What kind of oil to use on cutters?

[mobarbq]

Picked up an Oliva sampler (some pretty decent sticks, by the way) that came with a cutter, and it is very stiff.

It is hard to pop open and hard to cut with. I'm thinking it needs a few drops of something on it, but I don't want to use anything that is going to transfer a bad taste to the wrapper. Any ideas?

 

[AlohaStyle]

Directly from Xikar's website and from what I have always heard:

"Blades may be cleaned of debris using rubbing alcohol. We also recommend using a soft chamois cloth to polish the blade steel."

I would not use any form of grease or other lubricant, the alcohol should do the trick. If the alcohol absolutely does not work and you end up not even wanting to use the cutter, you can try this... again from Xikar's website, but note they are talking about the locking button, not the actual blades. I have heard some people resort to using a graphite lubricant in desperate measures.

Cutters
We recommend that you periodically clean and lubricate the locking / opening mechanism on XI cutters and knives. Simply place a couple of drops of a quality graphite lubricant (such as TUF GLIDE or LOCK EASE) in the mechanism, and operate the unit for deep penetration. Wipe away excess lubricant when finished. The locking mechanism of XI cutters can be accessed through the hole that appears above the release button when the cutter is open.

 

[TreeFrog Frank]

Looks like the cutter has a couple of supports/slides on either side. I bet you could probably do that graphite lubricant trick on them, and it shouldn't ever get to the cutting edge of the blade. :dunno:

 

[mobarbq]

Yes, you're right. It's actually kind of a hefty cutter for a freebie with purchase.

I don't have any graphite lubricant, so will put that down on the shopping list. Thanks guys, I appreciate it.

 

[Jfire]

This may sound stupid but I bet one drop of clean veggie old does the trick on THE SLIDES ONLY!
cheers,
Jfire
edit btw guys dry graphite can end up getting everywhere with some time down the road. Ask the jewler that put some in the extention on my watch band

 

[mobarbq]

This may sound stupid but I bet one drop of clean veggie old does the trick on THE SLIDES ONLY!
cheers,
Jfire
edit btw guys dry graphite can end up getting everywhere with some time down the road. Ask the jewler that put some in the extention on my watch band

Good thought and a simple easy to find solution, too ... would that be corn oil, soybean or canola? :laugh: