Knife Pivot Lube: ~1 Month Thoughts...Nano Oil Replacement?

Good stand in for 10wt Nano Oil, but there are other applications that I believe are better suited for something else.

[@Pablito46]

Fabulous video! Very informative and concise. Thank you! I'm planning on getting the 85w nano for my detent track thanks to your recommendation.

[@swkohnle08]

Good video as always. Good product reviews. I generally use the same oil as I do on my fire arms. Hoppe’s as a little goes a long way. On my GEC Knives with 1095 Steel, I occasionally wipe the blade with a flannel cloth with a couple drops of Hoppe’s. Works for me.

[@Alumapro23]

Stephen Kohnle Thanks, man. Nothing wrong with using what you like 👊

[@frozenturtlefarts1025]

I nevee really even oil my 1095 blades. My 5160 chopper I have to oil though.

[@General_Kenobi_212]

frog lube works especially great for protecting carbon steel blades, i use it on all of my traditional knives and even use it for my couple larger fixed blades, can't be used as a pivot lube obviously though lol

[@Stassa23]

The one thing that I really like about the KPL is that I’ve found that it works good when you don’t feel like taking your knife apart and after experimenting a little I found that when I just put a drop on each friction spot it worked a lot better than when I put more like I usually do with my nano lubes. I’ve also done some extreme humidity testing and it held up fine. I’m with you I hope they decide to make some heavier weight but for now I am using the kpl on the pivots and the 85 weight nano on the detent ball track. Well I hope you’re having a great day talk to you later

[@Alumapro23]

Stassa23 Good info as always. Thanks, man. I hope you have a great day too 👊

[@85bcole]

Just got the Heavy weight KPL Lube.Seems pretty good..Great vids keep it up!

[@Alumapro23]

Very nice! Thank you, sir 👊

[@skycorrigan6511]

How heavy is it? Like 85w Nano oil? That stuff's like syrup

[@zachstuff]

Great comparison video! Just got my first bottle of KPL. Seeps in good!

[@Alumapro23]

Zach’s Stuff Thanks, man 👊

[@BOOSTEDLASER]

@@Alumapro23 UPDATE? FAV OIL NOW FOR 2024?

[@unklecorky2181]

good video. btw heard you mention aegis solutions. Just ordered some. Do you use this product as knife cleaner as well or just for corrosion and rust?

[@commandlion8667]

From lots of different vids I use nano 10 for bearings and FL for cleaning and protecting blade. For washers I'll use Nano 85 or Lucaa gun oil. I emailed Hogue re my new Deka and use the Lucas. Terrific action.

[@ryanh6378]

Very similar experience for me. I was using Ballistol since I typically use it on my firearms. It wasn't that I was unhappy with the performance. It was mostly an application issue. Much easier to apply the KPL in between cleanings since it penetrates so easily. I'll probably still use the Ballistol for cleaning and corrosion protection and use KPL on the pivot and in between cleanings.

[@Alumapro23]

Ryan H It’s definitely thin. Which I still find interesting being that it’s rated for 17w. The thinness definitely creates a lot of capillary action though. It excels in that area.

[@ryanh6378]

@@Alumapro23 viscosity and surface tension are funny things. You'd think there would always be a correlation between the two but that's not the case. Also I'm not sure how they measure the weight of these lubricants. If it's the same as motor oil then it's the viscosity at 100 C, which wouldn't really have much bearing on room temperature applications. Guess now I have to look this up!

[@Alumapro23]

Ryan H Yeah, I’m no expert on material science so I’ll concede to all of that, besides the direct head to head comparison. All oils in the same room, on the same table, at the same temperature, placed on a knife that was in the same conditions (conditions held for at least 1 week), and at least 2 companies using “weight” to rate their products. One is 10w and almost 2x as thick and one is 17w and is almost half as thin. Either someone is not using the standardized “weight” system or someone is not accurate. With the things users of early KPL have told me, I’ll go with the latter. I have heard from multiple people that they bought 2+ bottles and each bottle had a different “weight”. I bought more than one, but I have it away before even opening it. So, I cannot comment firsthand experience on this one either. Interested to hear your thoughts on the above and what you find researching.

