Spraying silicone or gun oil on your blades...

[Cruentus]

Just wanted to say to everyone:

always spray silicone or gun cleaning oil on your blades!

I haven't been able to find one of my every day carry folders for over a week.

It turns out that it fell out of my belt loop during dog training in my yard. We have had strange weather all week; from sunny and in the 50's to rain to snow to now close to 0 degree temp. and windchill well below freezing. When I spotted it today, I was sure that the mechanisms at least would be rust covered. The blade does not have the black teflon coating, and is all steel.

Well, it was fine. No rust or problems, just a little dirt from the ground which was easily remidied with a cue-tip and a respray of silicone. Good as new and the opening mech is nice and smooth!

Just thought I'd share...



Paul

 

[arnisador]

Good point. I have been lazy about this and now have an expensive blade showing rust (because it was in a closet near the bathroom and gets humidity from the shower, I'm guessing).

 

[dobermann]

uhm, why not getting quality steel?

i've been EDC'ing my spydercos for decades and they have never seen a spray of whatever. recently i started with silicon for their mechanisms with good result. but somehow its not really necessary IMO..

 

[Cruentus]

Even with good quality steel, there is potential for rust or corrosion, or grit getting in the opening mechs., etc. It all depends on the environment it is in, how much it is being "worked," and so on. Spraying and regularly cleaning the mechanisms is part of the overall maintence and care, just like keeping the blade clean and sharp. However, many people neglect proper maintence on their blades.

Usually, it makes little difference because the blades aren't being worked and/or aren't that expensive. You can go a long time depending on the environement your knife is in without having ever sprayed it, and it could be just fine. However, it would be a shame to buy a nice expensive blade and find out that the environement it is in exposes it to corrosion the hard way, as what happened to Arnisidor. The knife he was refering to, btw, was in fact an expensive Spyderco knife.

A little maintence goes a long way. I recommend spraying and cleaning your EDC once a year just to be safe...

Paul

 

[arnisador]

Yup, we moved and I stored it and I didn't even think about how close its new location in the closet was to the shower. Ouch!

 

[Zepp]

So where can you usually buy gun cleaning oil, besides gun stores? What kind of oil is it actually?

 

[dobermann]

some say WD-40 to clean it, spray with air, then put silicone on the mechanisms and spray that also with air into all the places you cant reach. it should be thin tough. and silicone is better than oil, as it rather keeps dirt out and mechanisms moving nicely. oil has a tendency to attract all kind of smut and be sticky. also with mineral oil, this can become very sticky and hard to get away. i would go with silicone..

 

[Cruentus]

So where can you usually buy gun cleaning oil, besides gun stores? What kind of oil is it actually?

Your best bet is to pick up Silicone spray at any auto supply or auto paint shop.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Your best bet is to pick up Silicone spray at any auto supply or auto paint shop.

Yes, the above has always worked very well for me!

Brian R. VanCise
www.instinctiveresponsetraining.com

 

[Lisa]

My father in law has quite a few old knives that were handed down to him from his grandfather. He is maticulous about keeping them clean and well oiled. They usually only come out during hungting season for skinning and such. The things look brand new and are razor sharp.

If your going to invest heavily on a good knife/knives, taking a few extra minutes to take care of it is a must. Like anything you invest in, you want to be able to use it for years to come.

I do believe he uses gun oil on his. I will pass the info on to him about the silicone. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Cruentus]

Gun oil found in your local hunting/sporting section works just as well; I have Hoppe's brand. Don't use WD-40, though....there was a specific reason why that I can't think of right now, but I think it had to do with it being an inadequet rust protector.

Paul