One thing every household and shop needs is WD-40. It has thousands of uses, and is quite handy to have in a knife shop.

When I am fitting a guard or shaping a handle, I tape off the blade with masking tape to protect it. After awhile the tape leaves a messy, sticky gunk all over the blade. When I remove the tape, I give the blade a couple squirts with WD-40. It acts as a solvent and dissolves away the tape residue. I can wipe the sticky mess off the blade with a paper towel or toilet paper.

Most folks that frequent the forums know that I usually use J.B. Weld to seal the joint on my guards. When the guard is pressed into place, a bead of J.B. Weld oozes out all the way around the back of the ricasso. I let the J.B. Weld set to the consistency of firm rubber, then remove the excess with a sharpened popcycle stick. Then I apply a light spritz of WD-40, and wipe the guard and ricasso with toilet paper. No scratches, and clean as a whistle.


It can also be sprayed on grinding belts, and is good for the final rub on a hand-rubbed finish .

Here are two of the most asked questions about WD-40. These answers are fact and are directly from the manufacturer...

What does WD-40 stand for?
WD-40 literally stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt. That's the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who developed WD-40 back in 1953. The chemist, Norm Larsen, was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion -- a task which is done by displacing water. Norm's persistence paid off when he perfected the formula on his 40th try.

What does WD-40 contain?
While the ingredients in WD-40 are secret, we can tell you what WD-40 does NOT contain. WD-40 does not contain silicone, kerosene, water, wax, graphite, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), or any known cancer-causing agents.

WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT IT?
Terry is right, I have yet to find another product that works so well for so many different task.
Mike

Yup it´s hard to do without!

Terry,

I never knew where that name came from ... that's cool!

Alex

A company in San Diego called Convair was having trouble with fog rusting atlas missle parts and asked the community to develop something to help. Larson came through with WD-40. It is petroleum-based. I heard that he was paid $1 million by Convair but am not real sure about that.

I believe the actual name is:
Water Displacement - 40th FORMULA

I looked for the patent to get the formula but it is not available for an internet search (or I just can't find it).

Patents are also a hobby of mine and I read old ones a lot.

Well, the name I posted (Water Displacement, 40th attempt), came straight from the WD-40 folks, but it may well have been Water Displacement - 40th Formula. They also spelled Norm's name "Larsen", but I've seen elsewhere spelled "Larson". Either way, old Norm did it, and it took him 40 trys.

Bob's right about Convair and the Atlas project. Norm worked for Rocket Chemical in San Diego, California.

http://www.octanecreative.com/WD40/images/wdbldg.GIF

This is where WD-40 was created. Another interesting piece of trivia. Norm had brought home a sample of the new formula. It was on the kitchen counter.

His wife saw it, opened it, and used it to polish the blond oak furniture in the living room. She was amazed that it removed the coffee stains and made the wood so shiny. She told Norm that if it was in a spray bottle, she'd sure buy it.

Norm put it in a blue and yellow spray bottle for his wife because it matched the colors in her kitchen. In 1958 when it became a hot commercial product, the blue and yellow colors were used.

See kids,

History is interesting. And I learned something with this discussion.

Thanks Primos

I even like the smell. :rollin:

Thanks for the info. That was cool.

Its good for what ailes you too. Ever get those stiff joints, aches and pains in the knuckles, I think they call it rumitiz or something like that, I think it comes with age
:) don't laugh but I know a man thats used it for over twenty years on his hands for swelling. Says its better than anything the doctor ever gave him...

:lol: We're starting to sound like a commercial here!

Smells good, cures rheumatism, sooths that burning nagging itch associated with hemorrhoidal inflammation, and makes a great dessert topping too! Call now! Operators will be standing by!

:lol:

Floor Wax !!!!!
Dessert Topping !!!!

Did you all hear about the couple that used 3 in 1 oil when they ran out of KY jelly??

9 months later they had tripplets!!

Good thing they didn't use WD-40 :)

Neil

:lol: Good one Neil! You need to drop by more often.

There once was a couple named Kelly
Who were forced to walk belly-to-belly
Because in their haste
They used library paste
Instead of petroleum jelly

I used WD-40 on an 1/4 oz. jig Walleye fishing once and caught 3 nice ones. They say the fish like the sweet smell!

I have used it for a bad back. It really works no kidding.It also works on fishing lures .It must mask human odor or it smells good to fish.

Welcome to the forums Mulligun. Good to have you. Wow, you pulled up an old thread here. I'd forgotten all about it.

We had a good time wit this one.

IMHO WD-40 is a lousy lubricant but for non-lube uses, it is indispensible. I always have a few cans within reach in my garage and utility shed. Some of the uses I have for WD-40 are cleaning up sticky residues, spraying the pre-cleaner element of air cooled engines using a 2 stage air filter, and cleaning up carbon deposits on mufflers of 2 stroke engines.

I like to tinker with things and WD-40 has a lot of uses for me but for lube I either use 3 in 1 (though, NOT for what Neil posted about :lol: ) and for folding knives, Sentry Solutions Tuf-Glide

I know a logger in Oregon who uses it for his sore back also.
I've also used it to spray my bait when fishing. Works great for that.

Jon

Gentlemen, just a little warning for you. Way back when (it's been 15 years now) befre I went into photography full time, I was an engineer for Black & Decker. There was a standing rule at the plant that WD-40 was not allowed inside the door! With all the drill motors we were turning out someone found out that WD-40 would eat away the sealant on the motor windings. I don't know all of the details since I had the tooling areas of the plants but I would be careful not to spray near your grinders.

WD-40 is not technically a lubricant. It will make things slippery, but that's not it's purpose. It was designed as a water displacement formula to drive moisture away from metal surfaces. It is also a solvent which effectively disolves grease, tar, adhesives, etc. I can see where is would not be good around the sealant on the motor windings.

With respect to the lubrication qualities, I find it quite useful for several things which are open to the elements. I have a very heavy sliding glass door leading from the sun room out to the back yard. This heavy door is on small steel wheels and rides on a steel track. Gunk, grime, and moisture get into the wheels. This makes the door hard to open and makes the wheels squeak.

A few periodic shots of WD-40 eats away and flushes out the gunk, cures the squeak, and makes the door easy to slide. It also leaves a protective coating that repels moisture. WD-40 is perfect for this type of application.

Also, I have an open-air forging area with a roof and three open sides. I spray WD-40 on my anvil and cover it with a garbage bag for protection from the elements.

Like any other tool, it's very good at what it was designed to do.

Back in the days when I was into competitive cycling (pedal cycles) I would strip all the grease from the bearings and run everything on WD40 for one race.......all in search of that elusive second or two :)

Roger

hi folks,
for what it's worth don't use wd-40 on guns as it removes the lubricant right down to the bare metal. this is a personal on hands experience .
also it will destroy ammo seeps in the primer and destroyes the power of the powder.
but it is great stuff
reguards
gary mills