Knife Lube!

F

frgtn340

Joined
Dec 3, 2006
Messages
105
After reading some uses for my White Lightning bike chain lube, I decided to try it out on one of my knives. Let me say that this stuff lives up to it's advertising! Not only does it make bike chains buttery smooth, but it makes knife deployment "lightning" FAST! It is a wax based lube which wicks away dirt and grime as it comes in contact with them. I have applied it to all of my knives! It seems that it works best when you let it dry for a couple of minutes! Look this stuff up!!!

*I do not work for or have any connection with white lightning*
 
5 year white lightning user right here, but never on knives. gonna have to try that. I just stripped my 1050 hc AG Russel... the sheath is rubbing the patina off. Thanks for the idea, it works awesome on both my mountain and road bike.
 
You gotta try it man! I have a kona stinky downhill bike, it kept that thing running like the Tin Man on crack! Honestly, I will never go back to any kind of lube after WL. However, I still use WD40 to keep the blade nice :thumbup:
 
Tried it a few times and it did not work well at all, I'll stick with BM blue lube.
 
I quit using White Lightning on my road and mountain bikes ten years ago.
The nasty buildup was really annoying.

Never even considered it for my folders.

Concerning WD-40, it is a solvent, not a lubricant.
Just something to think about.
 
bearcut said:
I quit using White Lightning on my road and mountain bikes ten years ago.
The nasty buildup was really annoying.

Never even considered it for my folders.
Click to expand...

I use Pedro's Iced Wax on my mountain and road bikes and it woks well in dry conditions if you clean and re-apply regularly. Otherwise it will collect dust and debris and gunk up in a short time. I would think it would do the same thing on a knife in a pocket (lint) or in use (dust and dirt).

The only bike-type lube I have used is Tri-Flow with good success. it is a very light lubricant w/ PTFE (teflon).

Otherwise I pretty much use Radio Shack's Precision Oiler w/ PTFE ("won't wash off") or Rem-Oil. I'm satisfied with either one but the Precision oiler makes for a VERYsmooth and fast pivot. I mostly use Rem-Oil for wiping down the blade but have used it on pivots too. Haven't tried Tuff-Glide yet but I here that is good too.
 
I used to use white lightening in the shop. I don't like the parafin as much as the teflon for chains. As bearcut had said, it builds up and you just need to throw a wick into your chain for lighting. I tried the teflon lube on my knives and it works well. I'd be afraid the parafin would build up inside the pivot and stuff, unless you wipe it off after, thats what i did with the chains, but it stills builds up in the rollers.
 
bearcut said:
I quit using White Lightning on my road and mountain bikes ten years ago.
The nasty buildup was really annoying.

Never even considered it for my folders.

Concerning WD-40, it is a solvent, not a lubricant.
Just something to think about.
Click to expand...

WD-40 is a penetrating oil combining a propellant and a lubricant.

That being said, I don't thin white lightning would be a good thing to use on your knives. I'll stick with Sentry's High Slip Grease.
 
There IS a bicycle oil that works great as a pivot lube -- it's called Phil Wood Tenacious Oil. Pivots aren't necessarily faster or easier with the Phil product, but they are smoother and the lube lasts much longer than anything else I've ever used.

http://www.philwood.com/products/greaseoilhandcleaner/

I've tried White Lightening and similar lubes on bike chains as knife pivots, and find that while they may be slick, they don't last long enough to suit me.
 
Josh K said:
WD-40 is a penetrating oil combining a propellant and a lubricant.
Click to expand...

According to MSDS:
Ingredients:

* 50% Stoddard solvent (mineral spirits, also commonly known as dry cleaning solvent),
* 25% Liquified petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant, carbon dioxide is used now to reduce considerable flammability),
* 15+% Mineral oil (light lubricating oil), and
* 10-% Inert ingredients



The ratio of solvent to oil is too great to be considered effective for lubrication. The solvent actually destroys the oil.

It is one of the best oil breaking solvents out there. Got greasy hands? Spray with WD40, add soap and wash away that grease. WD 40 only recently included the word "Lubricant" on the can. Prior to 5 years ago or so , this word NEVER appeared on the can. Why? Because it is NOT a lubricant. Spray WD in a lock and it will work well for a short period of time. What happens is that the WD emulsifies the oils and dirt to create a slick environment, but, the WD evaporates creating a glue like substance that really messes with the lock components. It has a similar effect on other objects.

Hope I didn't confuse you with any facts.
 
bearcut said:
According to MSDS:
Ingredients:

* 50% Stoddard solvent (mineral spirits, also commonly known as dry cleaning solvent),
* 25% Liquified petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant, carbon dioxide is used now to reduce considerable flammability),
* 15+% Mineral oil (light lubricating oil), and
* 10-% Inert ingredients



The ratio of solvent to oil is too great to be considered effective for lubrication. The solvent actually destroys the oil.

