Adjusting the Pivot on a New Emerson. ....It really isn't doing much.

D

dzlvs8

Joined
Jun 13, 2013
Messages
948
So, I just got my new Emerson Mini CQC7 and as to be expected, it was stiff to open. ....really stiff. I know they loosen up A LITTLE over time, but I wanted to adjust my pivot. So I started to adjust it and no matter how far I backed the screw out, the knife was stiff ultra stiff. Should I take off the scales and adjust the "tighteness" on the stop pin or what? Or is this a common problem and it's actually that the back spacer or stop pin was cut too small.

I think this is one of those instances where the fit and finish DOES matter. :/
 
I gave it a bath in lube and it didn't seem to help. However, I remeber someone saying that they took theirs apart when they first got it and cleaned out all the grit. Even though mine didnt feel gritty I rinsed it with water while shooting it with compressed air at the same time. That seemed to to make it smooth.

I know an emerson will not swing freely with no almost no blade play, like a benchmade...But still, even when loosening the pivot to have tons of blade play, the blade will not swing freely. I suspect that something else is just machined wrong. Maybe that just adds to the style of the Emersons. Still kinda frustrating though.

This isn't my first Emerson, but my first one was used and I never really bothered to make adjust the pivot. I thought it could be better.
 
Like gooeytek said, Emerson's have dual blade retention detente's. I would take it all the way down, clean it, and reassemble it (in fact that's precisely what I did with my brand new Mini-7, and it is super smooth now - 250 openings later).
 
Do you really want your Emerson to swing freely? My BM 710 will swing freely when I pull the Axis lock because it serves as both the lock and the detent. When its pulled there is no resistance. Now my Mini Commander has a detent ball on the lock side which the blade will ride along almost 90% of opening arc. There is too much resistance for the blade to swing freely. Thumbing, flicking, and waving will defeat the detent and the blade will open. Also, while the detent is fairly strong the blade can open slightly with a decent amount of shaking like while running with it in the pocket of athletic shorts. Wearing in the waistband of athletic shorts or wearing firmer pants negates this. I think it would be a very dangerous feature if the blade swung freely.

Take it completely apart (they are made to do that easily) clean it, dry it, and then add the lube of your choice. That should help but it will still take a little bit of time to get it smooth.
 
benchwarmer380 said:
Do you really want your Emerson to swing freely? My BM 710 will swing freely when I pull the Axis lock because it serves as both the lock and the detent. When its pulled there is no resistance. Now my Mini Commander has a detent ball on the lock side which the blade will ride along almost 90% of opening arc. There is too much resistance for the blade to swing freely. Thumbing, flicking, and waving will defeat the detent and the blade will open. Also, while the detent is fairly strong the blade can open slightly with a decent amount of shaking like while running with it in the pocket of athletic shorts. Wearing in the waistband of athletic shorts or wearing firmer pants negates this. I think it would be a very dangerous feature if the blade swung freely.

Take it completely apart (they are made to do that easily) clean it, dry it, and then add the lube of your choice. That should help but it will still take a little bit of time to get it smooth.
Click to expand...

You weren't listening. It's smooth now....it just wont loosen. I dont want it loose like a benchmade. I also said that I know its not designed to be like that BUT I can loosen the pivot screw to the point where its about to fall out and it still is stiff. Obviously to get it to close i have to hold the lock bar and it still doesn't move. I guess I will take it apart. But like I said, it's smooth now. It's more a matter of my confusions on why it's still tight when the pivot is extremely loose.

I guess I will finish the manufacturing process of this knife for Emerson and clean it out myself.
 
benchwarmer380 said:
Do you really want your Emerson to swing freely? My BM 710 will swing freely when I pull the Axis lock because it serves as both the lock and the detent. When its pulled there is no resistance. Now my Mini Commander has a detent ball on the lock side which the blade will ride along almost 90% of opening arc. There is too much resistance for the blade to swing freely. Thumbing, flicking, and waving will defeat the detent and the blade will open. Also, while the detent is fairly strong the blade can open slightly with a decent amount of shaking like while running with it in the pocket of athletic shorts. Wearing in the waistband of athletic shorts or wearing firmer pants negates this. I think it would be a very dangerous feature if the blade swung freely.

Take it completely apart (they are made to do that easily) clean it, dry it, and then add the lube of your choice. That should help but it will still take a little bit of time to get it smooth.
Click to expand...

You weren't listening. It's smooth now....it just wont loosen. I dont want it loose like a benchmade. I also said that I know its not designed to be like that BUT I can loosen the pivot screw to the point where its about to fall out and it still is stiff. Obviously to get it to close i have to hold the lock bar and it still doesn't move. I guess I will take it apart. But like I said, it's smooth now. It's more a matter of my confusions on why it's still tight when the pivot is extremely loose.

I guess I will finish the manufacturing process of this knife for Emerson and clean it out myself.
 
I don't know about "finish the manufacturing process"...

Are you familiar with or have/own a Les Baer 1911? I find more than just a little parallel between a Baer 1911 and an EKI knife - both are supposed to take on your individuality by being broken in by you. Once you've done it (the breaking in) and then used it, you will become attached in an intangible way, unless of course collecting/catch-n-release is what is preferred.
 
