Best way to totally degrease knife parts without taking it apart?

S

SBaker34

Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Messages
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I've tried several long soaks in water and dish soap, but it didn't remove all the oil, break cleaner is a waste. So far I've considered, acetone, naphtha, and an ultra sonic cleaner. The issue is naphtha and acetone apparently eat most plastics, so I'm not sure how I would soak the knife. Also, g10 handles, so no worries about chemical damage unless its concentrated acid or something :eek:
 
Ultrasonic cleaner, I personally just use mine with normal dish soap like dawn. Be careful what you use in it as it will destroy certain materials. And do NOT put any body parts like your hand in it while it's running, consider it a powerful and dangerous machine and treat it as such even if it doesn't look it. To my knowledge these things can do some damage to you, so turn it off first before sticking a hand in there to move something or use something to move it.
 
hey Baker, try using something biodegradable such as Simple Green. I use another product called "magnum floor cleaner" fully concentrated (which is biodegradable) which I like even better than simple green. Use either with hot water.
 
SBaker34 said:
Simple green in a bottle to soak perhaps? I wasn't sure if it would break down oil
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Yeah it will but if it's the grease stuff it may not. I would heat the simple green up and use it full strength in an ultrasonic cleaner... use that in combination w/ compressed air to blow out any residue and grime.
 
SBaker34 said:
Simple green in a bottle to soak perhaps? I wasn't sure if it would break down oil
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Simple Green is very good at attacking petroleum and oil in general. There are stories of it cleaning oil and gas and residue off the sides of watercraft and the like. I know it's been used quite a bit in airplane cleaning too. I heard a story on a private mailing list a while back about a simple green rep who would drink a dixie cup of simple green as a selling point to airports. (Don't try this at home!) He sold a LOT of it to airports apparently.

I think Simple Green is an amazing cleaner. It's not the best for absolutely everything, but it's damn good for a lot. Especially for general purpose cleaning, it's a crazy bargain. Diluted to 1:15 with water, it's actually still quite concentrated for general cleaning. So that $6 bottle that's 24oz suddenly becomes 24 x 15 = 360 oz = ~2.8 gallons of general purpose (really good) cleaner. That's hard to beat.

Brian.

Brian.
 
Another option is lighter fluid or naptha as it is commonly called in larger containers. It breaks down grease and oils yet is safe for nearly any surface. It wont damage paint, plastic or other composites. And since it has no water content it simply evaporates and wont be any cause for concern with rust.


SBaker34 said:
I've tried several long soaks in water and dish soap, but it didn't remove all the oil, break cleaner is a waste. So far I've considered, acetone, naphtha, and an ultra sonic cleaner. The issue is naphtha and acetone apparently eat most plastics, so I'm not sure how I would soak the knife. Also, g10 handles, so no worries about chemical damage unless its concentrated acid or something :eek:
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Acetone and naptha wont destroy most plastics. Acetone is not suitable for some plastics but long exposures are needed to have real issues. Naptha or lighter fluid is very safe. Both acetone and naptha come sold in plastic containers. Now you do have to worry about adhesives such as those used for inlays. But lighter fluid is very safe for most applications and works extremely well.
 
PURPLEDC said:
Another option is lighter fluid or naptha as it is commonly called in larger containers. It breaks down grease and oils yet is safe for nearly any surface. It wont damage paint, plastic or other composites. And since it has no water content it simply evaporates and wont be any cause for concern with rust.




Acetone and naptha wont destroy most plastics. Acetone is not suitable for some plastics but long exposures are needed to have real issues. Naptha or lighter fluid is very safe. Both acetone and naptha come sold in plastic containers. Now you do have to worry about adhesives such as those used for inlays. But lighter fluid is very safe for most applications and works extremely well.
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Truth be told I'm honestly considering buying a bottle of acetone, naptha and simple green, and testing them. I think naphtha is probably my best bet, but I'm curious.
 
Naptha is my goto for adhesive and gunk removal. But lately I've been using Home Depot brand citrus degreaser and I'm a big fan, it will eat away paint though.
 
Electrical contact cleaner. This shit blasts grease dirt and oil away without harming anything and it dries in seconds without residue.
 
Sosa said:
Electrical contact cleaner. This shit blasts grease dirt and oil away without harming anything and it dries in seconds without residue.
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sounds like the green can of brake kleen =) But that does sound interesting since it's made for electrical components.
 
Sosa said:
Electrical contact cleaner. This shit blasts grease dirt and oil away without harming anything and it dries in seconds without residue.
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If it's similar to break cleaner it would take most the bottle to blast a pivot out
 
You might try WD-40. It works for cleaning electrical contacts, removing glue and degreasing tools around the shop. Penetrates with a solvent action to remove oil/grease and then the knife can be cleaned up with soap and water. Just about everybody has a can or two of it laying around.
 
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Let's see how it goes
 
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