[@ryansgr8]

KPL seems to have an advantage in affordability. I've been using Benchmade Blue Lube so looking forward to to seeing the comparison when my KPL order arrives.

[@Alumapro23]

Ryan Holzer It will definitely be interesting to see where it stacks up against all the products that are out there. I do think that the price is a major selling point.

[@bdh3949]

Thank you, great info here.

[@Alumapro23]

BD H Thanks, man 👊

[@cutlerynovice9305]

Great review as usual, I was gonna buy some but as I get back into strider’s I wanna do the mix like you talked about before with the grease and the ten weight to get a good consisity of lube. On a blade topic I wish Skelton and the gang would re-release hdci I really liked that stuff over the edci for corrosion for a kinda food safe product . If not for food safe ezzox all the way, just hate the harsh smell of it.

[@Alumapro23]

cutlerynovice930 Yeah, the mixing thing can be tedious. I generally stick with 10wt on the washers and 85wt on the detent. If I’m feeling like tinkering, I’ll mix. A thicker KPL would definitely have a place in the lineup. I like the hdci for storage. I wondered if they would bring it back out. Ezzox has definitely been proven. The smell is a bit much. Not as bad as Tuff Glide, but up there. The room smelled so bad after I applied that little bit of Tuff Glide 🤮

[@rico0819]

Do you ever consider whether or not the oil is foodsafe? I use some knives for food prep and stick to mineral oil for them. I have been using nano oil for a couple of years now and like it, but, would love to find a food safe lube like it to use one oil on everything.

[@Alumapro23]

Robert Asencio I think about it here and there, but I don’t generally like to put oil on my blades. I find it messy and I hate oily fingers. One product that is food safe and gets around the mess/oily fingers is frog lube. Smells great, works well, but is a PITA to apply. The instructions suggest heating the blade.

[@oldfool2635]

Good practical video, thx.

[@Alumapro23]

Old Fool Thanks, man 👊

[@jaredbabbitt9207]

Just purchased my first strider about a week ago.. what do you use to take the pivot apart because i had to improvise and it proved a whole big annoyance and now i don't want to maintenance it for a long time, thanks.

[@Alumapro23]

Jared Babbitt I personally use a PSD Monkey Wrench tool. I’m petty sure I show it in one of my maintenance videos in my knife maintenance playlist. It’s a $60 tool and not always in stock, but it gives me the best feel and ease of use, in my opinion. PSD also makes a $20 tool that is usually easier to come by and is essentially a bit that fits into a hex driver. There are also other options. Up to and including bicycle chain spinner wrenches (can’t remember the size...I’m eventually planning a video for it). I bought 1 to try out. If the male side of the pivot is proud of the female side, it is not long enough to lock into the notches. A lot of people just use a cut penny or dime.

[@frozenturtlefarts1025]

For fixed blades atleast 3-in-1 oil is amazing unless you use it for eatting.

[@mattszymanski4684]

I use mineral oil on the blade and pivot.

[@Damen0530]

I bought mine a while ago, jury is still out. Don't know if it's any better than my Boker, Daiwa, etc.

[@Alumapro23]

Damen0530 I definitely like to be safe and play the long game too.

[@HustleHabit]

Thanks, brotha

[@Alumapro23]

👊

[@Pablito46]

Do you find that you have to lube your knife less often with the nano oil vs the KPL?

[@Alumapro23]

NOWISM I do find that to be the case.

[@Pablito46]

@@Alumapro23 Thanks!

[@85bcole]

How bout a review of EDCi formula for everyday carry?...they just re-released it..

[@Alumapro23]

Brady I’ve used it for years and it’s great stuff. I even have some old HDCi I tested for the original owner. I don’t think I could touch the video that Cedric and Ada did on his channel though. I’d either make something worse or exactly the same, at best.

[@pteronarcyscalifornica694]

Is it food safe?

[@19ADAM80]

You tha man...!

