out of G10 peel ply. It does indeed make it smoother but can also slow down the action. It did a decent job of keeping lint out of pivots though and once dry it doesn't collect dirt and lint so it had some good qualities. I still use it on my bicycle chains.

That's really interesting that you find White LIghtning rather good for bicycle chains. When I was big into competitive bike riding I had a really good friend of mine who made up a concoction using STP Oil Treatment. He liked having STP as a base for his lubricant because he said that it made the other synthetic oil that he added to it so the STP based formula will have a "clinging" effect to it. In other words your lubrication will cling to the chain even at high RPMs. Now his concoction did work because it did continue to cling to the chain even after a hard 20 mile plus bike ride. Because we used to take really long bike rides training for Triathalon and other bike races we participated in as well as cross training for distance running ect>> which is why they are now making me into a "bionic man" :eek: I just had way too much fun when I was younger :rolleyes:

I've often wondered if his "anti cling"formula would make a good lube for folders? Albeit I've thought that it might attract pocket lint and other foreign stuff that might be attracted by any wet lubricant for that matter. Which is why I'm kind of gravitating toward these newer dry lubes for my folders. With the progress that they have made with dry lubes in the past few years I got a feeling that conventional oil or/wet lubes might just be on their way out.

But I still like the concept of a lube that will cling onto moving metal in the same principle that bike chain lubes have progressed in the past few years. It is an interesting concept needless to say. But I still find it extremely interesting that you use White Lightning products for bike chains :cool:

[017]

.

[JD Spydo]

Speaking of bicycle lubricants, I've been weary about using them on FRN knives, ever since I got an E Thirteen XCX chain guide (which appears to be made from FRN). The manufacturer does not approve of using any lubricant containing mineral spirits around their plastic parts:

https://thehiveglobal.zendesk.com/hc/en ... bility.pdf

I'm not sure how relevant this is to Spyderco FRN handles, but I'd rather err on the side of caution. I'm also a proponent of not using solvents and/or chemicals when it's not necessary. As such, I'm using regular white mineral oil.

That's a good point you bring up because you really don't know how petroleum based lubes which contain harsh and caustic solvents are going to react to a wide variety of synthetic handle materials. One of the reasons I have so much confidence in MILITEC is because years ago Benchmade was recommending it highly and even selling it themselves at their booths at knife & gun shows. I seriously doubt if Benchmade would recommend any lubrication product as highly as they have MILITEC if they thought for one second that it would harm any of their knife handles.

Which actually makes another case for the use of dry lubes because you don't have that problem with dry lubes because they usually don't have any dangerous solvents or any other chemicals or compounds that would harm knife handles.

Now bicycle chain lubes and lubrication products you would use on folding knives really are two completely different animals. But with the overall improvement I've seen in the newer dry lube products that have recently been introduced convinces me that it's time to focus on those rather than the traditional wet lubes. It seems like many of these companies that make wet lubes are now also offering dry lubes in their product lines like Sentry Solutions for instance. Any of them with PTFE or other Teflon based powders seem to work really well for the most part. But I have a feeling that with all of the newer technologies we'll probably see wet lubes take a back seat in the product line up.

[Evil D]

I've used Tri-Flow which is a Teflon based lube. It works pretty dang well but I stopped using it for fear of food contamination.

JD I've got a challenge for ya. Get a knife you don't mind taking apart, and give all the pivit a light smear of Vaseline. Get a little in the pivot hole and just on the sides of the blade (it actually makes assembly way easier since the washers will stick to the blade). See what you think. My two main carry knives are done this way and they're smooth as silk.

[valenciamanu]

To lubricate I use balistoll or mineral oil.Sometimes also oil Victorinox
To save I use Victorinox oil in stainless steel.Pure petroleum jelly for carbon steels.

[Bill1170]

I use Nano Oil, and it works well. Any light oil works best with a pinpoint oiler, so you don't make a mess. Very little oil is needed, but it needs to be in the right place.

[Wanimator]

Nano oil and their grease, Royal Purple oils containing Synerlec and their grease, Weapon Shield, Archoil oil and grease products, and quite a few others for lubrication. Seal 1, Superlube grease and, mineral oil for blade protection.

[JD Spydo]

To lubricate I use balistoll or mineral oil.Sometimes also oil Victorinox
To save I use Victorinox oil in stainless steel.Pure petroleum jelly for carbon steels.

For EVIL D>> hey dude you don't have to sell me on the virtues of Vaseline because I do keep a big jar of it in my survival/bug out bag. They've even done articles bestowing it's virtues in a couple of my older survival magazines. But EVIL I actually find that BALLISTOL not only does the same thing on knife blades but it also seems to last a lot longer as well and I thank the good Brother for mentioning BaLLISTOL because it is a very much overlooked and under-appreciated product that has dozens of great uses.

Another thing that "valenciamanu" mentioned was the Oil that Victorinox sells. I've yet to try it but I've been told that it is the best oil for Multi-tools that you can get. I have a couple of Victorinox multitools and I'm going to make it a point to get a bottle of it. Who here in the USA sells it?

But EVIL I do agree with you that it would be very economical to use VASELINE on really big items like Axes, Shovels, machetes, hatchets or any other vital tool for that matter. It is interesting how many simple, common products like that have a multitude of viable uses.

[Bloke]

Dear Ballistol users,

Is Ballistol safe to use on rubber?

[cabfrank]

Yes sir, definitely.

[Bloke]

Yes sir, definitely.

Thanks a big mob cabfrank! :) :cool:

[Evil D]

"anti cling" formula

I forgot to comment on this before. White Lightning does make a lube that they market as having anti cling properties for chains, I believe it's the "Clean Ride" version. It's basically just a wax based lube. How or if that translates into anything useful for a knife pivot is debatable. This was the main White Lightning lube I used to use and I never saw anything miraculous as far as the pivot staying lint free. I did however feel like the wax slowed down pivot action almost in a gummy sort of way. It was smooth but slower than a dry or wet lube so for example you probably wouldn't want to use it on a flipper. I would even avoid using most greases because they're so thick, but the grease I use is very thin and doesn't hinder blade movement at all (nor does Vaseline).

[Wanimator]

Honestly I don't see the thick grease issue. It's my favorite for ball bearings and washers. I don't enjoy a fast rapid rattling close as much as I like a smooth nice feeling.