How do you do the maintenance over your hand tools?
- Thread starter Howe
- Start date
d.mcfarland
Well-known member
Have you tried cleaning the handles with absolutely anything yet?
I tried dish soap, degreaser and multi purpose lubricant but none seems to work
Engine oil or chain lube?
KnurledNut
Well-known member
Elbow grease.
Orangina
Well-known member
I am using a gun oil spray (today sold as a universal oil) called "BALLISTOL" with Liquid paraffin.
This is harmlessness to humans - and protect my tools.
This is harmlessness to humans - and protect my tools.
RTM
Well-known member
When I get mold on anything, I spray it down with Acidified Bleach* , allow to stand for five minutes, then wipe or brush, depending on the grooves etc. make it cautiously, recipe to follow. You can use this as a no rinse solution on brewing stuff, bottles etc. and at these concentrations it wont tear things up like 100% bleach.
Normal degreaser is Simple Green, in full, 1:2 or 1:4 dilution, depending on how gross it is, and how fragile the tool is.
* Copied from a home brewing site. The original link was a podcast, I only make 1 gallon at a time using distilled water as my base.
For sanitizing my equipment, 2 tablespoons of chlorine bleach in 5 gallons of water yields the perfect ratio of sanitizer to water. This solution has a required contact time of 30 seconds to kill many microbes, major ones listed below. The amount of bleach in the solution is not enough to detect taste and can be used without rinsing. Charlie Tally also recommends adding the same quality (2 tablespoons) vinegar as bleach to the solution to ensure that the pH of the solution is low enough to be effective. HOWEVER ADD THE VINEGAR AFTER THE BLEACH HAS BEEN DILUTED, OR YOU RISK RELEASING TOXIC CHLORINE GAS.
Bacteria
Staphylococcus aureus (Staph), Salmonella choleraesuis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep), Escherichia coli 0157:H7 (E. coli), Shigella dysenteriae
Fungi
Trichophyton mentagrophytes (Athlete's Foot), Candida albicans (yeast)
Viruses
Rhinovirus (Cold virus), Influenza A2 (Flu virus), Hepatitis A, Rotavirus, Respiratory Syncytial virus, HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)* , Herpes simplex virus 2, Rubella virus, Adenovirus Type 2, Cytomegalovirus
Normal degreaser is Simple Green, in full, 1:2 or 1:4 dilution, depending on how gross it is, and how fragile the tool is.
* Copied from a home brewing site. The original link was a podcast, I only make 1 gallon at a time using distilled water as my base.
For sanitizing my equipment, 2 tablespoons of chlorine bleach in 5 gallons of water yields the perfect ratio of sanitizer to water. This solution has a required contact time of 30 seconds to kill many microbes, major ones listed below. The amount of bleach in the solution is not enough to detect taste and can be used without rinsing. Charlie Tally also recommends adding the same quality (2 tablespoons) vinegar as bleach to the solution to ensure that the pH of the solution is low enough to be effective. HOWEVER ADD THE VINEGAR AFTER THE BLEACH HAS BEEN DILUTED, OR YOU RISK RELEASING TOXIC CHLORINE GAS.
Bacteria
Staphylococcus aureus (Staph), Salmonella choleraesuis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep), Escherichia coli 0157:H7 (E. coli), Shigella dysenteriae
Fungi
Trichophyton mentagrophytes (Athlete's Foot), Candida albicans (yeast)
Viruses
Rhinovirus (Cold virus), Influenza A2 (Flu virus), Hepatitis A, Rotavirus, Respiratory Syncytial virus, HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)* , Herpes simplex virus 2, Rubella virus, Adenovirus Type 2, Cytomegalovirus
Last edited:
Renegade1LI
Well-known member
Maybe some clorox to remove the mildew, then clean in parts washer or with brake cleaner. I keep a coat of paste wax on a lot of tools.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
For general mildew/mold, I use white vinegar mixed with water (about 50/50) and a few drops of dish detergent. I have to be careful about soaps, detergents, cleaners, etc due to a severe allergy, but this works well.
For metal, vinegar will remove rust, but can also damage the metal itself, so you have to be careful. For dedicated rust removal, I like Evaporust. Rustoleum also makes a rust-dissolving spray that seems to be pretty good. A coat of 3-in-1 oil, or pretty much any oil will protect the metal. Wax is also a good option.
I also recommend using desiccant packs. I keep them in tool bags, tool boxes, etc. to help absorb moisture, which is the cause of all things evil. Switch them out from time to time.