[@Alumapro23]

ADAM HENSON Thanks, man 👊

[@nosaj03]

I like it but it is very runny for me. I used in my YO2 and it went everywhere and because of the natural g10 you can see where the lube spreads.

[@Alumapro23]

nosaj03 It definitely runs more than a 17wt oil should, in my opinion. I think putting it next to the 10wt nano showed that though. I’m hopeful he’ll release a thicker version or versions.

[@SuperSteelSteve]

I think it's just trial and error... it has good penetration properties so that might be what's causing the running? I use about half of what I use with my usual lube... no leaking I think it's as good a quality as nano oil.. its strong points are price and the penetration ability. maintenance wise... I can drop some in a pivot with out my usual disassembly and see a noticable improvement. That is a luxury feature that even non knife guys will appreciate. Couple that with a $10 price point... you got a seller

[@Alumapro23]

SuperSteel Steve I think it’s thinner than the 17wt rating. Not necessarily a bad thing. It is definitely a plus when you don’t want to take a knife apart or you’re not a knife nut and just want to lube your knife and not rebuild it 😄😄😄. The product definitely has several things going for it. I just hope that it stands the test of time. It seems like the creator has done his own testing. So, hopefully, all will go well long term.

[@SuperSteelSteve]

@@Alumapro23 that was exactly one of my points. Its penetration ability allows non knife nuts the ability to just drop some in and.... boom... done. We knife nuts forget that people that manufacture knives/lube/ and basically all knife stuff don't manufacture them for us lol They make them for the guy who buys a Gerber from Wally world lol

[@Alumapro23]

SuperSteel Steve 😄😄😄 I agree. At the same time, I hope he comes out with something thicker for when you want the lube to stay put. Like the detent track. That’s something even a non-knife guy can lube and see instant improvement.

[@theknifenoob101]

I'll look to see if you have tested it, but now they have the KPL Heavy. It's strange stuff. Viscosity changes. Weird getting it out of the bottle.

[@Alumapro23]

TheKnifeNoob I hadn’t tested it. When I saw the price, I passed. The number 1 selling point to me was the price and relatively good comparable performance to my preferred lube, nano oil. For $17-$18 + shipping, I can just stick with my 85w nano oil. I’d have to double check, but on top of the price being higher, isn’t the bottle smaller as well?

[@theknifenoob101]

@@Alumapro23 It's the same size. I balked when I first saw the price, but I figure that it would last a fairly long time for me. I like it. I've never used nano oil, so I don't have anything to compare with in that viscosity category. I've always used the same lube for detent and the pivot. The stuff is kind of neat. It's almost jelly like in the bottle, but once you get it moving, it flows. Don't know functionally if it's better than whatever, but for me, I'm a casual user and it makes a difference over my usual lower viscosity solutions.

[@Alumapro23]

TheKnifeNoob Yeah, adding a heavier lube to the detent will make a notable difference. If the price would have been $10-$12 or I didn’t already have all the nano in all the weights I can use, I would have tried it. I’m just not blown away by the product or company, in general. I think it’s pretty disingenuous how the company only blasts glowing reviews/testimonials. Nothing has a 100% satisfaction rate. It’s also fatiguing to see the same posts over and over again. Just doesn’t rub me the right way. I’m glad to see a small American prosper though.

[@theknifenoob101]

@@Alumapro23 I think they priced it pretty high, for sure. a couple bucks would have been okay. If it was something that I would be replenishing often, I wouldn't pay that much. I have some japanese swords and I use Tsubaki (read expensive) oil on them, but I have used about half a bottle in about 10 years. I don't EDC those :) I think it's basically the same stuff that's in Citadel Black (I use on knives, sometimes). It may have a higher concentration of Camellia oil than normal. Who knows, I sure don't remember. It keeps them from rusting which is really all that counts in that case. Point is, straight mineral oil would work too, but sometimes ya gotta be fancy pants!

[@Alumapro23]

TheKnifeNoob 😄💯👊

[@LocoDirewolf]

How does it compare to the Nano Grease?

