Sage 5 and 3 in 1 oil

[biggee]

I wondered if oiling the PB bearings in my new Sage 5 with 3in1 oil would make it slicker or the opposite, ie sticky ?

[p_atrick]

I've mostly heard of 3 in 1 oil as being used to coat a carbon steel blade, not for lubrication. I'd go with Nano Oil.

[Nate]

I've used 3-in-1 in the past and it was ok, but I've heard it can get "gummy" over time as it attracts dust/lint/etc... I eventually just picked up some nano oil. Honestly though, I rarely oil my pivots at all. Haven't had to touch most of my Spydies yet.

I use food safe mineral oil over 3-in-1 for coating any of my carbon blades since most of my blades will cut food at some point.

[Evil D]

I really think lube is a highly over complicated subject in this hobby.

[Sharp Guy]

I've put a drop of oil on a few pivots and I honestly don't think it helped all that much. I think loosening the pivot screw a tiny bit made more of a difference than any oil I've ever applied.

[Evil D]

Well, I can't say enough about the new Militaries. I'm feeling like a broken record but the 3 new CQI versions I have are so smooth and free moving in the pivot that I don't think I would have had to adjust any screws or lube anything if not for the S110V getting a regrind and metal shavings in the pivot and then lubing up the 52100 in the pivot/tang just for rust prevention. My other 52100 is silky smooth right out of the box and hasn't been adjusted at all. Spyderco do use some type of oil in their pivots (I'd love if they shared but probably proprietary).

[Doc Dan]

3 in 1 can get gummy over time (a long time). CLP (Breakfree) is good (not food safe). I also use Vaseline because it is food safe and does not come off easily like mineral oil can.

[p_atrick]

I really think lube is a highly over complicated subject in this hobby.

Yeah, this can be true. And I'm not helping by saying, "Go buy brand X oil; it's the best!" This YouTube video by Apostle P does a pretty good job at showing that sometimes the best oil for the job is the one you have on hand. Give the 3 in 1 a shot. If it doesn't work, clean it up and try something new.

https://youtu.be/s9cuKQxk55o

[Evil D]

I do think some lubes can do you more harm than good in the long run, as Doc pointed out some of them do have a tendency to get gummy after a while. I stopped using wax based lubes for this reason. Some lubes will make the pivot smooth but at the same time also slow down the pivot and prevent blades from swinging freely. Wet lubes also tend to collect pocket lint and dust and grime and then you hear people complaining about how their knife got gritty after a month of use, when they themselves may be promoting the issue with the lubes they use.

[Wanimator]

Synthetic engine oil works better than 3 in 1 as a lubricant and is easily had or on hand and have better base oils that don't gum up. I could go into whole multi page suggestions of different​ things and why they work but honestly, it's not worth it since people just don't listen or care beyond a certain point.

[The Mastiff]

Was there a problem with the knife? I'd just wipe the new knife with a clean paper towel to get the buffing compound out ( gritty stuff from the buffer that causes most gritty feeling in knives if not removed before use) and let it go . Over lubing or using the wrong stuff on top of grit makes things worse in my experience. Running the bronze washers dry surely isn't a problem and it's more of a problem if done incorrectly than not at all.

If this was an engine that needed lube I'd be the first one to call for it but it isn't and these rarely need lube. I'm big on maintenance too but I think this is something that is over done just as some of the strange stuff that is done in the name of corrosion protection that gets repeated as if fact is also mostly not needed. If you do it do it in a way that is the lightest touch and not going to cause problems. Thick oils and greases are mostly not needed and in some cases can cause problems. The Nano lube I've seen is way too thick IMO. I recommend light synthetic oils or better yet dry teflon sprays that don't trap grit.

[biggee]

Thanks for all the replies guys