Are my SAKs diswasher safe?

[PTRSAK]

I just bought three Wengers off eBay. An Adirondak, a Backpacker II and a Traveller, they are 2nd hand and possibly airport confiscated.
All of them are pocket worn and in reasonable condition but have varying degrees of cheesyness. The Adirondak is so gummed up that it feels like it has poor snap, even tho it is actually pretty tight.

So, can I just chuck them in the dishwasher with all the tools open to get rid of the previous owners cooties? Or is there a better way of cleaning them?

[Metropolicity]

I just bought three Wengers off eBay. An Adirondak, a Backpacker II and a Traveller, they are 2nd hand and possibly airport confiscated.
All of them are pocket worn and in reasonable condition but have varying degrees of cheesyness. The Adirondak is so gummed up that it feels like it has poor snap, even tho it is actually pretty tight.

So, can I just chuck them in the dishwasher with all the tools open to get rid of the previous owners cooties? Or is there a better way of cleaning them?

I do rubbing alcohol bath/showers with my used tools. I also occasionally give them a wipe with alcohol wipes and a quick rubbing with mineral oil.

[stressmaster5000]

You really should avoid the dishwasher unless you can set it with no heat. The plastic scales will warp in high heat. I would recommend you use warm water in a bowl with some mild dish-washing liquid(Dawn is good)and let it sit and then use a plastic bristle brush while in the water to scrub the cavity out. Also while under water open and close the tools until they seem to loosen up and some of the crud gets loose. After that its hand cleaning with towels and wooden toothpicks.

I have some tips for cleaning and polishing SAK's on my blog here;
http://sakfan.blogspot.com/search/label/cleaning
http://sakfan.blogspot.com/2011/05/swiss-army-knife-care-and-maintenance.html
http://sakfan.blogspot.com/2008/04/i-have-cleaned-so-many-swiss-army.html

[PTRSAK]

Thanks for the tips, I will set to them with warm water and dishwash liquid first then and escalate the strength of cleaning product as and if required for the hard to shift crud.

think I'll chuck on a pair of gloves for the really cheezy one.  thinking about what that gummy residue could be makes my skin crawl. 

[user24]

You'll need to re-oil after cleaning too.

[Marius]

Do not use alcohol to clean cellidor scaled SAKs, it may (and likely will) damage the scales. Pure alcohol is very good for alox SAKs and with great care on the metal parts only of the cell(ophan) ones.

Get a brush, and wash, soak and rub with warm water and soap (hands or dishes) until all that gunk will come off. It will eventually all come off. Water is a very good solvent.

Good luck!

[J Mackrel Jones]

I have some tips for cleaning and polishing SAK's on my blog here;
http://sakfan.blogspot.com/search/label/cleaning
http://sakfan.blogspot.com/2011/05/swiss-army-knife-care-and-maintenance.html
http://sakfan.blogspot.com/2008/04/i-have-cleaned-so-many-swiss-army.html
[/quote]

Thanks for the link to your great site !
This really should be a Topic of its own just to make us aware of this SAK resource.  I did not know about sakfan before.

[stressmaster5000]

Do not use alcohol to clean cellidor scaled SAKs, it may (and likely will) damage the scales. Pure alcohol is very good for alox SAKs and with great care on the metal parts only of the cell(ophan) ones.

Get a brush, and wash, soak and rub with warm water and soap (hands or dishes) until all that gunk will come off. It will eventually all come off. Water is a very good solvent.

Good luck!

I have used 99% pure alcohol to clean blades and tools and occasionally wipe down a scale with little to no adverse effect. I am somewhat leery of using alcohol on scales with printed on designs or markings however.

I forgot to mention a trick someone told me that I have yet to try. Use of dental floss on the joints of some blades or tools might help in removal of some crud. Worth a shot right? 

[Marius]

From my experience the cellidor (cellophane, that is) it is attacked and dissolved by isopropyl alcohol (99% labeled purity and sold as rubbing alcohol, if it matters). It is not readily visible to a casual eye after just a light wipe but for example if you will put your finger on it the fingerprint will nicely get embossed into the scale. Try harder and you could see the cellidor getting dissolved. 

But, of course, feel free to not believe me and continue to do that

Do not use alcohol to clean cellidor scaled SAKs, it may (and likely will) damage the scales. Pure alcohol is very good for alox SAKs and with great care on the metal parts only of the cell(ophan) ones.

Get a brush, and wash, soak and rub with warm water and soap (hands or dishes) until all that gunk will come off. It will eventually all come off. Water is a very good solvent.

Good luck!

I have used 99% pure alcohol to clean blades and tools and occasionally wipe down a scale with little to no adverse effect. I am somewhat leery of using alcohol on scales with printed on designs or markings however.

I forgot to mention a trick someone told me that I have yet to try. Use of dental floss on the joints of some blades or tools might help in removal of some crud. Worth a shot right? 

[Marius]

And one random example from the web:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/243720-Cellidor-and-Rubbing-Alcohol-Don-t-Mix!

[Metropolicity]

Oops! I should of mentioned I do the this to my stainless steel tools!

[stressmaster5000]

And one random example from the web:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/243720-Cellidor-and-Rubbing-Alcohol-Don-t-Mix!