[@Alumapro23]

Eric F krackenthorpe I do not typically use the grease alone on knives. So, I couldn’t make an apples to apples comparison. The grease is way too thick on its own for knife use and the way I like my knives to work. As far as how well they lube things Nano, in general, versus KPL, I can’t see a difference so far.

[@LocoDirewolf]

@@Alumapro23 Thanks

[@Alumapro23]

Eric F krackenthorpe Anytime. I guess I should have clarified that I mix nano oil with nano grease.

[@carbonitegamorrean8368]

thx

[@MRSOMTHINBASIC]

👍🏻

[@Alumapro23]

MR SOMTHINBASIC215 👊

[@theinstrumentalist801]

Is nano oil nontoxic?

[@sanhxhebsbbb1048]

Yes

[@DreW.L_]

Have u ever used boker oil-pen?

[@Alumapro23]

Drew L No, sir.

[@DreW.L_]

@@Alumapro23 ok, Its probably the same as the nano oil 10w. Thank you!

[@Alumapro23]

Drew L I’ve never seen nano oil compared to anything outside of KPL. Nano oil has been the, generally accepted, top lube for 3-5 years.

[@DreW.L_]

@@Alumapro23 no i meant on the thickness not quality. Sorry

[@Alumapro23]

Drew L Got cha 👊

[@tikkidaddy]

If that is a can of eezox I see there...its great for rust and corrosion prevention...it's an ok lube. When applied correctly it's fine for the non flippy knives. It's also petro incompatible...and toxic in larger quantities.

[@Alumapro23]

mark burress It is and that’s part of why I don’t use it. It’s not food safe, it stinks, it’s thin, etc.

[@tikkidaddy]

@@Alumapro23 Oh dude...I totally get it...I've been using it since 1989. The one thing I figured out real quick was I was using way more than enough to get the job done. So I use it for storage... I've been recently testing Seafoam Deep Creep and.....WOW. But hey...drop by the hardware store and grab a can...if you don't like sprays you can transfer some SFDC into a small lighter fluid container and drip feed. Great light lube. Will it beat eezox at rust prevention...I doubt it. You can also use drug store mineral oil or PAM in a have to case😂are they food safe? Well sure...depends on how you want things to...come out😂

[@Alumapro23]

mark burress I’ll have to see what’s up with Deep Creep. Hahaha! Yeah, I’m a traditional knife guy and that’s all the hardcore guys rave about...mineral oil. I don’t mind oil for storage, but I HATE it on blades that I’m using. Then again, I’m even funny about handling things like grilled cheese sandwiches.

[@tikkidaddy]

@@Alumapro23 Well see...if you're using eezox right, on the final wipe down...there should be a very thin film, that will dry all the way out, like Tuf Glide. Once the solvent is gone...the danger is really low. I clean the major goop off with 91% alcohol, then clean it again with eezox and wipe it bone dry. Then I apply a really light coat and let it cure 24 hours...then wipe it down, done, so you don't get like corndog fingers or something😂then I store it. If it goes in the weeds then I use whatever, and keep it clean and dry as I can, and just redo the eezox later. I mean...don't get me wrong...I ain't snorting, drinking or eating it either😂...I keep a small stainless knife for food prep, and the choppers get the treatment. I did manage to flash rust a Cold Steel voyager tanto in AUS8A once in the summer in my jeans pocket...😂😂😂😂

[@Alumapro23]

mark burress 😂😂😂

[@PkwyDrive13]

I don't think it is any different than any other lube.. I have tried it for over a month and can't notice anything besides it's VERY inconsistent quality

[@Alumapro23]

PkwyDrive13 Inconsistencey from bottle to bottle or from application to application? Is it a difference in viscosity or?

[@PkwyDrive13]

@@Alumapro23 from bottle to bottle.. I ordered 3. All 3 are different colors of red, and all 3 are way different viscosities from literally 3w to 20w

[@Alumapro23]

PkwyDrive13 Very interesting. I’m no viscosity pro, but I knew that mine wasn’t 17wt. I gave away the other bottle I had. I can’t compare. 🤔 I do find it interesting that he’s reposting all the positive comments and I haven’t seen anything with a hint of negativity reposted. I’m not the end all be all, but I know he didn’t repost any of my IG comments, IGTV video, or YT video. That made me a bit suspicious to begin with.

