Spyderco Forums

I tried searching and couldn't find a thread on cleaning our spyderco's (or any knife for that matter).

I hate to sound like a noob, but i want to know how and what you guys use to clean your knives after you use them outdoors (cutting wood, getting sandy or dirty, etc...) or indoors (cutting tape, boxes, food preperation, etc...).

I have been using some Break Free CLP (which i use on my firearms) and it seems to work pretty well but i didnt know if there are other products/methods used to properly clean and care for our Spydies.

Thanks in advance! :spyder:

If they're truly dirty, they get a bath in dish detergent and hot water, using a scrub brush. Then I dry them properly, leave them to air dry, and wipe down with a Tuff-Cloth. Mineral oil will work well too.

For a sticky mess I use Goo Gone and then wash and rinse the blade incase of future food contact. Hot water and a mild dish type detergent will cut into almost everything. Mud Shrimp Moe said it best... Just dry it properly and then oil. Myself and others use compressed air from a can to assist dry time.

This is right out of the Spyderco Catalog:

Basic Knife Maintenance:
[... Clean the lock well and inside the handle using a toothpick, hot water, and detergent. Rinse with fresh water, dry inside and out, and lubricate steel components with oil/silicone.]

For the blade I use most often liquid soap just because it is available almost everywhere so I don't have to wait with tje cleaning until I get home.
For the handle I use hot water bath and toothpick too.

How about a M4 blade (Gayle Bradley), does anyone leave a very light oil film or such on it?
I have a coconut oiled cleaning rag that shines anything (shines up and kitchen knife and removes any dirt so far) and thinking about ordering the M4 Gayle and just want to respect the metal and keep patinas at bay (pitting for sure). I did see the Manix2 M4 review and the guy cut an onion purposely to even out the patinas...I guess if you can't beat them from having to check blade too often just even them out over whole blade.

Thanks for your input and time!

Just wanted to kind of "highjack" or ask a follow-up type question:

For those who have "Safe Queens" or knives that don't get use, do you also oil the steel parts regularly, e.g. the clip, pivot, screws, locking mechanism?? Just curious.. and if so, how often?? I have an older Zowada I'm just hanging on to and am curious how I can properly care for it.

Depends upon what I am doing and the knife materials. Typically I clean the blade with either dish soap or rubbing Alcohol. I lube the pivot with tuff-glide. I really like the product because it doesn't attract lint, sand, etc. There for I end up having to clean the knife less.
I have found that M4 typically only reacts to food left for some time. I like patina so I typically do not use any product on the blades. An exception is my 0-1 bushcraft that sits for some time in a leather sheath; I use Japanese blade oil or mineral oil.

..I will try my Boeing Lube (Bioshield T-9) for bike chains and much much more. Dries and is waterproof ...seems about the same as what the Tuff-Glide description product said. About $10-$12 at high end bike shops. And sprays in that red straw like WD40.

Will see.

I don't think these knives need too much care depending on how their used. VG-10 is just a conventional wash and air dry, maybe a little bit of lube if you feel it needs it.

Other blade materials like O-1 require some more attention, but the stainless models are low maintenance unles you get into some thing really nasty :) M4 and ZDP seem to be pretty friendly that way also :)

Just rambling outside the box here, but how about one of those old WaterPiks with a 50/50 water and vinegar solution? Followed immediately by a water-displacing WD-40 bath, then your favorite lube. :D
http://www.amazon.com/WaterPik-WP-60W-P ... 59&sr=8-16
( I posted this partly in jest, but was surprised to find that these are still manufactured. And, as I recall, they pack quite a bit of force. I would guess that these would work out quite well.)

Thanks for all the responses.

I guess im just going to use dish soap on the blade and then just lube moving parts with CLP.

I've never been courageous enough to wash my knives in water. I imagine the water staying between the liners and scales, and in the pivot, even after using a hair dryer on it. I'm not a big fan of iron oxide. I'm sure the people who do it don't have a problem.

