Recommendation? Lubrication for detent

N

NoF

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Oct 15, 2018
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I've been using mineral oil as a general lubricant for knives, both at the pivot and the detent ball. While it seems to work fine at the pivot, it seems to gather dirt a little too quickly at the detent ball, turning an otherwise smooth opening action into a gritty nightmare in a few days. It's pretty easy to wipe off detent ball and drip a bit more oil on, but I'd prefer something that lasts longer.

Are there any long lasting, food safe lubricants that you guys would recommend?
 
Any wet lubricant will gather debris, as you have stated. The gritty action only lasts a few days because that is how long it takes for the detent ball to clean itself. I don't lube the detents and never have. I use the knife until it breaks in.
 
NoF said:
I've been using mineral oil as a general lubricant for knives, both at the pivot and the detent ball. While it seems to work fine at the pivot, it seems to gather dirt a little too quickly at the detent ball, turning an otherwise smooth opening action into a gritty nightmare in a few days. It's pretty easy to wipe off detent ball and drip a bit more oil on, but I'd prefer something that lasts longer.

Are there any long lasting, food safe lubricants that you guys would recommend?
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Use a q tip and dip it into oil then follow the detent line on the blade. You don't want alot of oil or its going to attract dust.

Also less oil the better for action. The more oil you have the more gunk and the slower it will get. A car uses lots of oil but knives don't. But people associate it as the same. But the thinnest layer of oil is better in a. Knife pivot and detent.

if you want to try something other than mineral oil try out knife pivot lube. Nano oil is popular but it's just mineral oil and really expensive with snake oil marketing on its web page.

If your deten is ceramic consider running it dry.
 
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Mo2 said:
Use a q tip and dip it into oil then follow the detent line on the blade. You don't want alot of oil or its going to attract dust.

Also less oil the better for action. The more oil you have the more gunk and the slower it will get. A car uses lots of oil but knives don't. But people associate it as the same. But the thinnest layer of oil is better in a. Knife pivot and detent.

if you want to try something other than mineral oil try out knife pivot lube. Nano oil is popular but it's just mineral oil and really expensive with snake oil marketing on its web page.

If your deten is ceramic consider running it dry.
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Im not going to argue on which lube is best, or if the price of certain lubes is worth it but calling nano oil snake oil/just mineral oil and then recommending knife pivot lube makes zero sense.
 
ribeyemediumrare said:
Im not going to argue on which lube is best, or if the price of certain lubes is worth it but calling nano oil snake oil/just mineral oil and then recommending knife pivot lube makes zero sense.
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Try whatever you like. Nano oil is pure snake oil.
 
NoF said:
I've been using mineral oil as a general lubricant for knives, both at the pivot and the detent ball. While it seems to work fine at the pivot, it seems to gather dirt a little too quickly at the detent ball, turning an otherwise smooth opening action into a gritty nightmare in a few days. It's pretty easy to wipe off detent ball and drip a bit more oil on, but I'd prefer something that lasts longer.

Are there any long lasting, food safe lubricants that you guys would recommend?
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How much oil are you actually using, and what kind of detent is it? Instead of putting a drop down you should take a toothpick and just slightly paint the detent. Ive found that a minuscule amount of 85 weight nano oil on the detent helps make it smoother at least until the track wears in after which I would wipe it dry so the oil is kind of impregnated soaked into the metal but the surface isn't wet, that way dirt doesn't collect nearly a much. Frog lube isn't as smooth as some oils but its also good for this, you let it soak into the metal and then wipe off the surface layer so that it's completely dry but leaves the surface feeling smooth. hence some level of lubrication without attracting dirt. Ive also heard of people using certain dry lubricants on the detent track but I haven't tried them because based on reviews it seems like they aren't very smooth. Oh and about nano oil, its basically an oil carrier base in different weights with some "fullerenes" added in which are supposed to act like tiny ball bearings on the metal surface, so some of the lubricity will stay after you wipe of the oil. At least thats what its supposed to be, you're going to heard people say they notice a good difference in smoothness, and others will just say its repackaged mineral oil. Personally I do not think its just mineral oil and I like how its works but its definitely expensive and most likely uses cheap base ingredients. At the end all namebrand lubes are "overpriced" and operating on high margins.
 
I used to lube them, but now I'm run them dry. Seems not to matter on my collection due to the small amount of contact area the detent ball makes on the tang.
 
Mo2 said:
Try whatever you like. Nano oil is pure snake oil.
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Snake oil-a product, policy, etc. of little real worth or value that is promoted as the solution to a problem.
How exactly is it snake oil, how is KPL any less snake oil?
This word gets thrown around very loosely when people talk about lubes, I'd at least respect your opinion if you considered anything other than motor oil and wheel bearing grease snake oil.
 
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I lube my folders with a tiny drop of BreakFree CLP. You don't have to get any on the blade.
 
I use a light coat of mineral oil on the pivot and a Tiny dab of Lithium grease on the detent ball so it traces it's own path oalone the blade. Less is best when it comes to oiling a knife and as for that gritty feeling your blade gets, try pulling the pockets out of your pants the next time you toss them in the wash.;)
 
Most lubricants are fairly similar. I own both 10-wt Nano-Oil and Knife Pivot Lube and I couldn’t tell a discernible difference. They both work well. I also use CRK’s fluorinated grease. Good stuff.

However, this past week Knife Pivot Lube launched a Heavy version made specifically for detents. I was skeptical, but I picked a bottle up. It’s a gel consistency; really seems to stick in place. At any rate, I used it on a PM2 and I was able to completely tighten the pivot screw and still have the blade smoothly drop shut. That was new. I still backed it off about an 1/8th turn to get it where I wanted it.

I’m not going to say that it’s revolutionary, but it has worked the best out of any product I’ve used. I still use either NO or the regular KPL in the pivot area. Just this stuff on the detent. For non-stainless steels, I use Frog Lube on the blade (if I’m not letting it patina).
 
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