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Like most things,
balisongs require maintenance to keep them in good condition.
The following are some products that you can use to keep yours
in good shape.
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| Lubricants: |
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| Polishes: |
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| General
care: |
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| Militec-1 |
Militec-1 is a
"metal conditioner" that bonds with metal and reduces
friction. It works well when applied with heat (a blow-dryer
will do nicely) and is even used by Benchmade Knife Co. at
their factory.
You can read more
about Militec-1 on their website.
Militec-1 is available at EDCKnives.com
as well as from the Benchmade
website.
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| Tuf-Glide |
Tuf-Glide is a
"dry-film lubricant" made by Sentry
Solutions, the makers of the popular Tuf-Cloth. While
providing lubrication, Tuf-Glide also contains rust inhibitors
to protect metals.
Read more about
Tuf-Glide on the Sentry
Solutions website and is available at New
Graham Knives.
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| White
Lightning |
White Lightning
is a wax lubricant that was originally intended for bicycle
chains but has since migrated to knife applications.
White Lightning
is available at One
Stop Knife Shop.
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| Water |
It
seems ridiculous to mention water as a lubricant, but it does
in fact help. If you do not have any lubricants such as Militec-1
or Tuf-Glide handy, washing your balisong with soap and water
will clean out and lubricate the pivot areas and help make flipping
smoother. |
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| Flitz |
Originally seen
on TV infomercials, Flitz is a non-abrasive metal polish.
It works very well at polishing tarnished metal as well as
removing "gunk" such as tape residue. Flitz is available
in paste or liquid form.
You can read more
about Flitz on their website.
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| Metal-Glo |
Metal Glo is a
metal polish made by United
Cutlery that is used to remove tarnish and oxidation from
metals.
You can order Metal
Glo from New
Graham Knives and 888Knives
R Us.
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| Loctite |
Because many of
the current balisong pivots use adjustable pivot screws, a
threadlocker like Loctite is important for keeping the screws
in proper position. Without a threadocker, screws may loosen
and/or tighten during manipulation which can lead to a bali
that does not move freely. This can cause injury if not careful
or may result in lost screws. Brands of threadlocker like
Loctite come in different strengths such as "blue"
and/or "red." The red Loctite is much stronger than
the blue and requires more force (or heat) to loosen. Choose
the product that bests fits your need.
You can read more
about Loctite threadlocker on the Loctite
website.
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| Torx
Drivers |
Most
of the recent balisongs (production and custom alike) utilize
torx screws for their pivots and latches. Every balisonger should
have a set of torx drivers handy so they can adjust (or remove)
these screws when necessary. Benchmade does offer a torx driver
set of its own--the Benchmade Blue Box--but the Blue Box torx
bits are on the soft side and tend to twist out of shape when
faced with a tough screw. |
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| Alcohol |
When
manipulating a balisong (or any knife, for that matter), it's
important to keep a firm grip on your knife. Alcohol is a good
way to clean the handles of your knife to minimize slippage.
Alcohol is readily available and dries quickly while cleaning
off the oil that often finds its way onto handles (this applies
to all metal handles, for handles with non-metal inserts or
scales please research whether or not alcohol will affect other
materials). |
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| Tuf-Cloth |
Tuf-Cloth
is a popular maintenance product for knives and other metal
objects. Tuf-Cloth, made by Sentry
Solutions is a lint-free cloth coated with Tuf-Glide.
Wiping metal with the Tuf-Cloth will coat the metal with
a non-toxic lubricant and rust inhibitor to protect knives
from corrosion. Marine Tuf-Cloth is also available for saltwater
environments.
Read more about
Tuf-Cloth on the Sentry
Solutions website and is available at New
Graham Knives.
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| Flitz
Microfiber Cloth |
The Flitz Microfiber
Polishing cloth is made to "attract the grime and liquid
deep into the ultra thin, wedge shaped fibers and holds it
like a magnet" rather than push dirt and moisture around
like a regular rag. It's made for polishing various surfaces
and "eliminates cloth-inflicted swirl marks." The
Flitz Microfiber cloth is also washable and reusable up to
500 times.
You can read more
about the Flitz Microfiber Cloth on their website.
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