I use a can of compressed air and clean the blade with either alcohol (ethanol or isopropanol) or FrogLube. The FrogLube is also used as a lubricant. I like FrogLube because it's non-toxic.

Rarely lubricate my users, if I do it's just a small drop of mineral oil applied with the tip of straight pin. For the rest of my collection I use Tuff-Glide, a Tuff-Cloth, and/or Ren Wax, depending on the scale material.

For cleaning my users, I use dish detergent and a good strong stream of hot water for most things, rubbing alcohol for tape residue and sap. Only time I ever needed to get grit out, I used alcohol to make sure there was no lube for the grit to stick to, then took the knife to the gas station and used the air hose to blast it out.

The Deacon wrote:Rarely lubricate my users, if I do it's just a small drop of mineral oil applied with the tip of straight pin. For the rest of my collection I use Tuff-Glide, a Tuff-Cloth, and/or Ren Wax, depending on the scale material.

When do you switch to the Ren Wax? Is this mostly for custom scales or do you use it a lot on production Spydies?

I clean mine on my jeans.

-F1 wrote:I've never been courageous enough to wash my knives in water. I imagine the water staying between the liners and scales, and in the pivot, even after using a hair dryer on it. I'm not a big fan of iron oxide. I'm sure the people who do it don't have a problem.

I use a can of compressed air and clean the blade with either alcohol (ethanol or isopropanol) or FrogLube. The FrogLube is also used as a lubricant. I like FrogLube because it's non-toxic.

I am with him.

Some knives just cant be taken apart and if I have a choice, I wont get those so dirty that I need to wash the entire knife.

I prefer to use mineral oil.

If the blade is messy I just wipe it down with a wet rag or corner of my shirt. If it's greasy from cutting up meats or something, soap and water. If it's got a bunch of pocket lint, I blow it out with compressed air. If it gets significantly dirty I do a full take-down:

1. Disassemble knife.
2. Soak everything in warm, soapy water except for the screws, which I put in a tray to keep them all in one place.
3. Scrub everything clean with a (Not used :D ) toothbrush and warm soapy water.
4. Rinse and dry.
5. Reassemble the knife, putting 1 drop of mineral oil on each side of the blade in the pivot area.

When on site, well, let me show you the site currently, it varies a lot:



To some more remote areas:



1. Warm water
2. Soap (if there is any)
3. Open knife a few times in water
4. Shake the open knife to remove excess water
5. Blow in pivot area and scales using what God gave you (lungs)
6. Wipe dry
7. LIGHT oil if needed

NO way I am taking my knives apart in the areas I work. The knife will have to get over the grittiness.

I found a forum called Spyderco and saw this post. Please have a read :D

http://www.spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40673

I love knives I can take apart for cleaning. This does void the warranty. I like to take the knife apart and use Tuf-Glide on all the metal parts then put it back together. I first wanted to do this when I got a M4 blade, my first non-stainless blade. Then I am sure all metal is as protected from corrosion as I can make it. Tuf-Glide doesn't last forever so I'll do this every 6 months or so on each knife that I want to do it on. For cleaning as needed I wash the knife in the sink with dish soap. I use a toothbrush or Q-tips for hard to reach places. Rinse and dry the knife using a hair dryer for inside the handle/pivot area to speed drying. Then add a drop of Tuf-Glide or Quick Release oil.

One thing that bugs me is having a nice (expensive) knife that I'm afraid to use because I don't want it to get dirty. I paid a lot for the Manix2 so I would have a hard use knife then was afraid to get it dirty, inside I mean. I had fo force myself to get past that fear. I bought it to use hard so if it won't last under hard or dirty work I don't need it. The Manix2 is not hard to assemble so after watching a video of it's disassemble/reassembly I did it also. Knowing I can do that to clean it makes it easier to not worry about it getting filthy.

Jack