In this article, we will show you the tips and tricks on how to maintain your pocket knife, from cleaning, lubricating, to sharpening.
Cleaning
Sometimes, you will need to dismantle your pocket knife down to the tiniest screw to clean the little corners of it. Metals gather dust and get rusty after a while, so cleaning is essential for maintaining your buddy’s longevity.
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Disassembly
Following the advice of various experts of the high quality pocket knives, disassembly should not be too complicated.
First, take a good look at your knife, understand its structure, and start with the big, obvious parts. Most pocket knives should have a design simple enough so that a close look helps you figure out the overall structure. Then, begin with unravelling your pivot, release the blade, then work your way down to unscrewing the handle. One thing you should never do is dismantle the knife with the blade closed. This could potentially spring the lock, pull the blade into its frame, and cut your hand in the process.
For cleaning, many people like to use a soft cloth for wiping the blade and the handle, and a Q-tip for getting in the small little corners. Others, though, fear that cloth might scratch their knives, so they choose to use an acid brush instead. The acid brush has the advantage of lightly blowing away specks of dust without leaving any scratch. We all know that painful feeling of having that annoying scratch on your favorite tool just staring at you in their face.
Now, pop out your isopropyl alcohol, and start cleaning. If there is any discoloration on your blade, using an eraser in combination with the alcohol seems to get the job done. Some people like to clean with mineral oil because it effectively removes any deep-seated stains, but others fear it might scratch the blade. Check also to see if the blade has any corrosion on it.
Re-assembly
After dismantling your knife, now is the time to put it back together. While it seems to be a fairly easy job since you have already seen where the parts belong, now you only need to put them back on their tracks. Indeed this is the case, if you have everything organized.
Top rated folding knives have various little screws and washers, so it is easy to lose them or forget where they belong. For this reason, many people carefully lay them out in order ever since the initial dismantling step so as to remember where things belong. Others who work with knives often have a rubber mat like those of Lyman’s that looks like a puzzle. This mat has different holes and sections intended for storing specific bearings and bits of the knife. This is to help easy re-arrangement and so that you won’t lose the parts.
Before putting the knife back together, remember to observe if there is any grit left, and to carefully wipe them away.
Lubricating
Even the best pocket knife gets rusty, and that’s just a fact. This is where lubrication comes into place.
Many people recommend the Loctite Gluestick, others recommend the Benchmade Blue Lube, or just simple knife pivot lubes. Some just use nano oil because it is clean, neat, and does not make a big mess. Others prefer mineral oil.
When lubricating, you really have to be confident in the principle that “less is more”, because less really is more. Take only one or two dab where you want to lubricate, then that will be enough. Putting excessive oil will only attract more dirt sticking to the corner. And who wants a sticky, oily knife in their pocket anyway?
For lubricating, you do not necessarily have to open the knife. Simply apply it to places that you want smoothened, and then you’re good.
Pivot adjustment
Many people have issues with the pivot of the blade, and so we thought it is worth mentioning. With this step, all you need is a screwdriver, and a bit of intuition.
With a driver, loosen the pivot. Do it with the blade half to three quarter closed, and simply rely on your preference. For those that prefer a bit of resistance with the blade, tighten the pivot a bit harder. Others who want their blades to have that gravity drop that lets the blade fall shut on its own with a turn of the hand, don’t tighten the pivot that much.
With the right pivot angle, your best quality pocket knives should work as new. Better yet, it will work even more to your liking than how it initially came as.
Sharpening
Understanding the importance of maintaining best rated pocket knives, companies offer multiple ways to keep them sharp and edgy. One product that has been soaring in popularity among knife users is the Spyderco Sharpmaker.
The Sharpmaker comes with four stones: two stones are called “medium”, which is brown and meant for aggressive use. The other stoners are white and are called “fine”, used for refining the edge or fine tuning the level of sharpness.
As a base, use the two brown stones first. Place your knife straight-- in a perpendicular angle to the horizontal bar of the sharpener-- then gently run it up and down against the stones. There isn’t any formula for the specific times you should repeat this action. Simply feel the edge with the tip of your finger to see if it is at the right level that you want. Experts say to use the brown stones as a base because this is where the bits of metals on your blade that have been worn out by use and become blunt get cut off, so you are essentially creating a new edge.
Then, move on to fine tuning the edge with the white stones. Repeat the same motion until the sharpness feels right to your finger. As a tester, try cutting a piece of paper to see if your favorite, best folding knife is sharp enough.
Finally, seal the deal with a traditional strop block. This final step is to brush off any impurity left from stone sharpening. Do not place the blade flat on the block, but tilt it about 15 degrees to get the best angle. You do not always have to do this, but doing it helps guarantee that feeling of completeness. And, some people say it’s relaxing!
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Above is a list of the things to do to maintain your knife. Maintenance is important since even the best pocket knives won’t last forever. Nothing is more satisfying than having that sharp, cutting-edge knife in your pocket, ready to come to the rescue when an emergency shows up. If you have learned something today, please share this article to those who might need it too!