ADVICE NEEDED on RUKO lock blade:

[cargo77]

Recently bought a RUKO RK7173TS - 2.5" lock blade pocket knife via internet. Problem is, once the blade is locked open, the locking spring is so strong, I cannot manually depress the blade release to refold the blade into the handle. I have 2 other lock blade knives, & have no problem releasing their blades. Seller says there is no adjustment for the blade release spring & that the release will "limber up" with usage. I have lubed the blade hinge & opened/closed the blade many times (using both hands & the edge of a wooden table to depress the blade release) over the last 4 weeks with no noticeable weakening of the release spring. At this point I am out of ideas. I like the knife, but I need to be able to close it normally. Any ideas or constructive suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[marcinek]

Welcome.

If you are unsatisfied with the product, send it back to the seller. If the seller wont take it back, you bought from the wrong guy, live and learn, and hit the gym to build up that forearm strength.

 

[samclaymore]

If lubing the knife didn't help. Then I suggest to stop doing it & use the knife normally. Because by lubing it you have reduced the friction that will cause parts to ware faster. I also assume your lock back must be pinned. Preventing you from dismantling it, and manually grinding parts down. Good luck working it out or replacing it.

 

[cargo77]

Yes, the lock back is pinned. The handle is formed plastic. The only way I see to disassemble the knife is to first remove the blade, which is retained with some sort of weird 6 pointed star shaped screw - maybe some poor relation to a torx? Anyway, I've got nothing that will fit it. But assuming I find some way to remove the blade, then the next thing to remove would be the lock back lever - a metal tang w/one end set against the rotating base of the blade & the other end situated in a slot formed in the butt end of the handle, & held into the handle w/a metal pin. I have no idea how to manually drive out the pin w/o wrecking the plastic handle. No doubt it was pressed into place by machine, using hundreds of pounds of pressure. Once the lock back lever is removed, the lock back spring - a length of spring steel rod - might be removable. Or it could be molded into the plastic handle. I can't tell about that until the lock back lever is removed. The knife is manufactured somewhere in China, & the stateside distributer doesn't know any more about it's construction details than I do. There are some pretty helpful people at the local Ace hardware store. Maybe I'll take it to them & see if they have any ideas. I know this is a lot of time & effort to spend on a cheap knife, but I like this size & style, and it has a handy pocket clip, which most pocket knives lack, & I got it at a "bargain" price. I guess maybe now I know why. Anyway, I'm stubborn enough that it frosts my balls to be defeated by such a simple mechanism. The Seller says this problem is "not a manufacturing defect", so I guess the Chinese have got really strong fingers?? Or perhaps this is all a secret Communist plot to destroy us "decadent Americans" w/unworkable pocket knives! I was kind of hoping one of you knife wizards would have a miracle cure for my problem, so I wouldn't need to try to take the knife apart. Guess not. . . .

 

[savage99]

It's definitely a commie plot against America like you already surmised, so the only solution is to buy an American made knife to help fund the war on the poorly executed lockbacks

 

[cargo77]

Hey, I'm as red blooded as the next Patriot, & buy American whenever I can afford to. But here's the thing. I've bought any number of foreign made knives over the decades - all of which have given good service, up to this one. Also, as a retired semi invalid on a fixed income, I have to watch my pennies. A similar American made knife would cost me 5 - 10 times what I paid for this one. Does anyone know what kind of tool I would need to remove this screw w/the 6 point star shaped indent? It looks kind of like the star on the Israeli flag, & is roughly 2.5mm diameter from point tip to opposite point tip. Anyone out there successfully removed a pressed in metal pin from one of these Chinese made plastic knife handles? I'd love to hear details on how you do that. Thanks.