Care and Feeding of my Spydies

F

FrankC

Joined
Mar 11, 2000
Messages
53
I've been mostly lurking here for months, just recently started posting. My collections of Spyderco knives is growing (Dragonfly, Native II SS, with a 440V Native and Spydercard on the way), and I'm wondering what everyone here does to clean/maintain their knives.

In the past, I've always just washed knives up with some soap/water, dried them, gave them a few swipes on my 204MF sharpener, then a little squirt of WD-40 and wiped off the excess. I've seen references on these forums to something called Tuff-Glide; should I be using that?

I was a bit surprised there isn't a FAQ on this (I looked!).

Thanks in advance!


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--Frank C.
 
FrankC - Welcome to the Spyderco forum. Interesting group around here.

Regarding the maintenance, you seem to have it down. Now variation becomes a "let's try this".

Try to think of the knife as a "tooth". The more use it gets (biting, chewing, grinding), the more "junk" has to be cleaned out. Especially where mechanisms are concerned. In fact an old toothbrush works well for cleaning most mechanisms.

Keep the "junk" out, a clean knife is safer all the way around. Keep the corrosion off. Keep it sharp.

sal
 
I believe in maintaining all my tools. Where my knives are concerned, I clean them after use, often washing the blade with Dawn detergent, drying them and then oiling them. I also believe in keeping them sharp. Recently, I bought a Sharpmaker 204 which has allows me to easily "touch up" the blades and keep them sharp. This is just the normal routine. Keeps my tools in optimun condition and ready for whatever I ask of them.
 
Tuff Glide is a pivot joint lubricant, while Tuff Cloth is an impregnated cloth you wipe the blade with to prevent rust. They are good products, but you can use other stuff too. WD-40 works well for both applications.

As Sal said, it seems like you have the maintenance down, so now you might want to experiment with different oils and just see what you like.

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Cerulean

"Just because some folks think you make great kydex sheaths doesn't make you into some sort of mind reading psychologist." -Paracelsus
 
Thanks! Good to know I'm doing the right thing. I value these tools and use them every day. I've always carried a pocket knife, but only recently (six months ago or so) discovered Spyderco. Now it's all I carry, and I want to keep them in the best shape possible.

It amazes me every time a guy my age (mid-30's) has no idea how to unlock the blade on a folder...



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--Frank C.
 
At least once a month I drench my spydies (G10 and all) with engine degreaser, brush the pivots with a toothbrush, and rinse them off. Right after the thorough rinse, I blow dry the knives to get them completely dry. On goes a layer of Flitz and finish with a coating of BreakFree. The pivots and handle get a healthy dose of BreakFree also to restore the lubricity and handle color. That's it. The engine degreaser has NEVER damaged my knives in any way. Let's not confuse that with brake cleaner or Gun Scrubber. That stuff hurts.

[This message has been edited by Spirex288 (edited 03-19-2000).]
 
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