Anyone ever have out of the box speedsafe issues?

J

JulianHayes

Gold Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2012
Messages
397
I just got my damascus Shallot from a fantastic forum member, and it is a bit odd. I read what I could on other threads but could not find one to address this. It opens slowly, often not enough for the lock to engage, and it closes oddly. It takes more effort than my other shallot and for the first 90 degrees it makes a strange, quiet clicking noise. I have have the torsion bar break on a leek but it was after some use, and Kershaw fixed it. I am just wondering if any of you have had this problem and it just needs breaking in. Or the other option is that the bar is not in the right place? ANyway I am probably just a nervous new owner and don't want to send it in, I just got it... Any advice appreciated, thanks, Julian
 
Well the the I'd check the tension on all the screws that could be the hart of the problem....could just be a manufacturing mistake though..
 
The pivot may have been tightened to help center the blade but impedes the opening action. To answer your topic question no, not to date.
 
If you feel you need a new torsion bar, just contact Kershaw, they will send one to you.

Tom
 
I loosened the pivot a bit and it helped a little, still doesn't lock up all of the time and clicks a bit. I'll see if it gets better or contact Kershaw, they were great when I sent in my leek. Thanks for the help.. still working on it, hoping to not replace the torsion bar, I have not taken apart any of my speedsafe Kershaws for some reason.. thanks
 
If you opt to take the knife down instead of sending it to Kershaw, just make sure the knife is open beforehand. On the subject of it opening funny, I bet money it was stored closed and and torsion bar bent. I hate to say it but there are a ton of Kershaw collectors on here that are well known that still don't grasp the concept that if the knife is stored closed it puts a huge amount of stress on the torsion bar, that's why I set mine open in a display case when I get done using the knife for the day. Thomas and I actually had a long discussion on it when another member had a similar problem and told me I was an idiot for suggesting it.
 
turk.919 said:
If you opt to take the knife down instead of sending it to Kershaw, just make sure the knife is open beforehand. On the subject of it opening funny, I bet money it was stored closed and and torsion bar bent. I hate to say it but there are a ton of Kershaw collectors on here that are well known that still don't grasp the concept that if the knife is stored closed it puts a huge amount of stress on the torsion bar, that's why I set mine open in a display case when I get done using the knife for the day. Thomas and I actually had a long discussion on it when another member had a similar problem and told me I was an idiot for suggesting it.
Click to expand...

While I agree with you that a T-bar stored open is best if it will be left that way for a long time, I would need more info from the O.P.
If this is from the newest batch, they haven't been stored that long at all. If it was a NIB from a few years back then yes that could be the case. My guess is a combo of the pivot/ handle tension, and the T-bar being a dud. I certainly won't suggest you are an idiot because I can see the possibility.

O.P. It is not that hard to take a speed safe apart. Just take your time, make notes if you have to, and go to town. Assembly is just the opposite of what you originally did. There are videos on here somewhere and over on the tube of how to do it. It will be just about the same for all models minus those using liners. If you have any question there are plenty of us here to help you out!
 
JulianHayes said:
I loosened the pivot a bit and it helped a little, still doesn't lock up all of the time and clicks a bit. I'll see if it gets better or contact Kershaw, they were great when I sent in my leek. Thanks for the help.. still working on it, hoping to not replace the torsion bar, I have not taken apart any of my speedsafe Kershaws for some reason.. thanks
Click to expand...

Personally, I'd call them about it and sent it back for servicing or a new one. Kershaw CS is top notch. They'll take care of you.
 
I have bought new old stock speedsafes that had been closed in the boxes in excess of 5 years with no spring problems. A few of them have had the same clicking noise. Once they were taken apart and the tension bar area was relubed it went away. The Speedsafe mechanism really is very simple and easy to re-assemble. I understand your hesitation to take it down, I was the same way. If you don't have a decent torx set they can be had cheaply at Lowes or Home Depot. Kershaw also makes an good torx kit http://www.bladehq.com/item--Kershaw-Torx-Phillips--2825. And as stated Kershaw will take good care of you if you send it in.
 
