Thread: Tuf - Gluide lube

Tuf cloth recommends mineral spirits for recharging the cloth.

Love Tuf-Glide I like to put it on in heavier doses then most. Ill apply it to both sides of the blade run my finger and thumb down the length of the blade, and whatever stays on the blade from that is how it stays. Don't do much to use a blade that's treated as well. A wipe with a clean cloth and I'm shaving.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

It reminds me of the smell of cosmoline. Still, 3 drops will treat an entire blade and if wiped off immediately, hands washed, it works better than anything I have seen and smell goes as wiped off. Not to be smeared on and left on like oil. It is to be applied and wiped off. JUST ONCE! I use one application, no issues for years and years. I think the 'micro bonding' claim is accurate.

I often wonder if some are not using it as designed and are smearing it on after each shave?

How often are you re-applying, and what is recommended by the manufacture?

Tom is right that it is a GREAT product...I've been using it for a long time as well...but I'm more of the Tarkus school of thought. I use it after every shave. No such thing as 'over-protection' as far as I'm concerned!

Originally Posted by Wolfpack34

Tom is right that it is a GREAT product...I've been using it for a long time as well...but I'm more of the Tarkus school of thought. I use it after every shave. No such thing as 'over-protection' as far as I'm concerned!

Well, Mike, try it on just one old razor. Apply it once, wipe off immediately and don't apply again.
See what I mean! Of course, it will take a few years!

Originally Posted by feltspanky

Tuf cloth recommends mineral spirits for recharging the cloth.

This is true and it works great for a few times. But sooner or later the cloth will need a blast of the Tuf-Glide. I have a mist bottle of it I like but you can just drip drops from a needle applicator. The mineral spirits gets the cloth wet again and the liquid "carries" the corrosion protection stuff to what you apply it too. But nothing lasts forever so new Tuf-Glide is required once in a while. This is what the guys at Sentry Solutions told me.

Jack

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Well, Mike, try it on just one old razor. Apply it once, wipe off immediately and don't apply again.
See what I mean! Of course, it will take a few years!

A Few Years! Har! It only takes me a few days to forget which razor I shaved with on any given day!

Short story about Tuf-Glide performance. Good or bad, you decide. This is what happens for me with knife blades.

CPM-M4 blade steel is a non-stainless steel however it will corrode much less than "normal" carbon steels. I got a knife with M4 and immediately applied Tuf-Glide to the pivot and wiped the blade with it. Tuf-Glide is supposed to dry and bond with the metal and not need to be reapplied very often at all. At some point I wanted to force a patina on that M4 blade. I couldn't. I tried several known ways to force a patina (soak in vinegar, leave stuck in a potatoe overnight, cut food, etc.) and the blade stayed perfectly shiny. I gave up. A few months later I thought maybe the Tuf-Glide had worn off so I tried to force a patina and was successful. So, it seems Tuf-Glide protected the M4 blade steel perfectly. I figure since a patina is a form of corrosion and I couldn't force it on purpose Tuf-Glide must work well when we keep our blades clean without reapplying it for several weeks. But, I also applied Tuf-Glide to a knife with 1095 blade steel. I used the knife to cut chicken at dinner one night and a patina formed almost before my eyes. Even with the Tuf-Glide applied. Different types of food will force a patina on a knife which is desirable for non-stainless kitchen knives. Patina, as I understand it is supposed to protect the steel from worse corrosion like rust, pits, etc. I don't know a lot about corrosion details.

In my experience Tuf-Glide and cloth will protect all carbon steels UNLESS you use them for food prep or eating your meals. So it should protect straight razors for a month or so. That is except for any area that is honed or maybe stropped. The stones will remove steel along with the protection. Stropping may remove it also. Don't know for sure.

From what I have read online, it is a system of micro particles (think bearings) that does not lubricate between surfaces, but helps surfaces move with respect to each other much like bearings.
I use good old Ballistol for oiling and it has worked perfect for me for years.

I use Tuf-Glide on my razors and my beloved Sig P-229; after all, it was originally developed as a rusty preventive for guns. I have a small bottle with a needle applicator that I mostly use on razors, and a saturated cloth.

Yes, it's suspended in mineral spirits (they even advise rejuvenating a dried out cloth by adding mineral spirits.

I love the stuff!