We talked about OTF care and maintenance briefly before, but it’s a topic that’s pretty important. Ergo, we’re going to re-visit basic OTF care and go into a little more detail about what it entails.

This blog is actually one of many blogs from Blade HQ. Our main blog is the Knife Blog, and a few weeks ago on the blog, I posted a little about OTF care and maintenance. The info I posted there is equally, if not more, useful here, so here’s the bulk of what you need to know about OTF upkeep:

Oiling – If you regularly oil your OTF, it will have a huge positive impact on your OTF’s life. Some people say you should use a dry lubricant that is on the thin side because it’s less likely to gum up than a thicker lube. Tuf-Glide or RemOil are great options.

Cleaning – If you cut anything with your OTF that is even slightly wet and/or sticky, wipe off the blade extremely well before you retract it into the handle. If you fail to wipe off the blade, you will likely end up with a blade that won’t fire.

To clean out the inside of your OTF, you can occasionally use a can of compressed air to blow out anything that might be trapped inside it. Remember that if you dissemble your knife, you will void its warranty.

Sharpening – It’s easier to keep a blade sharp than to let it dull  entirely and have to re-sharpen it later. Usually, you can use any sharpening system or style to sharpen your OTF.

Storage – You can store your OTF open or closed. You would typically only store your OTF open if you wanted to have it on display in your home. If you store your OTF open, make sure you keep the blade clean and oiled. It is also important to note that some steels are more prone to rust than others.

If the blade falls off track…  

OTFs are prone to falling off track. This can be remedied easily by manually pulling out the blade. There are two different ways you can do this:

1) Pinch the blade between your thumb and index finger and pull the blade out until it clicks into place. Then it should be back on track, and you can use the button to retract and fire the blade to your heart’s content.

Or…

2)     Flick the knife and use the momentum of the blade to lock it into position.

What questions do you have about OTF care and maintenance? Let us know, and we’ll give you an answer as soon as we can!