How to Clean & Maintain Your Folding Pocket Knife

Our friends at Kent of Inglewood recently created a really awesome new product: their pocket knife maintenance kit! You can find it at Kent of Inglewood in Calgary, Knifewear in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary, and online at both stores.

Now, of course, I was thrilled as Toronto's resident pocket-knife nerd. There are a lot of things that go into maintaining your own pocket knives; it's not as intimidating as it looks, but if you lose a piece, things can get downright difficult. So lots of people never give it a go, but I promise it's really not too bad. Don't believe me? Let's do it together.

First things first, grab your pocket knife! I grabbed the knife that's usually in my pocket; we don't sell them, sadly, so forgive me, but I knew it would have the most accumulated pocket lint in its gears, which lends itself very nicely to this sort of task when you need an example.

What's in the Kit?

Let's start with the kit itself; it has lots of awesome things! 

• A cleaning cloth, great for larger areas.
• A stainless debris pick, which helps with reassembling your knife and getting into small areas where grime can get stuck. Also very helpful if you have a pebble caught in your knife somewhere- don't laugh, it's happened. 
• A double-sided cleaning brush, which has two sides, one smaller and one bigger, for getting into all sorts of spots. 
• A silicone organizing mat to keep your pieces from flying, and it's also great at holding little screws where you put them so they don't roll away.
• A Torx foldable screwdriver set should get you through almost every pocket knife out there these days, though you may find the occasional one with odd screw types. It's not as common anymore. thankfully. 
• Finally, the part I got really excited about and yes- I know. The durable cotton swabs! These are amazing, and I hear you- yes, I know it's weird getting excited about cotton swabs, however! Anyone who has tried to do this sort of thing with Q-tips knows you get the little hairy bits caught and tangled where you don't want them, and they are always too big to get into the tiny spots, but not these! They are exactly the size you hope for, come in a big pack, and refills are also available.

How to Clean Your Pocket Knife

Start by laying out your silicone mat and tools. Keeping everything organized and taking photos as you go will help you feel confident and in control, and will help if you suddenly find yourself unsure of what order things go back together or at what orientation. Trust me, it’ll make this process more satisfying and less stressful.

We start by removing the screws; I start on the pivot screw. It's the main screw that holds the pocket knife together, right in the middle of the movement. I place it above the knife in the centre. As I remove screws, I set them aside, always in the same order they came out. Remove the two screws, and make sure the top screw sits above the bottom one, on the side, so you remember which one goes where. They are sometimes interchangeable but I really hate to risk it.

Pretty quickly you'll get the clip off, and one of the scales - which is what we call the sides that make up the handle. You'll quickly find 4 washers; make sure to lay them the way they came out. Two of these washers are likely going to have little ball bearings. You’ll hear companies like James Brand brag about using ceramic ball bearings instead of titanium or steel, and this is what they’re talking about. I rub the washers with the cloth just to get any old oil or dust off of em'.

Let’s pause to look at my knife entirely apart; you can see grime build-up in the areas where there's movement, and tape gunk on the blade. Now I use liquid butane fluid to remove tape residue from my knives, just as I was taught, and it always works. You can also use rubbing alcohol, which you’re more likely to have at home. It still does the job, I just find it takes a little longer.

Before you start wondering what mud puddle I dropped my knife into, remember, I carry these two knives most days. They live in my pockets, picking up every bit of pocket lint, dust and dirt from hiking and daily life. In my stage-building days, you could add grease from staging and trucks. Basically, everything around you will get introduced to your knife. Think about all the dust and lint you find at the bottom of your purse or backpack! When I built stages, I had to do this

process much more often; nowadays it's maybe a couple of times a year. Regular maintenance depends on how often you use your knife; more frequent cleaning keeps it in top shape. 

Okay, back to cleaning. I use the debris pick to reach any tiny corners the swabs and cloth can't quite reach, and the cotton swab for everything else. Take your time; remember to wipe off your washers with the cloth a little, and brush into your locking system. In my case, my frame lock sometimes catches lint. The brush works so well at getting in there. I have tried an old toothbrush for this, but it’s never quite gotten as far as I’d hoped, so the two different-sized brushes were such a nice upgrade. Don't forget to clean your clip a bit; it does some pretty hard work every day, and it deserves the TLC.

Now we reassemble. Grab your scales; I get the main part of the Pivot screw into place. There's usually a notch that needs to be lined up for that to slot into place—next, my washers, and then the blade. There's a little post that sits as a stopping point for the blade when it folds back in; it's held between the two scales like a spacer by the screws that get tightened into place. Make sure that's seated securely. It should just push in.

We continue stacking until the next scale goes on; it might take a bit of a wiggle to get it seated the way it wants to be, but it'll snug into that spot when you get it. Here is the part where our meticulousness pays off: take those screws we neatly laid out and put them back in! I start with the pivot screw; I tighten it down to lock everything in place while I put everything back. Once everything is tightened, go back and loosen the pivot screw a tiny bit at a time until your knife opens and closes smoothly. If you ever find your blade feels loose, try tightening this screw; most of the time it will fix it immediately, but this tightens and loosens your movement, so be prepared to play with it a little. 

There you go! Not only is our blade clean and shiny, but you will often find the movement feels nicer; dust buildup can clog it over time. Now, we didn't talk about oil; the kit doesn't come with it, but some of us choose to oil our knives when we maintain them. I typically place a tiny drop of oil on my fingers, rub the washers between my fingers to lightly grease them, and then apply a little oil to each side of the blade near the pivot screw. Is it the end of the world if you don't? No. I like to use oil to work dust out of my movement when I don't have time to take it apart, and every once in a while when taking them apart, but that's again the way I was taught. It can be nice; don't think of it like a step you're skipping, but an optional addition to the routine.

The two best parts of this process? Number one: it all fits back into one tin! No pieces going missing! And by staying organized, you will find, like me, that you can go rather quickly after some practice. It takes me as long as listening to Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant Massacree" to go through this whole process. Which, I can truthfully say, is a point of pride.

The kit does a beautiful job of keeping the process pulled together; well-thought-out pieces come together really beautifully. I am so thrilled with the storage of it all, keeping everything together in a tin that fits nicely on a bookshelf, ready when you need it. For the tools I use every day, it's easier to give them the maintenance they deserve.

So if, like me, you're very fond of your little pocket tools, grab the kit, save yourself the chaos of finding each piece as you need them, as I did and enjoy the convenience. Give it a shot, and I think you'll find it's not bad at all. Find me, or any of us really, if you get into a jam or have questions!