It is one of the best oil breaking solvents out there. Got greasy hands? Spray with WD40, add soap and wash away that grease. WD 40 only recently included the word "Lubricant" on the can. Prior to 5 years ago or so , this word NEVER appeared on the can. Why? Because it is NOT a lubricant. Spray WD in a lock and it will work well for a short period of time. What happens is that the WD emulsifies the oils and dirt to create a slick environment, but, the WD evaporates creating a glue like substance that really messes with the lock components. It has a similar effect on other objects.

Hope I didn't confuse you with any facts.
Click to expand...

Quote the rest of it while you're being rude. I'm not the one here confused by facts.

The German version of the mandatory EU safety sheet lists the following safety relevant ingredients:

* 60-80%: Heavy Naphtha (petroleum product), hydrogen treated
* 1-5%: Carbon dioxide

It further lists flammability and effects to the human skin when repeatedly exposed to WD-40 as risks when using WD-40. Nitrile rubber gloves and safety glasses should be used. Water is unsuitable for extinguishing burning WD-40.
Click to expand...

I have some nice hand soap I'd rather use then WD-40. :rolleyes:

The mineral spirits evaporate quickly leaving the mineral oil to act as a lubricant.
 
Thats why the EU can't have anything good, they tell you to wear gloves when they could just say "don't get this crap on your hands"
 
Josh K said:
Quote the rest of it while you're being rude. I'm not the one here confused by facts.
Click to expand...

Silly me.

The WD-40 manufactures website MSDS sheet concurs with my statement.

http://www.wd40company.com/files/pdf/msds-wd494716385.pdf


I really must learn to start checking other countries data sheets when researching products sold in the USA.

I bet if you search in China’s MSDS sheets, they’ll tell you that the stuff is good to eat.

I have been corrected myself more than once in this forum.
If they are right and I am wrong, I admit it and apologize, learn, and move on.
It’s a lot better than making a fool of myself.

BTW, YOU were the one who took exception to my statement originally, not the other way around. I’d say that makes you the rude one.
Not to mention wrong.
 
Up until not long ago Buck Knives sold White Lightning packaged as a knife lubricant. I have a bottle of it now, and use it on most of my knives.
 
bearcut said:
Silly me.

The WD-40 manufactures website MSDS sheet concurs with my statement.

http://www.wd40company.com/files/pdf/msds-wd494716385.pdf


I really must learn to start checking other countries data sheets when researching products sold in the USA.

I bet if you search in China’s MSDS sheets, they’ll tell you that the stuff is good to eat.

I have been corrected myself more than once in this forum.
If they are right and I am wrong, I admit it and apologize, learn, and move on.
It’s a lot better than making a fool of myself.

BTW, YOU were the one who took exception to my statement originally, not the other way around. I’d say that makes you the rude one.
Not to mention wrong.
Click to expand...

Your statement of what it contains? Sure. How it works? Hardly.
 
WD-40 as we all should know is not a lubricant, it will penetrate and clean and get rid of moisture and even protect steel from rusting but quickly fails as an effective lubricant.
 
knifenut1013 said:
WD-40 as we all should know is not a lubricant, it will penetrate and clean and get rid of moisture and even protect steel from rusting but quickly fails as an effective lubricant.
Click to expand...

Why? People use mineral oil all the time on their knives, and as bearcut so aptly pointed out, that is part of WD-40. A highly volatile solvent mixed with a nonvolatile lubricant.

I'm not saying it's great long term, or won't attract dirt and lint like some dry film lubricants, but it does work.
 
All this talk about mountain bikes makes me wanna ride! I didn't know so many of my fellow knife knuts are also into riding! Here's me on my Santa Cruz Superlight in Angwin, CA.


jtonbridge.jpg
 
For folding knives, I use both Hoppe`s Dri-Lube (spray)....the wet carrier evaporates, leaving only a thin, dry coating of Teflon behind, and I also use "Zoom Spout Turbine Oil" (from Ace Hardware), great stuff, recommended to me long ago by a master rebuilder of reel-to-reel tape decks....a litle bit goes a long way. For you bicycle riders, the most effective, long-lasting lube I ever found (after many years of experimenting) is pure paraffin, purchased in soap-sized bars from a hardware store. Melt it down in a coffee can ***over a double boiler ONLY*** (NEVER melt paraffin over an open flame unless you *want* to burn your house down !) Submerge a clean chain into the liquid paraffin, and leave it on the stove on low heat for about an hour....using pliers, remove the chain, and run the hooked end of a wire coat hanger through the hole in the chain`s endlink, using the pliers to close up the loop tightly. Bend the hanger so it`s a parallel straight line, (rather than a triangle), insert your hand into the big looped end, and swing the chain rapidly around over your head, like a helicopter. (Oh yeah, do this *outside* :-) Centrifugal force will disperse any unwanted excess paraffin, leaving the chain clean as a whistle, and quieter than you`ve ever heard it....leaving it soak in the hot paraffin ensures that even inside the plates & pins of the chain gets completely lubed....this lube job lasts a long time, and it doesn`t attract dirt or grit, either.
 
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