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I'e had a Swiss army knife for at least a couple of decades of sterling use of peeling oranges.
The tools are all now pretty stiff to open and a couple cannot be opened by fingernail alone. Am I right in thinking this could be a good excuse to buy an ultrasonic cleaner* to give it a good clean before oiling up? Would this give another chunk of sterling service?
*I fully appreciate an ultrasonic cleaner would cost more than a new knife
Stick it in the washing machine on the hot wash, in a bag full of towels.
I did this accidently a few years back and everything then opened freely. I was worried the pen may have leaked, but it hadn't, and still wrote first time.
Doesn't it just need a quick squirt of lubricant?
^yeah, that.
Soak it in white spirit overnight, with everything open.
Then leave it for the spirit to evaporate.
Then a few drops of 3 in 1 or dry chain lube.
I managed to snap the big blade of one of mine. I contacted Burton McCall who replaced it f.o.c even though they knew that I had been hitting it with a hammer. A few years later, after damaging the scales when I put it through the dishwasher they once again stepped up to the mark and replaced them for me. Both times the knife came back like new. Absolutely brilliant service.
Be very wary about putting it through the dishwasher, the heat can distort the scales and the detergent can discolour them.
"For stuck blades that do not move easily, open and close a few times in warm water. Allow to dry and apply a drop of oil to each hinge."
https://www.swisstool.co.uk/st/Victorinox-Multi-Tool-Oil.html
To answer the actual question in the thread title you didn't write but should have;
Yes, you should buy an ultrasonic cleaner.
Would an ultrasonic cleaner drive all the gunk out of the pivots if it wasn't full dismantled first? I suspect not, I've only ever seen them used to clean a bunch of stripped parts.
How is "oil" not the answer here beyond the desire to buy more gadgets?
Quick blat of GT85 and back in the pocket, surely.
*I fully appreciate an ultrasonic cleaner would cost more than a new knife
Quite.
As above, send it to Burton McCall, they will do a service and replace broken and damaged parts. I have sent three off now, had a couple of new blades and all outside cheeks/tweezers etc replaced foc. Only charge was 9 pound for a blade I had clearly snapped off. All knives came back as new.
total outlay was postage and the one blade. It really is an excellent service
Open and close in warm water worked for me on the stiff blades, then a tiny squirt of gt85. I sharpened mine with a lansky and you could cut your eyes looking at it
Any of my not insignificant collection of folding knives just get a quick spritz of WD40, then some thin oil if a blade gets a bit stiff. The only exception is my Opinel No7, where the outer lock-ring has somehow been squashed in slightly, putting pressure on the inner ring. It’s impossible to do anything with an Opinel, the lock-ring is machine pressed over the steel inner ring which has the blade rivet driven through.
As there’s no bearing or low-friction ring between the blade and handle, only wood, a few drops of oil is enough.
Great thing about Opinel knives is they’re very cheap, making them ideal for customising - mine have had a hole drilled through the handle then lined with a brass tube, for a lanyard, and the blades have been reshaped; I didn’t like the upswept tip, so the tip is straight down, with a tanto-like chisel tip.
I have got a SAK, that I bought somewhen back in the 70’s, I had a leather sheath made for it that let me carry it along a belt, instead of vertically, because it’s too bulky to pocket carry. Eventually the leather ‘rings’ wore through, so I stopped carrying it. Still a good knife, though another reason I stopped carrying it was the ease that the blades can close up across my fingers, which happened several times.
My regular pocket knife doesn’t lock, but it has a choil which stops the blade closing across my fingers, making it a safe, legal carry.
It does have a red handle though, not unlike a SAK. 😁
I got a boker with a choil as it was marketed as legal, apparently they changed the law about ten minutes later, now the blade length includes everything up to the actual handle, not just the sharpened section so its now not within the law. I only bought it so I wouldnt need a fixed blade when camping so its not wasted, but annoying.