Axis a bit gritty when closed slow?

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My new Ritter is great. Smooth opening and closing, no play. However when I open or close it real slow it feels gritty. I cleaned and lubed it well (without taking it apart) and found that it is the lock bar rubbing on the back end of actual knife metal. If I hold the lockbar back all the way so that it never touches the knife, it is smooth and the grit is not there.

Is this normal? If not, how do alleviate this? Here is a poor pshop that I made to try and show where the lockbar is causing the gritty feel.

 
My mini-ritter was like that when new, it smoothed out. Kinda like a break-in period. The lock bar is supposed to touch the blade.
 
Great to know. Thanks! I know it was normal to touch, didn't know if the gritty feel was. I am super happy about the knife, happy to hear its normal!
 
until the blade polishes from break in it will feel gritty, most don't feel it as they flick their grips open.

i've got an 551 ORG grip that is a little over 3 weeks old is just now starting to smooth out nicely. give it time it will break in.
 
I had this exact same thing, but didn't have it with my 555, 550, or 551. I think it's the shot blasted finish they put on the Ritter Grips. It looks cool, but it has a very fine texture to it. What you are feeling is the lockbar grinding against that texture. It will take time, but it will smooth out eventually.

If you want to accelerate the smoothing and have access to a buffing wheel:
Take your blade out and buff the rear of it where the lockbar rides. Buff the sides of the blade around the pivot hole and hone the washers on a very fine stone. Clean and oil all the surfaces, then reassemble. It will be like a 4 year old axis lock (this is when you don't think they couldn't get any smoother, then they do. I have a 710D2 that keeps getting smoother after about 4 years of use).
 
Nice. Thanks for the info everyone. Not too comfortable taking it apart. I have no issue with it, since it is normal. Appreciate the help!
 
DO NOT buff or otherwise work on blade tang. If you look at tang ramp it should be a smooth flat ramp. Leave it alone. Gritty feeling probably comes from Axis components...omega springs,sliding lock bar and lock bar slots.

Flush out Axis area with WD 40 and relube. you don't have to flick to break in, just slide lock bar back and forth in closed position. I found that pushing lock bar to one side ,then the other helps break in the back of lock bar button heads.



Hope everyone gets a knife for Fathers Day !!
 
wally@ferguson said:
DO NOT buff or otherwise work on blade tang. If you look at tang ramp it should be a smooth flat ramp. Leave it alone. Gritty feeling probably comes from Axis components...omega springs,sliding lock bar and lock bar slots.

Flush out Axis area with WD 40 and relube. you don't have to flick to break in, just slide lock bar back and forth in closed position. I found that pushing lock bar to one side ,then the other helps break in the back of lock bar button heads.



Hope everyone gets a knife for Fathers Day !!
Click to expand...

Whats buffing the bearing surface a bit going to hurt it will happen naturally in time any way?

Its true don't mess with the locking tolleraces but polishing where the bar rides will not be detrimental in any way, as this portion of the tang is non-critical in the function and perfromance of the knife.

DO NOT use WD40 as it has a very bad tendency to gum up rather quickly, rather use HOT ruunning watter then follow with your favorite quality gun/knife oil (militec-1, blue lube, CLP, etc).
 
spidyman:

Unless you buff at exactly same plane you run the risk of diminishing ramp lock angle. This is one area of Axis tune up you do not want to mess with.

WD 40 is a great FLUSHING agent to be followed with lube of your choice. Hot water is fine , but you will still need a water displacing agent like WD 40to chase out final water.
 
wally@ferguson said:
DO NOT buff or otherwise work on blade tang. If you look at tang ramp it should be a smooth flat ramp. Leave it alone. Gritty feeling probably comes from Axis components...omega springs,sliding lock bar and lock bar slots.

Flush out Axis area with WD 40 and relube. you don't have to flick to break in, just slide lock bar back and forth in closed position. I found that pushing lock bar to one side ,then the other helps break in the back of lock bar button heads.



Hope everyone gets a knife for Fathers Day !!
Click to expand...

Yeah, that is above my skill level anyways. No intention to take it apart.

I did the wd40 to lube and it did nothing.
 
wally@ferguson said:
spidyman:

Unless you buff at exactly same plane you run the risk of diminishing ramp lock angle. This is one area of Axis tune up you do not want to mess with.

WD 40 is a great FLUSHING agent to be followed with lube of your choice. Hot water is fine , but you will still need a water displacing agent like WD 40to chase out final water.
Click to expand...

What exactly is "ramp lock angle" ? :confused:

The AXIS lock is self adjusting, just like a liner lock, just like a ball bearing lock. It is designed to seat itself deeper each time, thus keeping the lockup tight without play.

You're not sanding or removing large amounts of metal. You're buffing and removing negligible amounts of metal.
 
wally@ferguson said:
spidyman:

Unless you buff at exactly same plane you run the risk of diminishing ramp lock angle. This is one area of Axis tune up you do not want to mess with.

WD 40 is a great FLUSHING agent to be followed with lube of your choice. Hot water is fine , but you will still need a water displacing agent like WD 40to chase out final water.
Click to expand...

He's not talking about buffing that very small part of the tang that the lock bar locks into. He's talking about buffing the rounded part of the tang that the lock bar travels on, on its way to the top of the tang where it locks. I really don't see any harm in this, it should smooth out of time but I guess this could speed it up.
 
Comparing some older axis-lock knives to some newer versions, it appears BM has decided not to give the blade tang such a fine finish of late.
 
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