Spyderco Forums

I need to start looking into getting a good lube for my knives. I have seen a few mentioned but would like to hear from everyone. Also can you tell me why you like what you use and also please tell me where I can find them. Thanks

BALLISTOL

I have tuff glide and balistol, but keep coming back to the balistol. Food safe, lubes things like tuff glide, can soften leather even :p

razorsharp wrote:BALLISTOL

I have tuff glide and balistol, but keep coming back to the balistol. Food safe, lubes things like tuff glide, can soften leather even :p

I noticed they have 2 differnt ones, possibly more. I saw multi-purpose and sportmans oil; which one do you use?

Thanks for the input Travis

Chris Reeve grease seems to be a good one.

I just use fine sowing machine oil that is made for the fine gears in the machine. It is heat resistant and very fine. I only apply a bit with a q-tip. That is enough. A small bottle can last me 3 years or more.

INFRNL wrote:I noticed they have 2 differnt ones, possibly more. I saw multi-purpose and sportmans oil; which one do you use?

Thanks for the input Travis

multi purpose universal lube, its freaking awesome.... and smells like licorice

I've read GREAT things about the ballistol. I've never heard of a product to lube metal and treat leather also. I wonder if it will change the baby's diaper? :) The only place I know to get it is on the inet. The price + shipping were more than I wanted to pay.

I use Tuf-Glide for corrosion control and lubrication both. The Tuf-Glide is supposed to "bond" to the metal so even after it dries and you wipe off any excess there is still a long lasting corrosion barrier. It's technically not oil but something else. There is also a Tuf-cloth that holds the Tuf-Glide. A barely damp cloth will treat the metal without actually putting a drop or two on it. I've been using it for a few years and had no corrosion. But, my knives aren't exposed to high corrosion environments like high humidity, salt water or anything else. The worst thing my knives go through for corrosion is being in my pocket when I'm really hot and sweaty. I left a cheap knife outside for two weeks after treating it with Tuf-Glide and had no corrosion. Read more about it on sentrysolutions.com. They have products for firearms, fishing reels, etc. also. You can get it at lots of knife web sites. They have it at cutleryshoppe.com.

I also use Quick Release oil. It seems to have better long lasting lubrication. The selling point with it was the testimonials on the website http://quickreleaseoil.com/.

So, on a Gayle Bradley or any knife with a non-stainless steel blade I make sure the blade and tang is treated with Tuf-Glide. Normally that is plenty but if I think the knife isn't smooth enough or the smoothness only lasts a few days (less than one week) I try Quick Release. Sometimes it helps, sometimes not. I have taken my GB and Manix2 with M4 apart and treated the entire tang with Tuf-Glide then reassembled them. I really doubt if that is necessary but I feel better knowing I've done everything possible to prevent corrosion. Tuf-Glide lasts a long time but it isn't permanent so I may disassemble them once a year. The rest of the time I'll just add a couple drops every month or so.

Tuf-Glide isn't approved by the FDA for use on knives for preparing food. That doesn't necessarily mean it is toxic. I don't use it on kitchen knives but do on all folders and don't hesitate to cut fruit or a sandwich with them. Sentry Solutions says on their site that it isn't approved by the FDA but just wipe or wash the blade quickly when using the knife for food. Fixed blade kitchen knives don't have hidden areas that are hard to clean like folders so I don't worry about corrosion on them like I would a folder. Here is the quote from Sentry Solutions web site:

None of Sentry Solutions products are FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved. TUF-CLOTH's protection bonds to metal surfaces. This bonding reduces the possibility of transferring material to food items that might be cut. If you plan to cut food with a TUF-CLOTH treated blade, we suggest that you wash the blade first.

There are lots of good lubes and corrosion prevention products out there but this is what I've been using and it seems to work. Personally, I'd love to hear from someone who uses Tuf-Glide/cloth and works on a salt water fishing boat. That has to be the worst environment for corrosion.

Jack

Break Free CLP: Cheap, Long-lasting, and Plenty good enough for my Glock. Worked just dandy so far.

Otis "special force" dry lube. Dumb name great results. Spray a little on, let it completely dry, and it lubricated. Awesome for when your in the sandy armpits of the world and most clp attracts dirt like a magnet, and turns it to hunk.

INFRNL wrote:I noticed they have 2 differnt ones, possibly more. I saw multi-purpose and sportmans oil; which one do you use?

Thanks for the input Travis

I'm pretty sure they are the same thing...just different bottles

White Lightning Easy Ride, because it's a dry wax based lube that doesn't collect dust and lint like wet lubes do, it's cheap and you can get it at most department stores that sell bicycles. I've found it makes a big difference even over some Teflon based wet lubes I've tried.

