Cleaning A Knife

[BigMo]

I few months ago, I asked for recommendations to replace a lost Dragonfly. Yesterday morning, the Dragonfly turned up on the floor of my car. It was covered in... goo of some sort. I have no idea where it came from or what it is. I've got as much of the knife as possible cleaned and looking like new, but the it's still not very smooth when it opens and closes. It feels like there's still some goop down in between the blade and the handle and that's what's causing the friction.

Can anyone recommend a good way of cleaning it out so the blade opens and closes smoothly?

[peacefuljeffrey]

I'm not an expert, but my own non-expert course of action would be to leave the knife in a bucket of warm soapy water for about an hour, then take it out and get it good and dry, and use any of the various products out there recommended for lubricating a knife pivot. I generally just use Break Free CLP, but I'm sure there are things that others would recommend above that. (In fact, I would welcome recommendations.)


P.S. This is what part of the alphabet would look like if the letters Q and R were eliminated.

P.P.S. I'm glad for you that you found your knife. I know the feeling. I lost a Walker Lightweight Linerlock back about five years ago. I had really liked the knife, but it went missing inexplicably. It used to ride high in my back pocket so it did not surprise me to lose it. I checked all around my office (the last known place) and it was not to be found. I put up "reward" notices, too.

About two years after the knife disappeared, one of my supervisors beckoned me into an adjoining room and bade me look into the crevice between the seatback and seat cushion of a particular office chair. There, coated in white dust, was my beloved Walker! :D It had sat there for two full years!

What was even stranger was that just that same week, after two years, I had ordered a new Walker Linerlock to replace the lost one! And it turned up that same week, two years later! :eek:

-Jeffrey

[Zac]

Is the goo grease? If so, a strong multipurpose cleaner/degreasor will work well but be weary of the finish. Purple Power Cherry Clean and Gliptone Emerald Clean work well with automobiles and I use them on knives as well...however they are G10 knives. Most cleaners are fine. If it is sap, rubbing alcohol will take it right off. You obviously are probably going to need to dissasemble to get it all and soaking is a good idea. Lithium grease may be a good lube to work everything around with a cue tip or plastic wire brush. After all is said and done, throw some Tuf Glide on it and work it in.

[peacefuljeffrey]

If a Dragonfly could be user-disassembled, I'd own like 7 of them. The fact is, I am not aware of any models of Dragonfly that can be taken down.


-Jeffrey

[BigMo]

If a Dragonfly could be user-disassembled, I'd own like 7 of them. The fact is, I am not aware of any models of Dragonfly that can be taken down.

Yeah, it doesn't look like there's any way to take it apart.

[peacefuljeffrey]

Naw, it's a riveted knife like most of the older Spyderco models. I am so glad they now are screwed together and can be taken apart for cleaning, parts-replacement, curiosity...

I just wish there would be a remake of the Dragonfly like there was for the Delica. I was hot to get myself a Dragonfly right about the time I realized that I considered riveted construction to be a bad thing, and just in time I decided to forgo the Dragonfly. Now I don't buy knives that are riveted: it's as simple as that.
And I'm sure you can see why, now that you have a gunked-up knife that needs more cleaning than you can accomplish.

Good luck with it, though. I hope you get it back to satisfactory.

-Jeffrey

[Native Justice]

Try some "Simply Green" solvent. It's water based and handles all the bad stuff extremely well. When your done, some hot water, soap and a toothbrush and your done. If you need to soak it overnight, it won't do any damage to the scales on the knife. When it's dry, try some "Tri-Flow", "CLP" or similar lube and your good to go ... :D

[tonydahose]

i know this isnt recommended but i bought i couple of really beat up blue delicas on ebay. they were very used to put it gently. 2 runs in the dishwasher and they came out very clean. lube it up right afterwards too. then they got shipped off to Colorado to try to bring back the blades to a decent edge.

[The Deacon]

This is one of the few situations where WD-40 is probably the best thing to use. Won't harm FRN, certainly won't harm metal, and will disolve/loosen just about any type of gunk. Use the nozzle extender and spray the pivot and lockbar areas, from inside the case, with the knife open. Wearing eye protection while doing this would be an excellent idea. Wait a half hour, spray it again, then work the action for a while. Repeat that cycle several times. After that, a bath in hot soapy water and a rinse with hot running water, to get rid of the WD-40 and any gunk that has not already floated out while you were spraying it.

[Pete1977]

if it is a stainless dragonfly, acetone may work. if it is FRN, I wouldn't suggest using such a strong solvent, because I don't know what it will do to the handle.

peter

[spd9075]

I would start by trying the hot soapy water followed by a quality lube -I use both Break Free CLP or Militec-1. Depending on what the"goo" is, you might try GooGone...avail at places like WalMart, it removes stuff like stickers,oil, tree sap, glue, grease, etc. It is even safe enough to use on clothing, so I doubt it will harm your finish. Hope this helps....glad you found it!