- Joined
- Apr 12, 2000
- Messages
- 2,116
After a recent topic about Militec-1 I felt the need to give my new Benchmade Doug Ritter Grip a treatment. I decided to take some pictures to give everyone some fun visuals.
For those who aren't familiar with Militec-1 many of us have found it to be the ultimate lubricant for our folding knives. It works best when applied properly and that requires heating up the pivot area slightly. Militec-1 says not to heat over 150F. I try and hold right around there.
First I start off by rinsing out the knife with hot tap water and some soap. I rinse it well to remove any residue or dirt that may interfer with the Militec-1 bonding to the metal. The nice thing about this is the hot water gets everything warmed up to about the right temp (If your hot tap water is around 140-150 degrees).
Next I lay the knife down on my work table and use a hair dryer to heat the knife up to about 150F. To monitor the temperature I use a digital meat thermometer on the opposite side of the pivot from where the hair dryer is blowing from. If it's to hot I move it farther away from the hair dryer, if it's not hot enoguh I move it closer. I let the knife heat up and maintain it's temperature and give it a chance to dry out from it's washing.
Now it's time to apply some Militec-1. I just use a little screw driver or whatever to dip into the bottle (I need to get a little bottle with an applicator needle) and drip it onto the pivot area. I also apply it to the AXIS lock to help protect the springs and keep them lubricated to reduce any wear if they are rubbing against anything in there. I don't have a picture of me applying the Militec, but here's my bottle of it.
In the other topic someone said they applied it to their blade as well, so I figured I'd do that to see what happens. He claimed it made the blade slice through things better. Here's a shot of some Militec-1 pooled around the thumbstud, just kinda a fun picture:
After applying the Militec-1 it's back under the hair dryer for several minutes. I'm not sure how long it's best to heat it, I went around 7-10 minutes. I also flip the knife back and forth and move the position of the blade around to try and keep things evenly heated.
After I'm done I just let the knife sit over night on a paper towel and let the excess Militec-1 work it's way out. The excess seems to just evaporate. I also wipe up as much excess as I can when I'm done.
Feel free to add your own personal tips for getting the most out of Militec-1.
For those who aren't familiar with Militec-1 many of us have found it to be the ultimate lubricant for our folding knives. It works best when applied properly and that requires heating up the pivot area slightly. Militec-1 says not to heat over 150F. I try and hold right around there.
First I start off by rinsing out the knife with hot tap water and some soap. I rinse it well to remove any residue or dirt that may interfer with the Militec-1 bonding to the metal. The nice thing about this is the hot water gets everything warmed up to about the right temp (If your hot tap water is around 140-150 degrees).
Next I lay the knife down on my work table and use a hair dryer to heat the knife up to about 150F. To monitor the temperature I use a digital meat thermometer on the opposite side of the pivot from where the hair dryer is blowing from. If it's to hot I move it farther away from the hair dryer, if it's not hot enoguh I move it closer. I let the knife heat up and maintain it's temperature and give it a chance to dry out from it's washing.
Now it's time to apply some Militec-1. I just use a little screw driver or whatever to dip into the bottle (I need to get a little bottle with an applicator needle) and drip it onto the pivot area. I also apply it to the AXIS lock to help protect the springs and keep them lubricated to reduce any wear if they are rubbing against anything in there. I don't have a picture of me applying the Militec, but here's my bottle of it.
In the other topic someone said they applied it to their blade as well, so I figured I'd do that to see what happens. He claimed it made the blade slice through things better. Here's a shot of some Militec-1 pooled around the thumbstud, just kinda a fun picture:
After applying the Militec-1 it's back under the hair dryer for several minutes. I'm not sure how long it's best to heat it, I went around 7-10 minutes. I also flip the knife back and forth and move the position of the blade around to try and keep things evenly heated.
After I'm done I just let the knife sit over night on a paper towel and let the excess Militec-1 work it's way out. The excess seems to just evaporate. I also wipe up as much excess as I can when I'm done.
Feel free to add your own personal tips for getting the most out of Militec-1.
