Cleaning a Swiss Army Knife

[beamdune]

Bought a used Victorinox Huntsman off ebay. It's in good condition but needs cleaning and the mechanism on a many of the tools feel quite gritty.

Any suggestions on good ways to give the thing a thorough clean (toothbrush and soapy water?) and anything to avoid (dishwasher?)?

Obviously I'll be oiling it afterwards.

 

[jdlenton]

Id use wd40 and a tooh brush or paint brush and the hot soapy water.


James

 

[Ogri the trog]

That sounds pretty much the idea Beamdune.
Avoid the dishwasher as it might damage the scales, other wise, soapy water and a brush, rinse in clean water, dry off and re-oil.

Ogri the trog

 

[AJB]

Cotton buds and soapy water are good for cleaning inside.

 

[sxmolloy]

the instructions that come with new SAK's say to use warm soapy water and to oil the joints. use what you feel is best (toothbrush, paintbrush etc, ive used my wifes make-up brush a couple of times (then hid it and blamed the kids).

i dont always need a brush though, it depends on how dirty/gritty it is. i give mine a good soak and swill in warm soapy water then just a touch of all purpose oil. just make sure that you give it a good dry afterwards though. (i used my wifes hair dryer, her beauty stuff is really handy at times).

best of luck!

 

[beamdune]

Thanks everyone, I'll give it a whirl tonight

 

[mark a.]

If the joints are rough then a clean and lube as people have described should work. Another option for when it's generally just a bit dusty is a can of compressed air to blow the grit out of the deeper bits.

 

[beamdune]

Job's a good un, now have a clean, non-gritty, oiled knife - and a cut finger

 

[PC2K]

i use a cleaning set from a AK-47. The hairs on the brushes are stiffer, so you can get to those narrow places. Reoild the hinges afterwards.

 

[nzgunnie]

I use hot soapy water, tooth brush, small round paint brush and cotton buds. Takes a while sometimes.

I was lucky enough to get a rummage through a big box of confiscated SAKs from airport security. All the really tidy ones were long gone, but there were some gems there if you knew what to look for. Unsharpened (ie not scratched) blades. I used IPA to get off all the sticky muck, hot water and soap etc then used 1200 grit wet and dry followed by Micromesh to polish the scales.

A good sharpen on my Lansky set and they are at least as good as new!

 

[Jon Mawer]

I find that the toothpicks are useful for removing pocket fluff from the hinges...

 

[PhilParry]

i use a cleaning set from a AK-47. The hairs on the brushes are stiffer, so you can get to those narrow places. Reoild the hinges afterwards.

Erm....where the heck do you get one of those!!?!? :Wow:


Phil

 

[Rebel]

Erm....where the heck do you get one of those!!?!? :Wow:

Phil

I think every household in The Netherlands has one.

Guess they haven't found their way over here yet.

 

[PC2K]

those AK-47 cleaning sets ( old east-german onces) are sold cheap on the web and in some surplus stores.

 

[addyb]

Putting a non-alox SAK through your dishwasher will melt and warp the cellidor scales. Just do as they say, warm soapy water and a scrubby brush, maybe a toothbrush for those hard to reach places. Clean, dry, and oil the joints a little when you're done. Good luck!

Adam

 

[PC2K]

actually i have boiled my vic huntsman without harm, caused some color faithing on the outrider, but noting really much.

The softer plastic scalles on my wenger knifes did show signs of starting melt. It has lost it's original shape.... Oops..