Ptfe?

B

Buck268

Joined
Nov 5, 2006
Messages
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Has anybody used this stuff as a knife lube? Its a dry lube, and is supposed to pick up virtually no lint and dust crap. Sprayed some into an old Imperial slippy and my Native; I can't say its as smooth as with oil but it does seem to lube decently, especially noticable with the Imperial slippy.

How well does this stuff stay put and resist wash out and wear out? It seems to leave a white residue, which I suspect is the dry lube; and it wipes off easily. So it would seem this is far from ideal for rust protection on the blade, correct? FWIW, I bought the Blaster brand Dry Lube "with TPFE technology" which judging by the can is made by the same people as PB Blaster (which I swear by...).
 
Buck268 said:
Has anybody used this stuff as a knife lube? Its a dry lube, and is supposed to pick up virtually no lint and dust crap. Sprayed some into an old Imperial slippy and my Native; I can't say its as smooth as with oil but it does seem to lube decently, especially noticable with the Imperial slippy.

How well does this stuff stay put and resist wash out and wear out? It seems to leave a white residue, which I suspect is the dry lube; and it wipes off easily. So it would seem this is far from ideal for rust protection on the blade, correct? FWIW, I bought the Blaster brand Dry Lube "with TPFE technology" which judging by the can is made by the same people as PB Blaster (which I swear by...).
Click to expand...

Hi Buck268,
I checked the MSDS at pbblaster.com. Their aerosol dry lube formula contains CO2 as the propellant, hexane as the carrier, and teflon particles. So the white powder is the teflon. The hexane rapidly evaporates. That would provide zero rust protectants. This is strictly a dry lube.
 
Interesting, thanks. I did wiki ptfe but didnt think abotu checking the MSDS. Maybe I should pick up a bottle of militech to play with once I land a new job... at least for my carbon blades. I really ike the results of this stuff on my Native, though.
 
I don't think I would use teflon on kitchen knives. Yeah, it's pretty inert when solidly anodized (or however they do it) to a fry pan, but I'd be mighty leery of getting the powder on my vittles. I could be wrong, but better safe than sorry.

If it's strictly rust protection you're after inside your folder, try WD-40 or Breakaway. They both leave a light film that stays in there fairly well, keeps moisture out etc... I wouldn't want that stuff on my food either, though.

All this is a big part of why I'm sort of moving away from folders in general.
 
I've never been impressed with WD-40 in any area. It doesnt lubricate well, it doesnt protect well, it doesnt penetrate well. The ONLY thing I've found it good for is displacing water. And even then its a PITA to clea off before oiling with good oil.

I've been using hoppes oil (not solvent) for a long time with good results, though it does tend to pick up lint more than I'd like for a traditional folder. With a pocket clip its fine, but for something resting in the bottom of a pocket I'd like something drier I guess. I wonder if any local shops stock millitech....
 
Mili-Tec attracts lint just as well as mineral oil, only it's more expensive and less food-friendly. Other than that, it's fine.
 
I find that hard to believe; I thought militec was supposed to be a dry lubricant which bonded within the metal after curing?
 
Might be if you heat it up per the instructions, but I don't stick my folders in the oven. Some folks use a hair dryer to heat only the pivot, but I haven't tried it. The stuff is a liquid in the bottle.
 
Buck268 said:
I find that hard to believe; I thought militec was supposed to be a dry lubricant which bonded within the metal after curing?
Click to expand...

We carried Miltec at the range I used to work for. I still have two quarts of it somewhere.

Anyway if you heat the metal to the correct temp, it will bond on the surface of the metal. But left at normal temps like thombrogan said, it is a liquid. And it will attract lint. I've never heated a part of up to use it on, however I if I did I would also use a dry lubricant like graphite. That's what we used in during Desert Storm to keep our rifles up and running.
 
I used to use laboratory grade PTFE made for application on GC/MS lab equipment. The white film you see is indeed the Teflon. You are supposed to wipe it until it is clear. The Teflon will now be on the wiped surface. It can handle high temp. but does wears off fairly easily. I would not use it on knives, but it great for counter tops, sinks, etc. The Hexane is a great solvent although highly volatile and extremely flammable. When applied properly it is very slick. It cured the cats of jumping on tables and counters. They slid off just as fast as they jumped on.
 
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