Spyderco Forums

Is there any reason not use something like olive oil to lubricate a knife?

I'm not a big fan of getting, say, 3-In-One, on my skin, much less on my food if I happen to be using my Spyderco knife in the kitchen.

Empty pen oilers are available, so you can fill it up with your choice of lube.

Maybe I'll try some coconut oil. I love the smell, and I can always like my knife off if I'm out and about and need a snack...

They can and will go rancid, sooner or later.
I would not use olive oil. Coconut oil is more stable then olive oil.
There is a reason why is olive oil sold in dark bottles and you should keep it in cold place - to slow down the degradation process.

Mineral oil is food safe and it better than natural oil, because it will not go rancid.
But there are other food safe lubricants, just need to google it

Yes, olive oil gets sticky and rancid - it's definitely not recommended for that purpose.

Coconut oil doesn't really go rancid, I believe, but it solidifies at relatively normal ambient temeratures (76f/24C), so I doubt it would be an effective machine lubricant. I use it on leather sometimes.

I prefer to use non toxic, food safe oils as well. Mineral oil is cheap and easily available and works fine.

Food grade PAO oil, Super Lube comes to mind, Archoil AR-4400 is a great nano lubricant as well.

And I should point out that you don't need a lot of lube. When I disassemble my knives, I put one drop of oil, one, just one, on one washer, one drop on second washer and one drop on the tang on blade (where is meets the lockbar on my lockbacks).
3 drops of oil, that's it. If you ever watched Nick Shabbaz, he is overdoing it IMO.

My wife bought a bottle of MCT oil derived from coconutz. It doesn't solidify like coconut oil. I'm sure it rancidifies, though.

Mineral oil sounds like the ticket.

Pancake wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 3:34 am

If you ever watched Nick Shabbaz, he is overdoing it IMO.

Speaking of "The Nick," does anyone know if he hangs out here? Under an assumed name, I would guess.

He talks about sanding bronze washers, but I can't seem to find any information on the subject.

FeistyKat wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 3:44 am

Pancake wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 3:34 am

If you ever watched Nick Shabbaz, he is overdoing it IMO.

Speaking of "The Nick," does anyone know if he hangs out here? Under an assumed name, I would guess.

He talks about sanding bronze washers, but I can't seem to find any information on the subject.

He actually is a member here under the exact same name, but does not post a whole lot.

FeistyKat wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 3:44 am

He talks about sanding bronze washers, but I can't seem to find any information on the subject.

Just put some fine sandpaper on a flat, hard surface and polish the washers under light pressure from your fingertip.

Go easy with the sanding and use something in the 1200-1500-2000 or 2500 range.

You can find the finer grit papers at auto parts stores.

I'll usually just use a bit of stropping compound on hard leather to polish my phosphor bronze washers, unless there's a little burring I need to get rid of.

Wartstein wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 4:05 am

He actually is a member here under the exact same name, but does not post a whole lot.

I enjoy his videos. He presents well & is amusing. Actually the commenters in his videos are a good part of the show.

I still can't figure out how the heck someone born in Kali can sound like he does, even with a parent from Boston & one from New York City. It just boggles my mind that he didn't learn to talk "normally".

Cambertree wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 4:16 am

FeistyKat wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 3:44 am

He talks about sanding bronze washers, but I can't seem to find any information on the subject.

Just put some fine sandpaper on a flat, hard surface and polish the washers under light pressure from your fingertip.

Go easy with the sanding and use something in the 1200-1500-2000 or 2500 range.

You can find the finer grit papers at auto parts stores.

I'll usually just use a bit of stropping compound on hard leather to polish my phosphor bronze washers, unless there's a little burring I need to get rid of.

That doesn't sound too difficult. I'll have to track down some of that sand paper.

I guess it's one of those things that's so simple that a YouTube video is not necessary...

FeistyKat wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 4:35 am

I enjoy his videos. He presents well & is amusing. Actually the commenters in his videos are a good part of the show.

I still can't figure out how the heck someone born in Kali can sound like he does, even with a parent from Boston & one from New York City. It just boggles my mind that he didn't learn to talk "normally".

He's from Michigan I believe. Moved to Cali. Everyone thinks he's actually a stage voice he uses. His Russian voice is really good... Lol

And yes he really overdoes the oiling on his knives!

I use Vaseline. It won't hurt you, does not spoil, protects the knives, and lubricates. It is basically mineral oil and paraffin.

Cambertree wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 3:19 am

Yes, olive oil gets sticky and rancid - it's definitely not recommended for that purpose.