99.9% pure alcohol and Rubbing alcohol are not the same thing. I do not use rubbing alcohol. I use an industrial manufactured pure product left over from my working days. Also as I have said before, I do not soak my knives with scales in alcohol. I only wipe them IF they need it and then its from a towel that is only dampened with it and not soaked in it. I have seen damaged scales from chemicals or oils and cleaners before that folks thought was safe. I have yet to damage any of my SAK scales with my alcohol.

[J Mackrel Jones]

Here is what The Swiss Army Knife Owner's Manual has to say on this (see the web site of the same name), from the Test Results section -

"SAK in dishwasher: After one wash cycle in the top rack no damage
occurred to the plastic scales of either a Vic or a Wenger; the Heat Dry
cycle was not used. A test on the sosak online site showed significant warping
of cellidor scales but not of grilon.
Resistance of scales to solvents: A Vic, a Wenger, and a Chinese
were each given a set of drops of 6 liquids: Singer machine oil, 3-in-1 oil,
WD-40, non-acetone fingernail-polish remover, industrial acetone, and unleaded
gasoline. The acetone melted the scales on contact. At 10 minutes
the acetone had evaporated (or absorbed) while the other 5 drops sat on
the surface of the scales. The liquids were left on for 1 hour and then
washed off with water. The petroleum-based products had no effect on the
plastic. The acetone had left a permanent shiny melted spot on the plastic
on all three scales; the fingernail polish (made of water, methyl acetate,
sodium acetate, et alia) left a rounded hump on the Vic and the Wenger
(several days later this hump had flattened to a permanent circular blotch),
and a less apparent circular scar on the Chinese. Recall that acetate (related
to acetone) is a component of cellidor (and probably of the Chinese plastic
too). A drop of DEET insect repellent (75% Diethyl Toluamide and 25%
denatured Ethanol) left on for 10 minutes, then washed off, had left a pit
etched in each of the scales. The scales were then subjected to a drop of
household vinegar, of Clorox, of Liquid Drano, and of Tabasco sauce,
washed off with water after 1 hour; none of these had any effect. A drop of
70% isopropyl alcohol left on for 1 hour slightly etched the surface of the
plastic."

A good rule of thumb is to use the mildest means first (water) and work your way up.

[DIYMultiTool]

Great question and answer

[Marius]

And one random example from the web:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/243720-Cellidor-and-Rubbing-Alcohol-Don-t-Mix!

99.9% pure alcohol and Rubbing alcohol are not the same thing. I do not use rubbing alcohol. I use an industrial manufactured pure product left over from my working days. Also as I have said before, I do not soak my knives with scales in alcohol. I only wipe them IF they need it and then its from a towel that is only dampened with it and not soaked in it. I have seen damaged scales from chemicals or oils and cleaners before that folks thought was safe. I have yet to damage any of my SAK scales with my alcohol.

Well, I just wrote that I have seen myself 99% pure Isopropyl alcohol incidentally sold as "rubbing alcohol", alcohol that I used with great success to clean SAK metal parts, to attack cellidor, quite agressively.

Other that Isopropyl another type of pure(er) alcohol usually available for sale is Ethanol.

The purity (that is 70%, 95% or 99.99%) is not the principal factor here.

As I said, a light wipe of a cellidor scale may seem that did not leave any negative marks. If there is no wiping with a finger or any other "hard" part before the alcohol completely evaporates there may be no obvious visible marks left. But the cellidor is clearly attacked and dissolved by alcohol based on mine and others experiences.

Maybe there is something special about the kind of alcohol you have? Would you share what kind of alcohol it is (like Ethanol, Methanol, Isopropyl, etc)? If indeed you found an alcohol that even in high purity does not attach cellidor, please share. Also, would be interesting if you have a spare cellidor scale or old cellidor SAK that you can risk, to leave that soaked over night in this alcohol and tell us the results.

 

[Grant Lamontagne]

It's too bad someone here didn't run a GIANT SAK related website with monthly articles that actually went ahead and tested things like this....

Oh wait, we do have someone like that here...

http://www.sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=434&Itemid=35

Def

[jerseydevil]

It's too bad someone here didn't run a GIANT SAK related website with monthly articles that actually went ahead and tested things like this....

Oh wait, we do have someone like that here...

http://www.sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=434&Itemid=35

Def

Ha!  I searched SOSAK earlier when I was at work looking for that.  I was about to post it.  I bow to the master. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I'm glad someone was reading all the stuff I went to such lengths to write about.... 

Def

[J Mackrel Jones]

It's too bad someone here didn't run a GIANT SAK related website with monthly articles that actually went ahead and tested things like this....

Oh wait, we do have someone like that here...

http://www.sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=434&Itemid=35


Yup.  This is the article referred to in post #12 above.
Def

[DIYMultiTool]

It's too bad someone here didn't run a GIANT SAK related website with monthly articles that actually went ahead and tested things like this....

Oh wait, we do have someone like that here...

http://www.sosakonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=434&Itemid=35

Def

What do you think of THE SECRET ORDER OF THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE forum?

http://www.knifeforums.com

[J Mackrel Jones]

What do you think of THE SECRET ORDER OF THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE forum?
 
The lights are on but no-one's home.