Then let’s go forward calling it grinding the gate.
I’ve taken similar pictures, but in those cases it was mostly pivot dust. I don’t understand how people grind down JLF pivots, those things are solid. Stock spring, too, so it’s not like there was extra tension on the pivot.
I got alot of actuator dust too in sticks I worked on. But I can see your point too, it could be people playing rough with a dry, unlubed joystick.
But regardless of its being pivot or actuator dust, most of the time its with a octagonal or circular gate on a JLF.
Just like in Sex, Lube is Love.
You want to destroy something, go in dry.
So you spit a huge loogie on your JLF ?
No the contact point where the JLF sits/mount is naturally lubricated. No spitting required 
So wich seimitsu joystick would you recommend? I just want to play fightning games (mostly Ultra sf IV and sf V) And what about the new hayabusa joystick? Did you try it?
Delrin is self lubricating.
I rank the Hayabusa above the JLF, it honestly feels like an upgrade. It feels more fluid, precise, and responsive in comparison to a JLF. Others may disagree but I strongly feel stock Hayabusa>stock JLF.
Anything is better than a stock JLF.
Except, maybe, a happs super joystick (couldn’t stand those…HELLO WHERE ARE MY DIAGONALS?) or a happs perfect 360 (thank god I got a decent one back in 2003 before the quality went to hell).
The thing about the Kowal actuator is not only does it shorten the throw, which is a very good thing, but it also tightens the spring by about 0.5lb (estimated guess). Regardless of how much hate/love there is for the JLF, it improves the feel in every way, unless you actually like a too wide throw, sloppy joystick.
Not exactly
Derlin has high abrasion resistance and low coefficient of friction. This does not mean it’s self lubricating.
Even Derlin parts needs some lubrication.
I wouldn’t call the JLF a sloppy joystick. Too little spring tension for my liking but pop on a stronger spring and it’s not sloppy in the slightest. The pivot is far superior to almost every joystick Seimitsu is offering at the moment with the exception of the LS-40. The only other joystick with a better pivot is the Hayabusa. The gate is a piece of shit, but other than that, it’s a fairly solid joystick. Once you throw on some mods, that is.
Every joystick out there has a flaw or two.
God Tier: LS-40 with mods, JLW stock
S Tier: LS-40 stock
A Tier: Hayabusa, with mods
B Tier: JLF, with mods
Ass Tier: Everything else
Haven’t owned an LS-40 yet, but I pretty much agree with all of that. I love my JLW a lot ATM.
If I wanted to install a Seimitsu LS-40 joystick in my Qanba Q4raf, is this the exact one I need? And do I need any other accessories (besides the seimitsu octagon gate?).
can this thing even TAKE an octagon gate to begin with?
And why do you guys say the LS-56 with the octagon gate is better, if the LS-40 is God or S-tier ?
QFT.
What is all comes down to is personal preference. Unless a specific model has reliability or consistency issues it is 100% subjective.
What ones opinion may consider sloppy or loose, another may feel that it is correct (and that can be said for the opposite style/setup of a stick).
The wall of text in the OP is an opinion and nothing more… seemingly spurred by perhaps living under a rock the past 8 years and just now experiencing something new.
I don’t say the LS-56 is better. I don’t like that stick in the slightest. Some people love the 56 with octagonal gates for some reason.
The LS-40 is a great stick as is. People don’t really try it out because Seimitsu does not push it like they push the 32 and 56 bases with various tweaks as new models. It’s an older stick and does not have that new stick hype. I don’t think there are any octagonal gates at the moment for it but there might be. I haven’t tried one because I love square.
Would the LS-40 be good for non fighting games, though? I absolutely can not stand a square gate on Gauntlet, because I always move diagonally when I want to move straight 
I admit the square gate is fine for fighters (was my favorite game GATE on the arcade street fighter 2 machine) but I can’t stand square for anything else.
would you recommend I just get an LS-56 then with an octagon gate? I absolutely need an octagon gate because I play far more than fighting games. I cant stand circle gates because I can’t feel the diagonals. At least the IL competition stick gave you faint diagonal feedback…
I want the LS40 because you said it was an S-tier joystick
It’s personal preference, best thing you can do is try out as many as possible. I had a 40- I liked it, but I like the 56 more, particularly with an octo gate. Enough so that I sold the 40 in a stick I modded and now own 3 56’s, and have a 62 on the way.
Please let me know how you like the LS-62!
FA and AS say that it comes with an “SS” mounting plate.
Will that fit into a Qanba Q4raf? (I assume the qanba comes with a plate by default but I don’t know how joysticks are mounted).
It’s a 56 body, it will fit. Given that the 62 uses the short lever of the 32, I believe you would want to remove the plate altogether and mount straight to the qanba panel- assuming the q4 uses the mount I’m thinking of (pictures would help). But yeah, I’ll let you know how I like it.
when external lube is not needed