Linjunpei,
Save your money... White Lightning and Pedro's Ice Wax and that ilk use wax as a lubricant. Yep, simple parrafin. In controlled tests on lubricant testing machines (involves a fixed and rotating bearing with load applied), wax is one notch below ordinary water. Yes indeed. This crap is well marketed, but has little science behind it and simply is inferior. It was originally aimed at mountain bikers for drivetrains (tough service, lots of mud and grit to grind down chains and gears under a significant load), and many still use it, but use a lot of it every ride to keep things moving. It forms a sticky sludge, a grinding compound that ruins drivetrains over time. A knowledgeable bike shop owner said he will sell no more wax when inventories are gone, it is expensive and doesn't work for long. For knives, you'd not notice the expense, but there is MUCH better product out there.
Wax works fine on a chest full of drawers, and on snow skis, but that about ends the list right there.
The wax based lubes feel good in your pivot...until they attract pocket debris and bind the debris up into a sort of waxy grinding compound. Trust me on this, via my BM710 Axis lock. And on my mountain bike chain. I fell for it... and my chain squeaked by end of ride. Not good.
If wax were a good lubricant, the automotive industry would use it, for sure. Talk about research & development for lubes. And they avoid the stuff like the plague. (think about what engine pistons and valves are subjected to...heat, rapid metal-to-metal friction... No wax here folks. Refiners have de-waxing units to get the stuff out of oil products that go into lubes and greases).
I use a couple products on my bike chain that aren't common to this board, ProLink (which is probably similar to Tuf Glide only more substantial friction reducers, as a dry film metal friction reducer, works great on knives as it provides lube with nothing sticky left behind) and Rock n Roll lube (haven't tried on knives yet).
For knives, I've used Break Free CLP with good results (same for firearms), but the comments on this thread about Ballistol and Militec-1 catch my interest. TriFlow uses teflon and is a very good lube also, but can get a bit sticky with dirt over time.
WD-40 is inexpensive garbage... it is 25% mineral spirits, 50% mineral oil, and some fragrance that I've heard comes from banana oil, and the rest propellant. When the spirits evaporate, over time you get lacquers, and lacquers are sticky and attracts dirt. Stay away.
I use Marine Tuf Cloth for the good stuff that has corrosion issues (D2 on down), and simply use WD-40 as an el cheapo rust preventive for my $10-$20 machetes after I clean the veggies off them. I haven't tested it, but BoeShield seems to get decent reviews also.
For my art knives that don't get used, the Renaissance Wax is what is always recommended by makers and dealers alike. And it works fine for stuff that stays in storage or on display. And doesn't yellow or detract from appearance. It's a wax developed for museum use in Britain. Expensive, but a tiny dab goes a long ways. 200 ml can is $20.
Summary:
Tuf Glide or Prolink for pivots, or BreakFree CLP. I'm going to try Militec-1 and Ballistol too.
Tuf Cloth for users, Renaissance Wax for display pieces (tuf cloth can leave a hazy appearance and smells funky, which doesn't matter on users).
I'm about to test a hard-to-find product that will probably usurp ProLink and Rock lubes on mountain bike chains, called ATB by Keith Lewis out of Mesa AZ. It's got a ton of science behind it (Keith is ex-GM for 30 years, knows lubricants from his work).
