Palio cleaning tip

[Advil]

Mark. I love you.


And bob too.

[Iacchus]

thanks for the tip.
I'll try that one.

[Poriggity]

I need to clean mine.. I've been running mine for almost 2 years, in my pocket every day, and never cleaned it.. I think its about time!
Scott

[emelbee]

Do you take the two halves apart when cleaning it?

[bobarian]

Originally Posted by emelbee

Do you take the two halves apart when cleaning it?

No, I have not tried that. I am not sure if its necessary. If you look closely at the finger holes, one end has two little rectangular holes. Those are the ones that fill up with tobacco. The other end does not have openings.
Have you tried splitting yours? I think I would end up in the Emergency Room if I tried.

[OpusEx]

Originally Posted by emelbee

Do you take the two halves apart when cleaning it?

NO

I recommend a little alcohol on a q-tip, works well to remove tobacco oils.

The only thing to add or make clear is that the Q-tip should only be run over the top surface of the cutting part of the blade. The Q-tip should never be run along the actual cutting edge of the blade, as paper is one of the worst things for a sharp edge.

[tchariya]

Originally Posted by zemekone

marc has told me that they are dish washer safe too! just be sure to thoroughly wipe it dry...

i've sent mine through the laundry machine a few times by accident. That seems to do the trick for cleaning the blade and the handles. Not to sure about this track/hole business...but its worth a look. i'll use a needle or even a unfolded paper clip.

[n2advnture]

Originally Posted by OpusEx

The only thing to add or make clear is that the Q-tip should only be run over the top surface of the cutting part of the blade. The Q-tip should never be run along the actual cutting edge of the blade, as paper is one of the worst things for a sharp edge.

You're right, I should have made that more clear.

I clean the front and back edges of the blade where the oils would accumulate but I don't drag it across the blades edge

~Mark

[Chico57]

Originally Posted by bobarian

No, I have not tried that. I am not sure if its necessary. If you look closely at the finger holes, one end has two little rectangular holes. Those are the ones that fill up with tobacco. The other end does not have openings.
Have you tried splitting yours? I think I would end up in the Emergency Room if I tried.

Bob, mine has holes on both ends. One end the rectangular holes are skinner than the holes on the other end.

[tfar]

Originally Posted by JE3146

Just an FYI. It may be dishwasher safe, but dishwashers will dull the blades. Moreso the dish soap actually...

It's common practice to only hand wash good cooking knives.

Then again you wouldn't be washing these as frequently, but I figured I'd mention it.

On knives:

Would you care to elaborate on how dish washing detergent or soap (hand dish wash stuff and machine stuff are formulated differently, I believe) will dull a knife?

Before I bought my kitchen knives I did a lot of research on steel types, knife construction, edge geometry, sharpening devices etc. I never read the soap thing (which doesn't mean it is not true). The reason that is mentioned for the "not put knives in dish washer rule" is tri-fold. It might dull the handles or even split them if they are made of wood. The edge will get banged against other utensils. The high heat is not good for the steel particularly during the drying cycle.

Now, I use the steel on my kitchen knives every time before I use them and I only hand wash them with a sponge and some dish soap. They hold an edge rather well but do profit from the steel due to their Japanese edge angle of 17*. Knife lovers, check out the Messermeister Elite series. German steel and heft with a Japanese blade geometry. Oh, and my actual Japanese knife is still sharper but also way more fragile and does have a few nicks unfortunately.


On the Palio:

These holes that need to be cleaned because the plugged up tobacco impedes sliding are an engineering failure in my book. I have tried the Palio and it does provide a very clean cut and looks cool. However, my 10$ oval double guillotine cutter in steel with gold screws looks at least as nice, comes in a custom fitted leather case (also oval) and provides a cut that is not quite as clean as the Palio's but has never ripped a cigar. Besides, it doesn't need any maintenance at all. I think in five years I wiped it down once on a particularly anal day. It is also still as sharp after five years as when I got it.

For me, the Palio at $50 is overpriced in comparison to that cutter and the price can only be explained by the hype (yes I saw the cutting statistics they advertise).

Till