Best knife lubricant

the applicator isa more important than oil- needle applicators with a selection of diameters and straight/angled metal needle tips under $10 on Amazon.
Mineral oil is safe, you aren't going to improve action that much with unicorn tears or whatever
 
wade7575 said:
The problem with silicone oils and greases is they can become gritty over time,I used to have a lot of RC Cars that you build yourself and a lot used ball differentials and if they included silicone grease most people who knew better switched it out.

If you have never tried Go-Juice I would get a 4 oz bottle it will last you a very long time all you need to get is a needle oiler bottle from ebay,is very thin and runs right into the pivot and is very easy to wash off under running water and I soap as well.

I always try different oils for different thing's and Go-Juice is by far the slick oil I have found hands down and it's a plant based oil that doesn't get sticky at all so there is never a need to take the knife apart to clean off the old oil unlike other oils.
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Silicone oil is different than silicone grease. Grease would probably accumulate a lot of lint. Something like SuperLube silicone oil is thinner than food grade mineral oil, and is still food safe and highly lubricating. It only takes a very tiny dab of it to do its job.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Silicone oil is different than silicone grease. Grease would probably accumulate a lot of lint. Something like SuperLube silicone oil is thinner than food grade mineral oil, and is still food safe and highly lubricating. It only takes a very tiny dab of it to do its job.
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I've been using it for years. (And the corresponding grease for other jobs it is more appropriate for.) Excellent stuff, imho.
 
Blues said:
I've been using it for years. (And the corresponding grease for other jobs it is more appropriate for.) Excellent stuff, imho.
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Works good on sharpening stones, too, though I usually use water.
 
I'm kind of surprised that I haven't heard any of you guys talk about dry lubes? I use the "BP-2000" made by Sentry Solutions the company that makes TUFF-CLOTH and TUF-GLIDE oil. Now there is also a wet oil I use for certain folding knives. I've been using Militec for years with no problems and great results. Also Militec makes a great light grease as well.

But I'm hoping that more of you will chime in about dry lubes. I've heard that in the past two years that there are some teflon based dry lubes that are great.
 
I still use Tuf-Glide from time to time (with the needle applicator). I haven't used my Tuf-Cloth in some years though I still have a bottle to refresh the ones I have.

Both are effective, imho. The Tuf-Glide usually needs to sit overnight to give the best results.
 
My only reservation about silicone-based lubes comes from a bad experience I had after trying it on a knife that previously had been lubed with a petroleum-based product. Figured out after the fact, if the knife isn't completely cleaned of the petroleum lube first, the two don't mix well at all and it'll make a gummy mess of the pivot in the knife. The knife on which I tried it had a pinned, not screwed, pivot. So I wasn't able to disassemble it to completely clean it up. It's never been the same since, with the mix of silicone and petro-based oil making a sticking, binding mess in the internals of the pivot itself. So, I've avoided using silicone at all for such purposes anymore, even though it may still be OK if applied on completely clean bearing surfaces. I just don't want to risk that anymore.
 
If you don't need food grade, a bottle of synthetic motor oil is a lifetime supply of lube that's absolutely as good as anything else.

If you like licking your knives, yeah, mineral oil or, better still, Ballistol.
 
Shmackey said:
If you don't need food grade, a bottle of synthetic motor oil is a lifetime supply of lube that's absolutely as good as anything else.

If you like licking your knives, yeah, mineral oil or, better still, Ballistol.
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Please do not put motor oil on your knives. Yes, it will lubricate your knife. No, exposure is not limited to "licking your knives" or using them for food prep. It will get on you, in your pocket, and up in your body through daily carry. Unless motor oil is already a regular and unavoidable part of your personal environment due to work or hobby, why add it?

(A few articles on non-toxic lube have already been posted for your reading pleasure.)

Mineral oil is okay. Ballistol is relatively non-toxic. It's handy as a spray but I don't know if "better" is the right word for our task here. I've used both on surfaces. They'll work in a pinch on pivots or detents but there are better choices in non-toxic lubrication. Lubriplate FMO 350-AW continues to be my favorite. There was an earlier comment about needle applicators and they can be very helpful. You can get those separately so don't worry if your preferred brand doesn't come with one.
 
Chronovore said:
Unless motor oil is already a regular and unavoidable part of your personal environment due to work or hobby, why add it?
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Because it's the same thing as the overpriced fancy non-food-safe lubes.

Unless you're talking about used motor oil, which is nasty stuff, a quart of Mobil-1 is no worse to play with than Militec or Break-Free or Rem-Oil or whatever else.
 
Shmackey said:
Because it's the same thing as the overpriced fancy non-food-safe lubes.

Unless you're talking about used motor oil, which is nasty stuff, a quart of Mobil-1 is no worse to play with than Militec or Break-Free or Rem-Oil or whatever else.
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I don't know that it's the same thing but it is true that several popular lubes for guns, knives, etc. are not good for your health. A lot of things will work to lubricate a knife. If we didn't have safer options, it might make sense to use one of the more toxic options. The issue is that we do.

Yeah, the fancy non-toxic options might have a higher price tag. Some cost more than others. Besides hype, buying in small quantities is a factor. I use Lubriplate FMO 350-AW. A 4oz. bottle from Lubrikit is something like ten bucks but those four ounces last a ridiculously long time. Just thinking about the bottle in front of me, I've had well over a year of maintenance on all my EDC gear, another twenty knives or multitools taken down for full cleaning and relubing, and chronic tinkering around the house from squeaky recliners to cabinet hinges. I'd say that was worth it.
 
Chronovore said:
That's disappointing but it brings me back to that classic article by Grant Cunningham. This discusses premium lubes in terms of gun oil but it applies to knives as well. It's worth a read.

https://www.grantcunningham.com/2006/05/lubrication-101
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It is a good read and brings up valid points, but realize the whole world has changed twice since that article was written in 2006. Lubricants are a whole different game since then. But snake oil is still being sold too,LOL
 
sickpuppy1 said:
It is a good read and brings up valid points, but realize the whole world has changed twice since that article was written in 2006. Lubricants are a whole different game since then. But snake oil is still being sold too,LOL
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Maybe so. Some of the popular lubes today include scents and colors... o_O

I'm still using the Lubriplate that he recommends in the article. I just used it to lube a freshly cleaned Civivi Chronic.
 
Scents and colors, that shows lack of faith in the product in my eyes.Cant say Ive ever heard negative about Lubriplate, and we know he's done his homework. And at the end of the day, if you like it and have faith in it, it's the best one to use, regardless of the latest trends.
 
Non-synthetic motor oils can contain benzene as a viscosity modifier (which is very bad for your health), but it's my understanding that most synthetic motor oils are relatively safe.

I usually use dry lock lube or a light ester-based chain and parts lube, but I have used synthetic motor oil for slip-joint and lockback knives. A few knives have benefited from Teflon grease.
 
The amount of any oil used on a knife will not harm you.
There are lots of good lubes. If you are putting enough of any of them to get on your skin through your pocket, you're doing something terribly wrong.
 
I use kpl, works great. I don't see a need to switch because one bottle will last a LONG time. You don't need much.

I did use 3 in 1 at first, but it seemed to get a bit gummy, and I like the smell of kpl better lol
 
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