Officer's Match said:
I don't know about "finish the manufacturing process"...

Are you familiar with or have/own a Les Baer 1911? I find more than just a little parallel between a Baer 1911 and an EKI knife - both are supposed to take on your individuality by being broken in by you. Once you've done it (the breaking in) and then used it, you will become attached in an intangible way, unless of course collecting/catch-n-release is what is preferred.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Like it or not, the Nylatron washers do require a break-in period as they properly seat to the frame and blade. This is just a 'given' with Emerson knives and has nothing to do with an improper manufacturing process. Use your knife and as Officer's Match said, you will bond with it.
 
So I understand you clearly, you are unscrewing the pivot with the knife closed correct?
 
Just like A.P.F. said - Just use it, and it will break in very nicely. I never have adjusted mine; just sprayed some WD-40 in the pivot now & then & wipe down. Patience will lead to a very smooth Emerson.
 
Woops sorry I see what you mean by a dual detent. I thought you were just talking about the lock and the ball on the lock and was like...uh whatever. Before I took the knife apart I was examining it a little closer and saw the lock on the non lock bar liner side. I understand the relation between tearing down an Emerson and cleaning it when you first get it and doing the same with a 1911. I would be happy to put up with some stiffness if my knife will wear some over time and slowly "adapt" to me and how i use it.

So when you say smooth, do you mean it is possible to flick it open without wrist action or do you mean "smooth" as inn - not gritty? After cleaning it, it wasn't gritty and today I took it apart and cleaned it again because I over oiled it and its the same. I don't plan on just flicking my knife open, but if this will only be smooth but still require a good amount of wrist action to open it without the wave, then I will loosen the pivot up to where I like it now, because it is as good as it gets, as far as grittiness (besides wearing off the titianum liner grind lines.

I'm concerned because if someone thinks it should get better and easier to open, I will leave it tighter than I would like for now. The issue I have is that if it sounds like what I have is as good as it gets, I want to loosen mine up now because I have to whip that sucker open to get it to open and when I do that, the lock bar sticks very very very bad and seems to be getting worse. Its so sticky that I can barely get it to release and I have a sore thumb from doing it today. :( The other side of that is, if I don't whip it open, the lock bar only engages about 5-10%!!!!
 
All part of it. No, it's not supposed to be easily flickable. I find a well broken in EKI to have a similar "hydraulic" feel like a CRK.
 
My ultra sticky lock requires a MAN to unlock it. Will that get better over time? Or did I just get an extra sticky one? I used to have a used Snubby for about two weeks and the lock was sticky but, from what I remember, it wasnt REALLY sticky. If I remember correctly, a sticky lock can kind of be part of the nature of a titanium on steel lock interface. I'm just wondering if it will get better? I think my Benchmade torrent got a lot better, but that is steel on steel.

Also, I've never seeen a dual detent on a knife before. What is the purpose of that? Is it for blade centering???
 
Ernie himself would have to say what it's purpose is, but I like that retention tension can be altered without tampering with lock-bar tension. I also like that it tends to prevent the blade from "falling" shut on an unprotected thumb when unlocking the blade.
 
Officer's Match said:
Ernie himself would have to say what it's purpose is, but I like that retention tension can be altered without tampering with lock-bar tension. I also like that it tends to prevent the blade from "falling" shut on an unprotected thumb when unlocking the blade.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I don't no. Sorry but if it doesn't fall on your thumb (and just hit the corner of the edge that stops it against the stop pin when shut) then you have to push the lock bar in with your finger while pushing hard with your finger to get the blade past the lock bar. This creates the tendency to PUSH the blade into your thumb holding the lock bar instead of letting the blade fall into your finger.

That reasoning you have is a stretch. However, neither situation is going to cut you because of what part of the blade hits your thumb nail.

Dang, I'd really like to know what that detent on the other liner is for.
One thing I just feel the need to randomly say is, I really like the simplicity of Emersons.
 
Not sure what you mean by my reasoning is a stretch? I mean, no offense taken here, but the secondary detente does do exactly what I said: (1.) it creates a way to adjust retention independent of the lock-bar, and (2.) it prevents the blade from "pendulum free swing" when the lock-bar is disengaged. Sorry if I wasn't clear in my explanation previously.
 
Officer's Match said:
Not sure what you mean by my reasoning is a stretch? I mean, no offense taken here, but the secondary detente does do exactly what I said: (1.) it creates a way to adjust retention independent of the lock-bar, and (2.) it prevents the blade from "pendulum free swing" when the lock-bar is disengaged. Sorry if I wasn't clear in my explanation previously.
Click to expand...
Oh, I thought that you meant that "only Erinie knows" and you liked how it "just so happened to" prevent the blade from swinging freely down. I didn't know that that was an actual reason for it.

What do you mean by it creates a way to adjust the retention? What kind of retention are you talking about? Do you mean that the second detent is there to provide a tension on the blade that is opposite of the way tension is put on the blade by the lock bar? Sorry for all the questions, but you seem to know a lot more than me on these knives.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top