Freds Edge
Well-Known Member
I have never seen the topic of lubrication for folders discussed so I will start a discussion . What lubrication do you use , I have been using a lite gun oil but I have nothing to compare it to.
Folder Lub
- Thread starter Freds Edge
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Drew Riley
Well-Known Member
Folders are pretty low speed with relatively light loads, so IMO, any basic light machine oil should work. I think all these modern "space age nano lubes" are just marketing hype and more/less unnecessary.
The other thing is that a lot of people tend to over lube, and that attracts things like dust, lint, and other debris that ultimately gums up the works.
Personally, I think a good blast of compressed air is as useful as anything. Especially if your knife has phosphor bronze or nylatron bushings, which are both self lubricating. Aside from that, you shouldn't need more than a drop or so of oil. There are lots of cheap "food safe" machine oils out there, or if food safety isn't a fact, just a basic 3 in 1 or similar should be fine.
Sometimes I'll give a quick squirt of silicon spray into mine after blasting it with air, and then follow it up with another blast of air and wipe down to remove the excess, though it's rare that I oil my daily carry pivots anyway.
I'll also "over lube" when building and breaking in a slipjoint, but that's just to help flush out any dust and debris, and after break in, I'll blow the excess out again and then leave it alone.
The other thing is that a lot of people tend to over lube, and that attracts things like dust, lint, and other debris that ultimately gums up the works.
Personally, I think a good blast of compressed air is as useful as anything. Especially if your knife has phosphor bronze or nylatron bushings, which are both self lubricating. Aside from that, you shouldn't need more than a drop or so of oil. There are lots of cheap "food safe" machine oils out there, or if food safety isn't a fact, just a basic 3 in 1 or similar should be fine.
Sometimes I'll give a quick squirt of silicon spray into mine after blasting it with air, and then follow it up with another blast of air and wipe down to remove the excess, though it's rare that I oil my daily carry pivots anyway.
I'll also "over lube" when building and breaking in a slipjoint, but that's just to help flush out any dust and debris, and after break in, I'll blow the excess out again and then leave it alone.
EdCaffreyMS
"The Montana Bladesmith"
With folders, the type of construction dictates the lube. Every folder maker seems to have their favorite for each given type of pivot system. In general you want a fairly heavy oil for Teflon or other synthetic washer type construction. Light weight oil for bronze or steel washers (yup, I know a few guys who use steel washers). And for either caged or IKBS type pivots, grease is generally used.
Personally, I only build bronze washer and caged bearing folders..... for the bronze washers I like silicon air rifle lube, and for bearings I use Super Lube brand synthetic grease.
As Drew spoke of.... less is definitely more when it comes to lubing folders.
Since lubing speaks to "smoothing" the action of a folder, something that I always do is use one set of parts for assembly/building, and a brand new set of everything when finished...... which is a big reason I use only hardware from TiConnector...... it's all so precise that there is no fiddling or fussing, trying to get a different screw to work like the previous one....they just plain work. The biggest "trick" I've learned with bearing folders is that once it's done, assemble without any lube, and "crank down" the pivot screw(s) and work the actions for several minutes..... this "cuts' in races for the bearings, then disassemble, lube and do it all again.....afterward, put your new hardware in, lube, and you'll find the action already has that "broken in" feeling....nice a smooth.
Personally, I only build bronze washer and caged bearing folders..... for the bronze washers I like silicon air rifle lube, and for bearings I use Super Lube brand synthetic grease.
As Drew spoke of.... less is definitely more when it comes to lubing folders.
Since lubing speaks to "smoothing" the action of a folder, something that I always do is use one set of parts for assembly/building, and a brand new set of everything when finished...... which is a big reason I use only hardware from TiConnector...... it's all so precise that there is no fiddling or fussing, trying to get a different screw to work like the previous one....they just plain work. The biggest "trick" I've learned with bearing folders is that once it's done, assemble without any lube, and "crank down" the pivot screw(s) and work the actions for several minutes..... this "cuts' in races for the bearings, then disassemble, lube and do it all again.....afterward, put your new hardware in, lube, and you'll find the action already has that "broken in" feeling....nice a smooth.
Freds Edge
Well-Known Member
Thanks Drew and Ed great info , I get my pivots and such from TiConnector as well excellent quality.