For metal, vinegar will remove rust, but can also damage the metal itself, so you have to be careful. For dedicated rust removal, I like Evaporust. Rustoleum also makes a rust-dissolving spray that seems to be pretty good. A coat of 3-in-1 oil, or pretty much any oil will protect the metal. Wax is also a good option.
I also recommend using desiccant packs. I keep them in tool bags, tool boxes, etc. to help absorb moisture, which is the cause of all things evil. Switch them out from time to time.
Dave455
Well-known member
I must admit, I buy tools with ease of cleaning in mind.
Any sort of soft grip is hard work to clean, and if there’s any sort of texture they are impossible. Vinyl grips, such as the regular Knipex or Channellock are fine, and that’s one reason I prefer them.
If the grips are wipeable, then a trace of WD-40 works well.
For the steel parts, the biggest factor seems to be the quality of the steel. I have British made Elliott Lucas, and German made Knipex pliers, that are just not prone to rust. They get an occasional wipe with WD-40 and they’re fine. But… I also have some C.K. pliers - German made, but obviously to a price, and they rust if you look at them sideways.
You can ease things a bit by polishing the exposed metal (makes them easier to wipe down), but if you have corrosion already you will need to clean off any surface rust with wire wool, then remove any dark spots with abrasive paper.
Any sort of soft grip is hard work to clean, and if there’s any sort of texture they are impossible. Vinyl grips, such as the regular Knipex or Channellock are fine, and that’s one reason I prefer them.
If the grips are wipeable, then a trace of WD-40 works well.
For the steel parts, the biggest factor seems to be the quality of the steel. I have British made Elliott Lucas, and German made Knipex pliers, that are just not prone to rust. They get an occasional wipe with WD-40 and they’re fine. But… I also have some C.K. pliers - German made, but obviously to a price, and they rust if you look at them sideways.
You can ease things a bit by polishing the exposed metal (makes them easier to wipe down), but if you have corrosion already you will need to clean off any surface rust with wire wool, then remove any dark spots with abrasive paper.
four.cycle
Well-known member
Dave455
Well-known member
There is a well known German cutler by the name of “Carl Schlieper”. I have one or two of their knives, and they are very high quality.
Some years ago, I also saw pliers by Carl Schlieper, or at least with their branding on. They were also obviously high quality, with polished heads and red grips.
I have seen a pair of pliers (might have been end cutters) with similar grips to the O.P’s, that were also marked with the same name (and mark) but were not of the same quality. I wondered if someone had ripped off the trademark, or if they were simply forged. Think I saw them on a market stall.
four.cycle
Well-known member
@Dave455 -
The problem I'm having on "Schlieper" is that there appear to have been two of them - both in Solingen, Germany. Perhaps they were father and son? Uncle and nephew? I haven't gotten into it far enough to figure it out.
Carl's "Logo" should be fairly unmistakable:
Schlieper / Arthur Schlieper GmbH & Co. KG, Hastener Strasse 137, Remscheid 42855, Germany / https://www.asre.de/ / est. 1906 /
Schlieper / Carl Schlieper, Remscheid, Germany / est. 1872 (?) /
==
Back to removing mildew:
If you went to a shoe repair shop and wanted to buy a product to remove the white spots from your leather shoes that appeared after you walked around on salted snow or ice, the active ingredient in the product they're going to sell you is going to be white vinegar.
If it will remove mold and mildew from leather, I would imagine it might well be effective on those damn grease-magnet spongy grips they put on pliers these days. Just a wild guess on my part of course.
Problem with that, of course, is that vinegar eats steel tools. A bit of caution may be in order.
CAVEAT: I have a practice of NOT cleaning tools. I only wipe the grease off my sockets if I can no longer read the size stampings.
Anything I say about "cleaning" needs to be taken with a whole 50-pound bag of salt, not just a grain.
The problem I'm having on "Schlieper" is that there appear to have been two of them - both in Solingen, Germany. Perhaps they were father and son? Uncle and nephew? I haven't gotten into it far enough to figure it out.
Carl's "Logo" should be fairly unmistakable:
Schlieper / Arthur Schlieper GmbH & Co. KG, Hastener Strasse 137, Remscheid 42855, Germany / https://www.asre.de/ / est. 1906 /
Schlieper / Carl Schlieper, Remscheid, Germany / est. 1872 (?) /
==
Back to removing mildew:
If you went to a shoe repair shop and wanted to buy a product to remove the white spots from your leather shoes that appeared after you walked around on salted snow or ice, the active ingredient in the product they're going to sell you is going to be white vinegar.
If it will remove mold and mildew from leather, I would imagine it might well be effective on those damn grease-magnet spongy grips they put on pliers these days. Just a wild guess on my part of course.