[@PkwyDrive13]

@@Alumapro23 yeah, I'm honestly not impressed. I'll use it just to get rid of it, but I won't buy more. I have enough nano oil to last 10 years lol

[@Alumapro23]

PkwyDrive13 Hahaha! People always talk about how expensive it is. I always tell people that a little bottle will last a long time. So, dollar/use is not as bad as you would think if your dumping WD40 in your knife by the gallon 😄😄😄. The nano oil comparison is the part where I think people are being disingenuous. I’ve read a few people say it’s “better” than nano oil. The more I get into this hobby, the more I question words like better. Better value, better quality, better smell, better what? Not that I think it’s better performing on its best day. My bottle is as good, at best and I still say you need different viscosities for different jobs, which nano oil has. Just one man’s experience, but...

[@edcgearpocketknife]

I love KPL

[@jasonbrown6686]

Too bad KPL isn’t $8-$9 anymore ..

[@Alumapro23]

The price was the only +, IMO.

[@Al-ds3sw]

I’ve been using both for awhile Nano oil longer I have noticed the KPL seems to work a little better on washers that’s where I noticed the biggest difference the other thing I would like to note is KPL is synthetic based oil which if you know anything about Engine oil and lubrications synthetic oil last longer and protects better if you put Nano oil on1 blade and KPL on another and wipe them off with a clean rag you’ll notice that the KPL will last longer even when it seems that it is not on the blade with that being said. That would mean that KPL collects less dirt that is where I have noticed the biggest difference love the videos have a great day + it is cheaper and both work great

[@Alumapro23]

Al 76 I appreciate the detailed reply. I’ve spoken to several people and the jury still seems to be out. Only one thing is definite at this point, Nano Oil/grease/St. Claire products have the track record and KPL does not...yet. Nano oil is also synthetic. Do I buy into all the nano technology stuff, not wholesale. However, I have used it for over 5 years and it does seem to need to be applied less and less over time. To your point of it being wiped away/depleted. Time will tell about KPL too. Hopefully his prices can keep him going long enough to catch traction. It is hard being a one person business trying to compete in a world full of corporations with extended histories and known qualities.

[@Al-ds3sw]

Alchemy_1 you had said it the best there’s no wrong answer for your knife take care

[@Alumapro23]

Al 76 If I said best, I misspoke. If you look back a few vids, you’ll see that I have an entire video dedicated to the word “best” and our use of the word in this hobby. To use the word best, there has to be context. Nothing is the “best” in a blanket statement. For example, if I’m on a budget or just don’t like to spend money, there’s no way Nano Oil is the “best” product for me.

[@Alumapro23]

Al 76 I just went back and listened to the full video and reread my comments. I didn’t hear or see where I used the word best. Could you point me to it? I want to send a consistent message and like I said, I’ve already dedicated an entire video to the fact that “best” is a conditional term and not a blanket term, as it is commonly used in the hobby. So, if I’ve confused that message, I need to correct it.

[@Al-ds3sw]

Alchemy_1 I wasn’t necessarily quoting your video I was just stating that you said a comment the best and that was (there is no wrong answer for your own personal knives) I did not mean that you said one or the other ones best I just like the statement that you made in the video basically saying it’s your knife do what you want with it to everyone I think it was very good video and everyone has their own opinions obviously it is way too early I believe to tell KPL is going to stand the time as you said I do like the fact that it is cheaper but you get what you pay for I myself have use Nana oil for quite some time and find it works very well I have only used KPL for about a month or so The only thing at this point I kind of prefer myself is when I put nano oil in a knife it seems to take a couple days to break down a little then the knife become smooth where the KPL probably because of being thinner seems to give you the action more quickly thanks for all the replies I appreciate the conversations

[@sanhxhebsbbb1048]

Nano oil for me