Stop wasting grease. The paint-brush technique

kidcongo

kidcongo

Joined
Jan 12, 2013
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Just a few shots of what I do to lubricate my Sebenza. I find those tubes from CRK useless. When they are half-empty you have to squeeze so hard and then way too much grease comes out. Maybe I'm just feeble, but I figured there had to be a better way that didn't involve getting grease everywhere and throwing half of it away.

Important and very complicated steps....get them in the right order!!!!!!

1 - Squeeze all of the grease out of all of your tubes into another container (I used a small container that had Tamiya hobby grease in it, but any small plastic container would work)
2 - Get yourself a fine paint brush
3 - Suddenly you have a lifetime supply of grease! It's like magic :D:thumbup::thumbup:


Some on the bushing:

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Some in the bushing hole:

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Some on the area of the blade that rubs the washer (note you can be fairly accurate with the brush):

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A little extra for the "holes":

DSCF4398_zps4ed7c6cb.jpg


A tiny bit on the detent ball track and some for the small washer holes:

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There you go. Works like a charm
 
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Thanks for the tips!

I've only taken apart, cleaned and lubed my small Insingo once and using the standard grease tube I did apply a little too much. The knife is very smooth now, but some of the grease seeped out the sides and may attract some debris. Just means I get to try this technique next time.
 
Nice pictures, thanks.
I may not use enough grease? I've never put half than amount down.
 
I know what your talking about with the little tubes and how its so easy to accidentally squirt out a big glob of it that will end up wasted. Wish they would go back to the syringes.
I've been thinking about picking up the Finish Line Extreme Flouro since I heard its very similar to the CRK grease and you get a whole lot more volume and it comes in a syringe type package.
 
I use Wilson Combat Ultima Lube grease in the syringe. It's out of production in the syringe packaging, but you can find it from time to time. It works great and the syringe makes it easy to get the amount you want, where you want it. I like the paint brush idea though as it prompts me to start using all that unused CRK grease I have collected.

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Good idea.
Although this syringe, if the cannula has been cut quite short, is usually quite accurate.

HYWmkb.jpg
 
I still have the syringe that CRK used to offer. Have had it about 10 years now maybe. Have one new CRK that has the lube, but never used it.
 
I wish I had one of the original CRK syringes so I could refill it. You're lucky nyefmaker. I know you can get the Extreme Flouro and other products in syringe. The new CRK tubes suck royally IMHO. The brush technique is a suggestion for those poor sods like me who have never been so lucky to get the syringe, and are stuck with the goofy CRK tubes. They really don't work all that well because they are springy plastic. They fill with air and as you squeeze you have no idea when the grease is going to suddenly appear! A soft metal tube would be better if they don't want to offer a syringe. Looking at my photos of the brush technique, it looks maybe like a lot of grease, but that is a small sebenza blade, so the scale of the picture is important to consider.
 
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Good idea, I havent thought of doing that. When mine runs out, I think I will probably try the extreme flouro
 
That's a great idea! I am lucky to still have a syringe, but might give this a try anyways for even distribution:thumbup:
 
is CRK grease white? mine is transparent and liquid, should I shake it?

idea of the brush....AWESOME!
 
I'm of two minds about this thread. KidCongo is, IMHO, using about twice as much lube as is necessary. Much of what he applies will end up outside the bushing and washers collecting dust and pocket lint. I use either the syringe (I use the CRK or Wilson's grease) or, if the syringe has given me a large glop of lube, a tooth pick to apply 6-8 dots of lube to each washer then I'll reassemble the washers on the blade and wipe off any lube that escapes outside the washer.

Of course, I have the older, solid washers. I'm sure the newer ones will hold substantially more lube. I just hate blowing dust/pocket lint bunnies out of the knife because I've over-lubed.
 
Glad you restated my comment, iamsmiling. Too much grease? Dirt and lint magnet?:eek:
Wonder if anyone will pay attention to your post?
 
I wish I recalled the crowd I was broadcasting to when I made this post.

Some things to consider:

- I was just trying to promote the idea of the paint brush as opposed to those stupid tubes they give you as a way to apply the grease (however much you want) without any wasted or extra.
- Keep in mind this is a small sebenza shown, and the lighting and camera tend to exaggerate the amount of grease in the photos. I am not promoting the idea of "more grease is better". it's not
- The excess grease you see in the pivot hole is being held there temporarily. I grabbed it with the brush to smear on the faces that are under the washers
- The knife pictured, when assembled, did not ooze grease out of the pivot.
- If I could do it all again, I would have paid more attention to what I was showing, and the amount of grease in the photos, or simply posted the info in the Spyderco forum :D


Mad Max...yes the great is white, and it separates in those bouncy tubes into a clear liquid and white paste. It works much better dispensed into something else.

Also I really appreciate that CRK includes the grease, and would take a dumb tube any day over no tube. At very least a CLEAR plastic tube would be better. I have many greases in small clear tubes, including ones more opaque than the CRK grease, and surprisingly the amount of grease in the tube can be seen, and the grease can be observed moving towards the spout before it suddenly appears and squirts out.

Nuff said
 
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Yea, I use a fraction of that amount too. The paint brush alone is soaking up more grease than I use on my knives. :p

I literally dab about 4 or 5 spots round the area where the washers sit with the tube and then spin the washers to spread the lube. The spill from pressing the washers down lubes the pivot area enough as well. That CRK grease goes a long way, the paintbrush is potentially a nice idea but you are using a lot more than you need to and losing (wasting) a good amount to the brush. :)

gull wing said:
Nice pictures, thanks.
I may not use enough grease? I've never put half than amount down.
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, a brush seems like a fine idea, but then you need to find a way to store it so it does not get contaminated between use (and for me, I'd be better off tossing it out and getting a new brush for the very infrequent uses it would see, and then I'd be using more grease considering how much would go into the brush)

As for wasting grease...I think this tube will likely last beyond my lifetime...I just don't need to take my knives apart much...and when I do, I use very little grease.

 
well I am doomed to be misunderstood on this one, but that's ok! :)

My whole point is not that you need a bunch of grease, or that there is not enough in the tube


MY POINT IS THAT WHEN YOU SQUEEZE A NEW CRK GREASE TUBE THAT IS NOT 100% FULL, IT CAN BE HARD TO GET JUST THE TINY DAB YOU WANT OUT OF IT IN A CONTROLLED FASHION. YOU CANNOT TELL HOW MUCH GREASE IS IN THE TUBE BECAUSE IT IS NOT CLEAR, SO IF YOU ARE A GOOF LIKE ME, ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE IS A BIG BLOB ON YOUR BLADE THAT YOU CANNOT PUT BACK IN THE TUBE, SO MUST BE THROWN AWAY.

Am I yelling? Love you guys! :p
 
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