Problem with that, of course, is that vinegar eats steel tools. A bit of caution may be in order.
CAVEAT: I have a practice of NOT cleaning tools. I only wipe the grease off my sockets if I can no longer read the size stampings.
Anything I say about "cleaning" needs to be taken with a whole 50-pound bag of salt, not just a grain.
Where we are in So. Cal is not hard on most my tools so care is fairly easy. I use dish detergent on handles like the Channellocks, etc. If really dirty a degreaser. Chrome polish on other polished metal surfaces. Scotchbrite fine blending pads with a bit of metal polish on the steel work surfaces. Silicone impregnated cloth to wipe down other stuff.
I have a mix of surfaces that see metal and wood so I don't use anything that wood will contact an oil like coating. I may wipe those surfaces with denatured alcohol or paint thinner after cleaning.
I have a mix of surfaces that see metal and wood so I don't use anything that wood will contact an oil like coating. I may wipe those surfaces with denatured alcohol or paint thinner after cleaning.
RTM
Well-known member
Keep Silicone in that "anything wood will contact" caution area. Fisheyes are not a pretty finish on wood.
Yes . If you read the lable you can use it wood also. Suppose to be harmless. I use it on a lot of stuff.
richfinn
Well-known member
I try to keep stuff clean and dry (a never ending battle working out of a van in the UK).
I go through the van once in a while and "retire" anything I no longer use or worn out stuff.
Grimex wipes are good for keeping plastic handles and stuff clean.
Brake cleaner for flushing out greasy sockets/box wrenches.
GT85 lube for pliers or anything that has moving parts.
WD40 is a better cleaner than a lube and good for wiping over chrome tools or cleaning up power tools and multimeters etc (be careful on any kind of plastic screens though).
Fix/clean stuff as you go, don't let it get out of control or you will lose interest and end up with a box full of broken worn out rusted unusable junk
I go through the van once in a while and "retire" anything I no longer use or worn out stuff.
Grimex wipes are good for keeping plastic handles and stuff clean.
Brake cleaner for flushing out greasy sockets/box wrenches.
GT85 lube for pliers or anything that has moving parts.
WD40 is a better cleaner than a lube and good for wiping over chrome tools or cleaning up power tools and multimeters etc (be careful on any kind of plastic screens though).
Fix/clean stuff as you go, don't let it get out of control or you will lose interest and end up with a box full of broken worn out rusted unusable junk
American Locomotive
Well-known member
I found that a scrubbing brush with some mildew removal will usually get rid of mold on soft handles.
If the tools live in a damp or unheated environment, I find it very difficult to stop them from rusting without constantly coating them in oil. However I seemed to have found something that works: I soaked a rag in oil (maybe WD40? can't remember), and cover the pliers in my toolbox with the rag. The rag isn't soaking wet - just more or less "damp" with oil. It doesn't get on the tools or handles or make a mess, but it seems to stop them from rusting.
If the tools live in a damp or unheated environment, I find it very difficult to stop them from rusting without constantly coating them in oil. However I seemed to have found something that works: I soaked a rag in oil (maybe WD40? can't remember), and cover the pliers in my toolbox with the rag. The rag isn't soaking wet - just more or less "damp" with oil. It doesn't get on the tools or handles or make a mess, but it seems to stop them from rusting.
I will post more photo of it, mine is tower pincer and yes it is made by Carl Schlieper also known as Eye Brand. I got it a year ago at very decent price, around USD3.
Thank you everyone who give generous helps on how to remove mildew and oxidation marks. I was thinking about using vinegar but I'm afraid it will cause side effect. After reading all the comments, you convince me that vinegar is the best ingredients to use since it easy to get and easy to apply. And also I will use abrasive paper, I have no choice though. I tried using nylon brush but fail, or should I use copper brush?
RTM
Well-known member
I keep brass and Stainless Steel brushes (overgrown tooth brush style) in my cleanup kit, but usually only use them on incoming rescue cases. Rarely do my users get that gross.
This only works if you're a dinosaur producing 10W40.
Shocker
Well-known member
You know just about everything you open in a package has the chance of having one of those DO NOT EAT desiccant bags. I just save them up. Any size and toss them in each drawer to absorb any moisture that builds up. In addition to wiping down with light oil, keeps the tools rust free and no mildew on soft handles.
richfinn
Well-known member
Good tip, I throw them in my veto bag 
. All joking aside I use penetrating oil or whatever’s around the shop, silicone spray cutting oil. Cleaning mostly alcohol or purple power again, whatever’s around the shop.