A Sticking Blade on a Super Tinker Victorinox SAK, and other adventures in used knife buying

I had to deal with a really sticky blade on my new-to-me Victorinox Super Tinker, but by dealing with this relatively small problem I started to really love my knife. Thanks to @diypreppertv for the cleaning instructions, which brought this knife up to usable standards!

[jackjstrange]

You are just so nice to listen to! Thank you 🙂

[JoshTalksTools]

Hi! Regarding the sticking blade, you might want to try (1) removing the scales by submerging in hot water, (2) once the scales are removed, submerge the SAK in white vinegar. This will help with the rust & gunk. (3) Dry and then spray WD40 on it & rub with an old toothbrush. This should take care of the problem. PS: I've been buying used SAKs for the last few years and actually love restoring them. It's very relaxing for me, plus I'm giving new life to something old while fighting consumption. Cheers.

[jhebert]

Tip, using a soft cotton cloth, rub the scales briskly with plastic polish or even automotive paint polish to get old scales looking new again. May take several applications. Something fun to do while watching a movie.

[samwilliams]

Victornox recommends soak in hot water several times, no soap. It hasn't failed yet. Don't try to force open. I have several came cheap because they wouldn't open.

[Eliel]

Have you tried Victorinox oil ? They make it specifically for their knives and it really does work. It's a bit pricy for what you get in terms of volume, however, a little bit goes a long way.
I also bathe my newly acquired 'used' knives with WD40 to de -gunk them. It works fairly well.

[samwilliams]

I have a Wenger that has a flat eyeglass screw blade on it that can scrape a single layer.

[daphnedevi]

Castor Oil is a panacea... once my stepdad had a bottle at his architecture office and someone asked, "what is that for?" My stepdad replied, "Well, for my castors, of course!" 😆🧐🙄
Mineral oil too apparently has varied applications... "well, for my SAK of course!" 😄

[marcdee]

On my field master and a huntsman the screw driver bottle opener never springs back properly, any tips

[grahamekellermeier]

Its so super I have two of them and a tinker small.

[jhebert]

Ultrasonic cleaners do wonders followed with plain mineral oil.

[richardneff]

Have you ever tried pipe cleaners? I absolutely love using them to clean SAKs, of all sizes. Much better than a toothbrush (although still useful!) for cleaning and getting in the deep, narrow areas of a swiss army knife. And, as so many suggested, WD-40 sprayed in and left to absorb for a while, works well for getting things getting unstuck.
I've "restored" SAKs that were listed as broken from eBay. (Ones that had sticking or completely stuck items, broken scales, broken springs, but not broken blades.) I agree that fixing up things that other consider "broken" or otherwise unused is VERY satisfying!
Also, have you considering completely taking one apart? (I've been watching the Fit to Survive channel which has some excellent videos on his customizations.) I did replace a corkscrew on a Spartan I had using some of the tips in his videos. Might be an interesting next step!

[Mike-kcrl]

Very rare to get a faulty Victorinox knife as they are all tested before they leave the factory! Or are they?
I've collected them and had countless dozens over the four decades or so and never had a less than perfect model!
The super tinker is a great model and was strangely very hard to come by here in the UK but for Amazon!

[BleakVision]

You became an expert on multitools in the span of a year! I guess knife addiction hits you really hard 😂😂, it did so with me😅

I recently bought a pretty yucky and sticky Climber with dull and scratched scales, and it is amazing how with a good wash and a little car polish, it really cleaned up nice. That multitool oil by Victorinox is also really effective.
I wanted to keep the scales since they say, "Kanton St. Gallen - Amt für Zivilschutz" on them. So they are doubly "Swissy" and tell a little story about this knife.

[SharkfinRM]

Great video. Nice to see an honest, no hype and personal SAK experience video.

[vladspb_]

Ann, you can keep it in kerosine for some time, but it's better do it outside because of the smell

[marcdee]

I’m waiting for the upgraded blade steel, I wonder weather it will make any real difference?

[TBEDC]

You can also soak it in mineral oil about 8 hours..I had a Sowbelly trapper with a stuck blade that wouldn’t open..soaked it in mineral oil overnight and after I cleaned up the oil..it’s perfect now..great vid..thanks for sharing.

[Davidg]

Just subbed thank you for the videos.. the shield emblem is a metal inlay so if you ever get bored some very fine sandpaper followed up by a buffing wheel and polish will make the scales look brand new but most people just by new scales I've just always enjoyed cleaning up the original ones exspecially on older solid scale knives. I'm looking forward to your future videos

[SpacecityEDC]

Another great video 😊 I bought a a lot of the knives in my collection used, Victorinox included. Someone in the comments mentioned using the actual Victorinox oil which I'll second that. A little goes a long way with it and I've had good results. I had a similar experience with a new multitool once. I bought a Leatherman Rebar brand new from a local Lowe's store and it was so stiff and difficult to open I thought it was defective. But I cleaned it with WD40 then lubed it with oil (I know WD40 is a lubricant too but it's great for cleaning and displacement of moisture) after that I just kept working it opened and closed while watching a TV show and after a while it was working great 👍 Always like your videos have a great day.

[thisguy]

Never Dull works wonders on removing, stains and gunk. Has even removed lights rust for me on SAKs. Super Lube is also a great product and may work better than mineral oil. Haven’t met a dirty gunky sak that I couldn’t get the snap back, after using these products.