I use TufGlide to for the first lubrication after cleaning - and for corrosion prevention. I supplement that with Militec for lubrication between cleanings. Just a dab.

TedP

I use WD-40 mostly due to lack of knowledge about other lubrication products. It's cheap and seems to work well for cleaning out dirt from my Caly3.5.

Like Ted I give an initial treatment with Tuffglide. For bearing surfaces I always use a drying spray with pfte/teflon or moly. I don't use anything that can hold or trap grit which is why I stopped using regular greases and oils on knives.

For corrosion protection I can use anything from a silicone wipe cloth, to pure clear silicone liquid ( from A.G.Russell) which spreads like a slightly thicker water but drys to an unseen barrier. I still will always wipe fingerprints and other salt/oil containing stuff off with the silicone rag. I also use renn wax paste and have had amazing success with it on my safe queens. It even removes some dirt and grit you didn't know was there and will make slightly dingy old stock knives look brand new from the factory.

For cleaning old used or dirty/greasy knives I will use an action cleaner from Remington. For really tough degrease jobs the big gun is brake cleaner. Make sure you use gloves and plenty of ventilation at least, if not more as the solvents in that are pretty strong.

When I was an armorer/arsenal officer I'd take Shotguns that hadn't been cleaned in years, disassemble and hose them. There would be a puddle of dirt, grease and solvents on the newspaper from that and the action insides would be completely dry in a couple of minutes with no grease and oil anywhere to be found, the dirt having been removed with that gunk.

Things like that are important when you have 50 long arms and 50 pistols needing cleaning after lunch and before quitting time.

Joe

:D
You knew someone was gonna do it, might as well be me.

ballistol . protect's with not getting "sticky" on the blade :)

Evil D wrote:White Lightning Easy Ride, because it's a dry wax based lube that doesn't collect dust and lint like wet lubes do, it's cheap and you can get it at most department stores that sell bicycles. I've found it makes a big difference even over some Teflon based wet lubes I've tried.

I wonder if that's the same as my White Lightning Original. I'm almost out, and I love the stuff. Would Wal Mart have it, do you think?

- best wishes, Jazz.

This stuff is an excellent product, a multi-purpose lube from Du-Pont. I first heard about it on some motorcycle forums as a being an excellent and highly popular chain lube. The stuff dries quickly,( but doesn't gunk-up like White Lightning) and somehow doesn't attract ANY dirt or grime. I get it at Lowes for $5 a can.

http://www.amazon.com/Dupont-Multi-Use- ... B000GL19TY
DuPont™ Teflon™ Multi-Use Lubricant

A superior multi-use lubricant featuring proprietary self-cleaning technology. Lubricates without attracting grit and grime, eliminates squeaks, prevents rust and protects moving parts. Lasts up to 3 to 5 times longer in friction testing against other leading lubricants.

Goes on wet to deeply penetrate and loosen frozen or rusted parts
Sets up to a clean, dry, wax film which will not absorb dirt or grime
Patented self-cleaning technology sheds contaminants to minimize or prevent abrasive wear
Highly resistant to water wash-off, and won’t fling off
Water repelling, helps protect against rust and corrosion
Contains no silicones that may interfere with paints and finishes
Applications:

Motorcycle, ATV and go-kart chains (o-ring safe and no fling-off)
Garage and overhead door chains, springs, rollers and tracks
Hinges, windows, sliding tracks, locks and latches
Winches, hitches, ramps, pivots, cams and pulleys
Threaded parts and rusted bolts
Heavy duty zippers
Firearms, fishing reels, RC vehicles and bicycle chains
Table saws, hand tools, wood working tools and folding knives
Lawn and garden tools and equipment
Industrial chains (fork lifts, conveyors, stackers, etc.)
NSF H-2 Listed

I use Miltec as I have it for my firearms. Just a little for lubrication, wipe off the excess. Does not attract as much lint as other oils I've used.

razorsharp wrote:BALLISTOL

I have tuff glide and balistol, but keep coming back to the balistol. Food safe, lubes things like tuff glide, can soften leather even :p

Check this out Razorsharp, I heard a lot of good reviews about Ballistol, and just before getting one, came across this:

http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/reca ... re_id=1007

I use whatever I have on hand for an initial cleaning. For storage I wipe all knives down with a silicone clothe or a rem-oil wipe , usually alternatly. While it doesn't seem scientific it has always worked. Last year I took my son all of the knives we bought when he was a kid and none of them had any rust or discolorations.