Another K2 lock stick question - humor me

seeverscpa

seeverscpa

Joined
May 19, 2015
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So, the pocket sword that I love still suffers from horrendous lock-stick. I tried all the usual remedies including sharpie and graphite and I get minimal relief.

I love the knife and would carry it considerably more if it didn't destroy my thumb every time I wanted to close it one-handed. :jerk it:

So, my next thought was to disassemble the knife and see if I can, just ever so lightly, polish the surface of the lockface (not the tang). My thought is that the "polishing" might remove just enough of the lockface to allow for easier disengagement. I understand that the Ti lockface is suffering from what is called "galling" wherein the Ti surface is much softer than the 10V tang and thus there is significant surface friction as the Ti surface moves across the 10V tang.

I could pick up another one from Knifecenter who has them on close-out for $150, I could also send it back to Spyderco and see if they can't do anything about it.

Any other options?
 
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ive want a 10V blade form spyderco, but the K2 is too big and of course the lockstick issue.

try some lubricant on the tang/lockbar. essentially its the same thing as the sharpie method, but youre using a lube instead. using a lubricant helped when my ZT 804CF was brand new with lock stick. it went away after the lubrication. if that doesnt work, id send it back to spyderco.

personally i now stay away from knives without hardened lock bars, especially with a supersteel.
 
It was designed to stick.

Don't ask me how I know because for the life of me I cannot find the thread where it is discussed.
 
After their call I just decided it was not meant to be that I have this knife. Interestingly they told me that Farid designed this knife to stick and pretty much any of them that don't aren't acting as designed. They flat outside you should not be able to close this knife one-handed. And I won't have any knife I can't easily close with one hand. So, moving on.

On a side note, I did pick up a Chubby from them this week and it is already on the exchange. Nice knife but it is so stiff to open and the liner edge so sharp I just did not enjoy messing with it. Thought about modding it but changed mind and will just take my licking and look else where for a small ti knife. Looooooove my Sage 2. Might just get a back up to that. That dude is so easy to open and close.
Click to expand...

From https://www.spyderco.com/forumII/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=71600&hilit=farid+lock+stick&start=60

Not the original thread I am remembering but sheds some light on the issue.
 
KC has been out of stock for a few days. K2 is now listed as 'discontinued', so I guess that's the end of that...
 
kniferbro said:
It was designed to stick.

Don't ask me how I know because for the life of me I cannot find the thread where it is discussed.
Click to expand...

I believe KC site has it in the description that the knife is designed to be closed using both hands.

Mine has ever do slight stick but it isn't horrendous and I'm okay with it. Kind of a reassurance to have to be very deliberate when disengaging the lock.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
kniferbro said:
It was designed to stick.

Don't ask me how I know because for the life of me I cannot find the thread where it is discussed.
Click to expand...

I believe KC site has it in the description that the knife is designed to be closed using both hands.

Mine has ever do slight stick but it isn't horrendous and I'm okay with it. Kind of a reassurance to have to be very deliberate when disengaging the lock.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
They stick. It is a big knife and it should be hard to open. I bought 2, the one I am using is breaking in, but it is still quite sticky. I have really strong hands from my job and can open one handed but it is still hard to do.
It is worth it to have this knife at this price.

Russ
 
I have one that I play with and it's sticky too. I thought about using it and if it goes to 100...since it's started off brand new in the box with 70% lockup.. I'd just mill out the around around the dent ball and make a hardened steel lockbar insert piece like how zt does on their new knives like the zt0392
 
What came first? The complaints about lock stick OR Farid offering up that he designed the knife to have lock stick.

Part of the reason it's so hard to disengage is because there isn't that large of an opening to even get your thumb in there to push against the lock bar. It's a very small space they milled out for your thumb to engage the lock bar, where you would push against it. I have to kind of mash my thumb down into that opening just to get a purchase on the edge of the lock bar. The edges are sharp to boot, so it just makes for a difficult time disengaging the lock bar.

For me all the positives of the knife outway this one issue, I just wanted to see what everyone else had to say, and if anyone had come up with a workable solution. I just love the giant Bowie blade.

Speaking of knife center, they currently have three different custom K2's, 4.625 and 3.875 inch models. Very cool. But I think if I paid $500 for a knife that had this kind a lock stick I'd lose my fucking mind. I want to add I just realized those custom models are tip-up carry.
 
