Emerson lube

[Alberta Ed]

The Nylatron washers Emerson uses are supposed to be self-lubricating. That said, a drop of BreakFree helps a bit.

 

[dalefuller]

Nice thing about these knives is the lack of any need for fancy maintenance. Motor oil or rancid butter will work fine. The knife ain't gonna permanently absorb the "wrong" grease and stop working. Remember there is an equally un-fancy solvent out there that will get it off there when a better option comes around. It's known as Dish Soap.

Consider the main reasons people like to quote regarding the construction and use of Emerson knives, and then think of the irony of coddling something built to eat sh*t when in use. Also paying such high dollar, which is also kinda funny if you really think about it. Make no mistake, we pay for the name and hobby, not for a delicate snowflake of mystical materials that performs feats of magic only when the right potions and spells are applied to it. Don't let the price cloud you into forgetting that mechanically, all were talking about here is a hinge.

Kinda funny how many times I've asked EKI things and either never heard back or was told they "don't know" about their own product. All have been exceptionally nice people in person tho.

I feel so sorry for them when I think of how many nuts like us must hit them up every day for any little odd inquiry under the sun lol.

O BTW, if it wasn't already said, I think I read on here that Glock grease is pretty close. I use a dab of mineral oil on all my knives if I'm in a mood. It's food safe and cheap.

That's what I love about these things. They don't care what you do to 'em... grease or no grease, clean or dirty, wet or dry. They're gonna work just fine anyway.

 

[Jamesh Bond]

Word.

 

[Lycosa]

And this^ is why I had to have a Ti blade on my 7.
Thank you, Reese.

 

[EmersonREP]

nice thing about these knives is the lack of any need for fancy maintenance. Motor oil or rancid butter will work fine. The knife ain't gonna permanently absorb the "wrong" grease and stop working. Remember there is an equally un-fancy solvent out there that will get it off there when a better option comes around. It's known as dish soap.

Consider the main reasons people like to quote regarding the construction and use of emerson knives, and then think of the irony of coddling something built to eat sh*t when in use. Also paying such high dollar, which is also kinda funny if you really think about it. Make no mistake, we pay for the name and hobby, not for a delicate snowflake of mystical materials that performs feats of magic only when the right potions and spells are applied to it. Don't let the price cloud you into forgetting that mechanically, all were talking about here is a hinge.

Kinda funny how many times i've asked eki things and either never heard back or was told they "don't know" about their own product. All have been exceptionally nice people in person tho.

I feel so sorry for them when i think of how many nuts like us must hit them up every day for any little odd inquiry under the sun lol.

O btw, if it wasn't already said, i think i read on here that glock grease is pretty close. I use a dab of mineral oil on all my knives if i'm in a mood. It's food safe and cheap.

thank you!! I may just make this a sticky. Lol

 

[ijustdontknow]

I used to use only wd40 on my knives and never had a problem. When I started buying higher end knives, I slightly altered my approach but mainly only for my own peace of mind.

For Emerson knives, I work the blade open and closed a couple hundred times. It will get rough and a coated blade might even squeak. At that point, I take it apart, clean it really well with a micro fiber cloth and maybe some clp or wd40, then put a small amount of CRK lube on the surfaces of the blade and washer that contact. Smooth as silk and never had any issues. If it gets dirty or begins to get rough, just disassemble and relube. Now I'm more of a normal guy and my knives don't get the hard use some of you put them through. And I have the luxury of sleeping in warm bed with all my tools and such safely in my garage. If I were out in the field and using it hard, I'd probably just use the wd40/clp flush until I got back where I could disassemble and clean. YMMV.

 

[makariotes]

I've never lubed any Emersons, they never needed it; and now that I think about it, that is weird and cool at the same time; on the other hand, every time I handle a knife with ball bearings, I'm thinking about what kind of lube I should use in it, subconsciously I think of grease whenever I think of ball bearings, but think of blood when I think of Emersons; that is why they're self lubricating right?

 

[Mossyhorn]

I'm a Glock Armorer. The stuff they use on the Glock handguns is: Loctite: C5-A Copper Anti-Seize

[/QUOTE

I have a tube of that, and it's great stuff.

 

[JJR512]

I have been on a quest to find out what lubricant is applied to production knives in the EKI factory before they're shipped out. I have been in touch with two sources, one of them inside EKI (very high up) and the other very close to the company. From the source within the company, I have learned that Mr. Emerson himself does not want to say what it is at this time. No reason for this choice has been provided.

Here is what I have learned, though, from those two sources as well as from some things Mr. Emerson himself has said in this forum.

1. The lubricant is a copper-impregnated graphite grease.
2. The product is not proprietary; it is a commercially-available product that anyone can buy, and is available on Amazon.
3. The product has automotive applications.

We also know that what comes in brand-new production Emersons is black in color.

In another thread, someone suggested it might be a particular Permatex product. I forget the exact product number specified. I bought some, and it was silver colored, not black. Others have said they're pretty sure it's that Loctite product mentioned earlier in this thread, but that stuff looks copper-colored, not black, so again that can't be it.

Look, we all know that Emerson knives are built for hard use in the toughest environments. We know they don't need a fancy lube, or any lube at all. So why are some of us so bent on finding out exactly what goes into a production Emerson? Well think of it this way: we buy Emerson knives because we want the best. Ok, so any lube (or none at all) might be "just fine", but the fact that we're buying Emerson knives in the first place already shows that "just fine" isn't good enough for us. We want the best. And it stands to reason that if Mr. Emerson himself has specified a particular lube product for use in the knives he designs and manufacturers, then that stuff—whatever it is—must be the best. So that's what we want.