I'm sorry, but... Mineral oil?

J

jamesbeat

Joined
Jul 26, 2009
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I know the lubrication thing has been done to death, but I have a very specific question:
How is mineral oil as a lubricant?

I'm normally quite a nerd when it comes to lube, I enjoy making concoctions out of ATF, Mobil 1 etc, and have mixed up various custom lubricants fir my various hobbies.

I am looking into mineral oil as a food-safe lube for my slipjoints, but I'm concerned about it's lubrication potential.
I hope it's decent, because I bought a mineral oil enema today, which was pretty embarrassing.
The enema was the only product in the drugstore that was pure mineral oil. The oral laxatives all had other ingredients.
So, I have secured a lifetime supply (4oz) of purest pharmaceutical grade mineral oil, and am confident that it will not poison me if I get a bit of it on my food.

However, I will be using this oil on slipjoints, which have some pretty highly stressed bearing points.
I have seen blade tangs with their camming surfaces completely worn out fron where the backspring impinges on them.
A lot of people say that no special lube is required, but after seeing such advanced wear, I'd argue that whatever lube is used should have reasonably good lubrication properties.

Is mineral oil actually any good as a lube?

From the searches I did, it seems that most of these type of threads descend into a 'I use CLP', 'well I use Remoil', 'no, 3in1 is the best!' type discussions.
I'd like to stick to talking about mineral oil if possible.

There are many excellent lubes out there, but I am specifically interested in the food safe properties of mineral oil, more specifically about how suitable it is for lubricating the unique camming action of a slipjoint.
 
I keep a small bottle of pharmaceutical grade mineral oil on my kitchen counter. It works nicely as a food-safe protectant, and as a lube for folders. It is not necessarily the best lube. It works well, but it is greasy, and can attract dirt and grit and hold them around the pivot.
 
Mineral oil is entirely food safe, obviously, and will do a fine job of lubricating your knife's bearing surfaces. It will NOT be as long-lived or as efficient as CLP or a dedicated lubricant. Apply it more often, and make sure you keep the joint clean. Smooth-steel-on-steel contact usually won't result in much wear, but get some dust or grit into that mix, with oil as a binder and carrier? THEN you get wear.

Keep it clean, and apply frequently. Personally, I use Eezox and CLP on my daily carries, and the mineral oil on kitchen knives or other things that will see frequent food contact. It will serve your purpose fine, though.
 
It's absolutely fine. I'm one of the very few around here, who actually HASN'T used CLP, BreakFree, White Lightning, ATF, Mobil 1, Remoil, 3-in-1, etc.

I have relied on mineral oil and/or WD-40, which is a mix of light solvent (which evaporates quickly), and some light mineral oil, which is left behind. Been getting by just fine on that, for 20+ years.

The more important issue with any folding knife, is keeping it reasonably clean and not over-lubricating it (which collects more dirt and gunks it up) . So long as you're not mixing dirt & grime in with it, most any lube will do just fine, when applied sparingly.
 
Ballistol has always been good to me.

I've never used it as a lube for folders but it is food safe from what I remember.

Just another option.
 
Just looked at a couple MSDS's for Ballistol, out of curiosity. Interestingly, it's listed as containing Isobutyl Alcohol (solvent) and 'medicinal grade mineral oil'. I'd assume it behaves much like WD-40 (alcohol solvent evaporates, leaves mineral oil behind).
 
Interesting.
I use mobil1 thinned with kerosene on my non-food knives.
Not only does it help with penetration, but it largely prevents over-oiling as it bulks up the oil and then disappears.

So the concensus is to oil often and get rid of debris, and mineral oil will provide adequate lubrication.
Got it :)
 
I've used mineral oil as a lubricant on natural sharpening stones. It works quite well.
 
You can get food grade mineral oil where you might find wooden cutting boards. Bed, bath, and beyond, and other stores with kitchen supplies. I've been using it on my slipjoints, and yes it attracts lint like crazy. Just minutes ago I went ahead and tried some breakfree, we shall see.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Just looked at a couple MSDS's for Ballistol, out of curiosity. Interestingly, it's listed as containing Isobutyl Alcohol (solvent) and 'medicinal grade mineral oil'. I'd assume it behaves much like WD-40 (alcohol solvent evaporates, leaves mineral oil behind).
Click to expand...

The alcohol is what makes it mixable with water. Once it evaporates it becomes excellent at repelling moisture. Ballistol has only a little alcohol to let it do its thing, WD40 by comparison has a ton more solvent in it, and IMO the oil component isn't as good as what ballistol uses. (Ballistol is tasteless once the aromatics evaporate, WD 40 always tastes like rubber)
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Just looked at a couple MSDS's for Ballistol, out of curiosity. Interestingly, it's listed as containing Isobutyl Alcohol (solvent) and 'medicinal grade mineral oil'. I'd assume it behaves much like WD-40 (alcohol solvent evaporates, leaves mineral oil behind).
Click to expand...

Were they the only ingredients?
If so, ballistol is seriously overpriced...
 
MSDS info usually just lists data pertinent to safety issues (toxicity/fire hazards, health issues raised by different means of exposure, such as ingestion, inhalation, skin/eye contact, etc.). They won't likely list ALL ingredients in a product, unless every ingredient poses a potential risk. Sometimes though, some insight can be gained by taking a look at what's listed there, especially when trying to find a 'food-safe' product. I sometimes cringe a bit, when I hear some of the things that are recommended by users for lube & cleaning knives. Stuff like gasoline, brake cleaners, etc., which can present some obvious, as well as not-so-obvious, health risks, and which can be readily absorbed through the skin. That's why I've gotten into the habit of looking for MSDS info, when some products are recommended.

A lot of products are very similar in how they work, how they're made, ingredients, etc. Like all other products for sale to consumers, they'll be packaged & marketed to exploit whatever the maker wants to emphasize as the 'key' ingredients that make their product more 'special' than everybody elses (and therefore more worthy of a high price tag).
 
Keep your knives squeaky clean and DRY and the need for a lubricant/preservative will be minimal. Unless, of course, you reside in an extremely humid area.
 
jamesbeat said:
Were they the only ingredients?
If so, ballistol is seriously overpriced...
Click to expand...

Food/medical grade mineral oil, Alcohol, Anise oil (anise and the alcohol are what give it the smell) , and a few other things are in it. At 8 dollars a pint, it's a bit more pricy than your synthetic motoroils, but still cheaper than alot of other gun/knife products that are just repackaged industrial grade mineral oil and solvent.
 
I've read in the customs forum to use mineral oil on stag, bone, and horn too which I have been doing on my slippies and gun grips.
 
Never use mineral, or any other oil on horn, stag, ivory, wood, or bone. They don't contain mineral oil naturally.
It does nothing to ivory, soaks into crevices in horn and makes them difficult or impossible to repair, and soaks into stag, wood, and bone-softening and discoloring them.
Use paste wax.
Only DRYING oils should be used on wood-tung, boiled linseed, etc.
 
I've never thought to use anything else, I just don't have a need for anything better. I'm sure there are MUCH better lubricants, but it works and its food safe. In addition, all of my user knives are carbon steel and need to be wiped with oil as well as lubricated,
 
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