AR/GB and spacer adhesive

Greg Jones

Greg Jones

Joined
Oct 3, 1998
Messages
221
I wonder if we can have a good discussion on the 3M adhesive in the AR/GB folders and keep the trolls out that do not want to add anything positive to the discussion. I have seen Dashunde2's post and a few others' experiences and I want to add mine. I bought one of the ARs this year with a S30V blade that are stamped BG-42. Right from the start I had a problem with mine in that the blade would not close all the way. After I managed to cut myself twice on the exposed tip, I sent it in to the Strider guys.

When I got it back, it worked as it should. However, I recently noticed that it was starting to creep open again, even though it is not as bad as when it was new. This past weekend I used the AR in the kitchen and I cleaned it off good in the sink with Dawn dish soap. After I finished cleaning it, the blade would not close at all! It was like the adhesive had swelled or something that was keeping the blade about an inch from closing. I got out the heat gun, dried the knife off, and lubed it up again with Rem Oil and it is back to normal-for now. I must say though that my confidence in this knife is not what it once was. I don't even use it hard as I seldom have need to really test the limits of a knife. However, I do want to know that it will perform when I need it to, without having to send it back to Strider every 3-6 months to have it worked on. I guess my question is why are some of us having real problems with blade creep while others of us get along just fine?
 
Just a thought. A few weeks ago, I used Rem oil on my "lame" AR. It worked OK for about 24 hours, then gummed the pivot up pretty bad. Since then I've used Break Free CLP twice, to clean the Rem oil out. That helped a LOT. IMO, Rem oil is fine for Microtechs, bad for ARs...
 
I know that Tetra Lube oil made it worse on mine. "Toxic waste" as Mick referred to it, many moons ago.

Seems like there are some magic chemical combinations that make your knife do goofy things. The ones that don't have "goofy" knives haven't found the right combination!

I would prefer an alternative to the 3M adhesive as well, but Mick doesn't tell me how to do my job, and I sure as hell won't tell him how to do his. :D
 
UH Oh... How did I get in the middle of this? For the record, I dont have an AR or GB, I've never even laid my hands on one.
I am thinking about getting one though, and I have a few posts around here somewhere that inquire as to the purpose and real story behind the 3M stuff... Just wanted to get all that straight :)


You know, the best thing I've found to date for pivots is Gatco's honing oil! Go figure...
It doesnt gum-up or attract much dirt, and it leaves everything from Sebenza's to BM Axis locks silky smooth. (Well, everything I've used it on is smooth-swinging - your results may vary.)
 
I started having a problem with the adhesive a few months after I got my AR. It made the blade harder to open or close, as it was pushing against me. I took the knife apart and removed the adhesive from the non locking side. It is well known that the lock side washer is a "D" shape, and if it spins will interfere with the lock's operation. I then lubed an re-assembled the knife. Now the round, symmetrical washer can spin freely, and the "D" shaped one stays put. This has been working well for me, and I don't see why it couldn't be used as a fix by everyone. It would seem to me that because one washer is absolutely free to rotate, the other has no desire to. The knife know opens very smooth, with little pressure, and doesn't creep on its own. The lockup is still rock solid the way I first got it.

BTW, I cleaned it with gun scrubber and lubed with Miltec-1, prior to this procedure. I don't know if this had anything to do with the adhesive deterioration. I re-lubed it with the Miltec-1 after I removed the adhesive on the one side. I have not experienced any problems since.
 
I also used Millitec-1 on my AR when it was new-I wonder if perhaps that caused my problem as well? I will have to send mine back to Strider a second time. I can now see black thin strings of the adhesive between the blade pivot and the liners.
 
You know...when you send in your blade, you can ask for no adhesive...otherwise we return the knife to its origional condition.

I moved this from another thread because im tired of typing it.

Thanks m




There is an adhesive between the blade bearings and the titanium liners.

At the time we developed the AR/GB we had concerns of electrolysis between the dissimilar metals used in the knife. For those of you who don’t realize it, in certain environments electrolysis generated between dissimilar metals is a huge issue. We needed to find a way to insulate. In our evaluations we found that the adhesive we use not only works well as an insulation, it allows us to use a larger bearing on the lock side by bonding a D shaped washer instead of using a standard round one. In addition, we found that the knives functioned more smoothly do to the small cushion allowed by the adhesive.

Recently, we had an issue where a few knives were shipped that had problems in this area. Oops…
Sorry we made a mistake.
Anyway…. The seven knives out of however many of these things were repaired and are back at work.

That’s the big issue of the adhesive on the bearings.

Why do you ask do we not just use Teflon bearings instead of oil impregnated bronze?
It doesn’t do well in the surfzone.

Talk to you soon
 
If a knife is sent in with a requst for no adhesive is the D washer replaced with a smaller circular one? If not how do you keep it from interfering with the lock?
 
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