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Try disengaging the lock left-handed, holding the knife in your left hand, and only with your left hand. The tips of your fingers will then not be accidentally pushing against the lock bar, like they can when you try to unlock the knife one-handed in your right hand.

The problem is that with a strong lock, when folks try to disengage the lock on the K2, they tend to tighten their grip on the knife involuntarily. If you look at where the tips of your fingers are pushing when that happens, they're pushing the lock bar against your thumb that is trying to disengage it, making it seem like the lock is sticking really badly, when it may not be. I can force the lock on my K2 all the way against the other scale, and still disengage it with only my thumb in my right hand, so long as I'm careful not to push on the lock bar with my other 4 fingers.

Or use two hands, as Farid did also say that the knife was not intended to be unlocked with one hand.

PS - Better delete that jerkit smiley in your first post, before you receive an infraction, as it is only allowed in the Whine & Cheese forum
 
Man, I have two of these. They both had light lock stick. After carrying my user a lot the lock stick has almost gone away completely. I think the other one will also break in well if put into service. It never took two hands to open either one. I should have bought a lottery ticket that day.
 
The Ti lock face on these have been carburised just like CRKs Sebenzas, so unless that layer has been compromised there will be no galling. I have noticed a big change in geometry for the Reeve Integral locks made in Taichung from my example of an original Sage 2 to newer Technos and these K2s, it's a huge improvement! What I am noticing with the new geometry combined with a strong lock bar tension is that I get lock wedge (not lock stick like you get with galling), yes it makes it tighter to disengage (or feel sticky) but makes it far more secure!

You can remove some of the lock bar tension from your K2, take out the over travel stop and carefully over extend the the lock bar, incrementally reduce the lock bar tension till you get the lock wedge to a comfortable level. It will naturally slip deeper with hard use and still feel tight when disengaging but will be more comfortable to disengage with normal use.
 
Great advice Jimbo. And you are spot on with your comment that the lock face was carbidized. I attached a picture and you can clearly see the heat discoloration on the Ti from the carbidization process. I smoothed out the lock face with some Flintz and steel wool, a very minor amount of polishing. It gave me some relief, but I think your suggestion to release some tension from the lock bar will produce better relief.

IMG_6112_zpskyszyta1.jpg
 
Jimbo75 is right on the money...

I picked up a K2 from Knife Center, there was some lock stick. Took it apart, removed the over travel stop and bent the lock bar back so that its resting place was about 1mm closer to the scale. That's about all it needed, stick was reduced near 90% within a day or two. Even with less tension, the lock bar still gets a pretty good purchase on the tang.

Don't forget, it's still a heavy blade so you can't remove too much tension or else the blade will fall out when you invert it. If you try this, don't forget to take a pic of where the lock bar rests before you start working on it for reference.
 
Fellas, the lock face is not carbidized. They are carburized!

Carbidize: "weld" a layer of tungsten carbide
Carburize: heat treatment process that hardens the Ti
 
I know what carbidizing is. I'm saying that Spyderco does not carbidize their lock faces.

They, like Chris Reeve, carburize their titanium frame locks.

You stated "carbonized" in your first post.

I'm not sure why you don't like the answer you're being given?

The Southard, per Brad, has the lock face carburized, or heat treated.

Either Sal or Marcin, I don't recall which, has stated that the Techno has the same treatment.

I doubt the whole piece is treated, more likely just the lock face, similar to how CRK does it.

Given that the knife is being made from the same materials, in the same factory, from the same company, and designed by the same guy as the Techno, it stands to reason that similar manufacturing methods will be used. I'd like to hear from Sal or Marcin as well, but I bet we have a pretty good idea what the answer is. ;)
Click to expand...

http://www.spyderco.com/forumII/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=64894&hilit=techno+carburized&start=20
 
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Gotcha, yes I think you are correct as this beast does have the RIL on it.

So my idea to polish the face - bad idea? I already did it, but would do it again more aggressively if it would yield better results. Id rather do that than bend the lock bar.

All that or I could just stop bitching about it and move on with life :)

I really want to fondle one of his customs to see if they suffer the same fate.
 
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