Coconut oil doesn't really go rancid, I believe, but it solidifies at relatively normal ambient temeratures (76f/24C), so I doubt it would be an effective machine lubricant. I use it on leather sometimes.

I prefer to use non toxic, food safe oils as well. Mineral oil is cheap and easily available and works fine.

Any vegetable based oils are only good for a relatively short time. You can get some more time if you store them in ideal conditions. I never keep any food or cooking oils longer than 15 months max. I label my oils and usually after a year I've used them up>> if not used up after 14 to 15 months I usually just pitch them.

When it comes to food prep or food processing I pretty much just use fixed blades anymore and that way I don't have to worry about it. If I do on occasion use my M390 Military I wash it thoroughly in Dawn dish soap and remove any Militec or other oils I use to lubricate with before using it. I think some of these newer oils might be food safe but I would sure talk to someone that knows their stuff. I've had a very bad case of food poisoning once and it's no fun I can assure you.

FeistyKat wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 2:44 am

Is there any reason not use something like olive oil to lubricate a knife?

I'm not a big fan of getting, say, 3-In-One, on my skin, much less on my food if I happen to be using my Spyderco knife in the kitchen.

Empty pen oilers are available, so you can fill it up with your choice of lube.

Maybe I'll try some coconut oil. I love the smell, and I can always like my knife off if I'm out and about and need a snack...

Welcome to the forum!

If all you want is a lubricant for the washers/pivot, then I don't think you necessarily need a food-safe product. A drop or two on the washers won't get into your food. I use Nano Oil for this purpose and it works great.

If you're wanting to protect the entire blade from corrosion then I recommend mineral oil. I use Frog Lube sometimes too, but it is more expensive than mineral oil.

FeistyKat wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 2:44 am

Is there any reason not use something like olive oil to lubricate a knife?

Oxidation. There's a lot of chemistry involved, but in a nutshell, your "natural" oil will turn to stinky goo.

FeistyKat wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 2:44 am

I'm not a big fan of getting, say, 3-In-One, on my skin, much less on my food if I happen to be using my Spyderco knife in the kitchen.

Beware of falling victim to advertisers, lawyers, and ignorant media shills. When the doctor gives you topical medicine, what do you think it is? Chances are, the primary ingredient is going to be that nasty old petroleum that comes out of the ground. Also, petroleum products are used in oral medications!!! People slather petroleum all over their bodies, yet have a conniption if microscopic residue touches their Big Mac and Fries.

Your 3-in-1 is fine. Sometimes I use Ballistol on knives because I also use it on guns. Other times I use ALG Go Juice, because Geissele recommends it for their triggers. Bill Geissele is to AR15 triggers as Sal Glesser is to knives.

EDIT: You got me curious, and I started looking up info on Go Juice. It's made from plant seeds. I can't find more info at this time, but thought that bit of data might be of interest to you.

Most edible oils will eventually spoil, though if you're serious about food prep with a folder you SHOULD be taking it apart and cleaning it and disinfecting everything often enough that the oil never gets a chance to spoil. You can also just use food grade mineral oil which at worst will loosen up your downstairs plumbing if you somehow manage to ingest enough of it off your folder.

Personally I just use bearing grease and I use my knife for food any time it's needed. I'm not cutting food or eating off the pivot. This sort of thing is only really a concern if the blade is carbon and I'm oiling the blade for corrosion resistance, and then I'm probably using Vaseline and in such small quantities that it's irrelevant.

The Meat man wrote: ↑

Sat May 16, 2020 7:21 am

If all you want is a lubricant for the washers/pivot, then I don't think you necessarily need a food-safe product. A drop or two on the washers won't get into your food. I use Nano Oil for this purpose and it works great.

If you're wanting to protect the entire blade from corrosion then I recommend mineral oil. I use Frog Lube sometimes too, but it is more expensive than mineral oil.

This is how I feel. I use Nano oil in very small quantities and wipe up any excess immediately. I wash my knife's blade at the end of the day or after a particularly dirty job. I feel fine using it to cut up apples and cheese or whatever on lunch.

I use and recommend camellia oil. I purchased a bottle of Kurobara Tsubaki oil over ten years ago for all of my high-carbon Japanese kitchen knives and secateurs, and I have found it to work very well for all of my folders as well. It's food safe, odorless, tasteless, and doesn't gunk up or go rancid. Very high quality and fairly inexpensive. I use it with a precision pen oiler and after ten years still have approximately a quarter of that original 100 ml (3.5 fl oz) bottle left. Hope this helps.

I look at this question differently.

In a pinch, any lubricant, even WD40, will be better than none at all, and it will suffice for some period of time.

Just remember to wash out what is not optimal when you get back to base.