I bought one of those "custom" decorated Leeks from the auction site. Not sure if it was the engraving process, but it would not snap open out of the box. Adjusting the pivot made it open, but the blade was badly off centered, so I had to tighten it back up. I've been opening it a few times a day for several weeks now, and it's definitely gotten better where now the blade is only slightly off center and it snaps open.
 
It sounds like the pivot was overtightened (possibly to center the blade), which meant the torsion bar couldn't generate enough momentum to get the blade all the way open. Loosening the pivot screw can help. The blade being off-center could be due to a slight misalignment of the handle scales. This can sometimes be fixed using the folded paper trick or by shifting the scales themselves when re-tightening the handle screws. See this thread for more info.

As for the clicking sound, that does happen sometimes (along with rattling sound when the blade is open) with the torsion bars. Sometimes putting a bit of grease on the bar and in the chamber where it resides will keep the torsion bar from moving around. Pretty much any fairly viscous grease should work (some have even reported using Vaseline).

If you do suspect the torsion bar has simply lost its springiness, you can contact Kershaw's warranty department, and they'll send you a replacement. If you're not comfortable swapping it yourself, you can just send the knife in, and they'll fix it.
 
If an idiot light comes on in your car, do you take it to a mechanic or check under the hood first? I'd strip her first, and see what the problem is. As previously stated, it's not hard...check YouTube, and work on an open and flat surface. Without distractions, I'd bet money you can fix it yourself. For your question, yes, my blur was the same way.
 
Take it apart. You might be hesitant, but I was the same when I took my first knife apart, and it wasn't even a Speedsafe. It's a lot easier than you think and sooner or later you'll want to take apart all of your knives just to see how they look on the inside and how they work.
 
I recently bought another RJI and the spring was almost 100% dead. I sent it back to Kershaw and they sent me a new knife.:thumbup:
 
Last edited:
I have had this happen on some of my new ones, flip it about a hundred times. If it still does check the pivot tension, 1/8th of a turn will probably fix it.
 
bad_juju said:
While I agree with you that a T-bar stored open is best if it will be left that way for a long time, I would need more info from the O.P.
If this is from the newest batch, they haven't been stored that long at all. If it was a NIB from a few years back then yes that could be the case. My guess is a combo of the pivot/ handle tension, and the T-bar being a dud. I certainly won't suggest you are an idiot because I can see the possibility.

O.P. It is not that hard to take a speed safe apart. Just take your time, make notes if you have to, and go to town. Assembly is just the opposite of what you originally did. There are videos on here somewhere and over on the tube of how to do it. It will be just about the same for all models minus those using liners. If you have any question there are plenty of us here to help you out!
Click to expand...

I guess it's just specific knives, I bought a couple Boa's that were NOS and all had dud torsion bars. A buddy of mine is a machinist and has a system that tests the Lbs ratings of springs, we set the torsion bars on them (New and old) The new bar had 9lbs of forward force (Compression to the same point) While the old ones had about 3.4. The machine compressed them both in 1/2 a cm to do these tests. I'll see if he still has the machine.
 
turk.919 said:
I guess it's just specific knives, I bought a couple Boa's that were NOS and all had dud torsion bars. A buddy of mine is a machinist and has a system that tests the Lbs ratings of springs, we set the torsion bars on them (New and old) The new bar had 9lbs of forward force (Compression to the same point) While the old ones had about 3.4. The machine compressed them both in 1/2 a cm to do these tests. I'll see if he still has the machine.
Click to expand...
Thats actually a really neat idea. I never thought what kind of force they produce. I'd like to see the results if you did it again. I'm sure a lot of people would.
 
thanks for the help all. It has been without problems but I will take apart another of my speedsafe knives to see how they work, I do like to know how to fix em, and do it for most of my knives when they need a really good cleaning. And I have used Kershaw CS before and they were really fantastic, they fixed the issue and fixed the tip, which I had damaged, as well as cleaning up the DLC type coating. I wish I could be sent back to the factory for a treatment every few years.. Thanks for the help, I am always amazed when I log onto this forum, Julian
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top