We show that a lubricant-coated tip produces less specimen damage when soft materials are observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). We measured the adhesion force and obtained AFM images of bacteria flagella using the same silicon nitride tip untreated, cleaned, and lubricant coated (in that order). The results show that a lubricant coating reduces the adhesion force. This result and contact angle measurements for a lubricant-coated silicon nitride wafer show that the tip surface is made hydrophobic by the lubricant coating. Since the dominant factor in the adhesion force in air is water capillary force, the lubricant coating on a tip reduces the adhesion force and hence the specimen damage. A lubricant coating on the tip is effective for AFM imaging of soft materials, such as biological specimens.