bearings vs washers

[saylorbrand]

I am a electric motor mechanic and understand bearings very well. Just a little contamination can and eventually will cause bearing failure. That said I have a ZT562 and love it but not sure about the bearings. If I had to go to the same box I don't think at this point and time I would take it. I would trust washers instead. The big timers have not switched to bearing. Strider, crk, hindered, all bad as hard use knives. No bearings. Bearing fun for play, enjoy for edc, and work. Not putting my life on them. Does anyone have experience of bearing failures, or success stories to change my thoughts?

 

[K.O.D.]

There was a recent topic on the bearing vs washers deal.

I concur on the contamination thing quickly wearing bearings out on vehicles. However, a pocket knife's pivot bearings are under significantly less pressure/stress as compared to machines. Keeping them cleaned and lubed (like washers) and you shouldn't run into performance issues.

 

[Charr]

Like was said, there has been a thread on this recently that you should be able to find very easily.

Also, there are many instances of differing opinions on bearings, and even I myself have an opinion that depends on many things. The maker of the knife is a major factor to me, for one.
Here is an example of a maker that does a bearing pivot very well:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...gs-pivot-point-test?highlight=Shirogorov+test

Not to say that this test is normal, or that it is something that you should ever expect a knfie to handle, but in terms fo strength, it's hard to argue with actual results of a very extreme test.

At the end of the day, it depends on who makes them. Strider uses washers, but there are failure points in their knives, and weaknesses. The same is true off Hinderer and CRK as well. That is just because they are a knife. There is never going to be a truly indestructable knife. Even a fixed blade will fail at some level, and if you manage to reach that level, then soemthing is already wrong.

For long-term use and lifetime assurance, yes, washers are probably a slightly better choice, but as long as you take care of your knives, it shouldn't realistically matter.

 

[Fanglekai]

I don't see how a knife with bearings would suddenly fail from mundane use. Clean out the pivot with compressed air once in a while.

 

[Reignman]

I am a electric motor mechanic and understand bearings very well. Just a little contamination can and eventually will cause bearing failure. That said I have a ZT562 and love it but not sure about the bearings. If I had to go to the same box I don't think at this point and time I would take it. I would trust washers instead. The big timers have not switched to bearing. Strider, crk, hindered, all bad as hard use knives. No bearings. Bearing fun for play, enjoy for edc, and work. Not putting my life on them. Does anyone have experience of bearing failures, or success stories to change my thoughts?

In my days of Engine building (NASCAR) I had the privledge of studying breakdown of oils, bearing surfaces etc......
I'd venture to say that the bearings in knives used to facilitate a better deployment while not nearly as high a grade steel as one would consider "industry standard" I'd indubitably expect them to last a lifetime considering the lack of heat, chemicals and ultimately time under tension so to speak or pressure.

I've never had any issues out of my bearing equipped knives and do not foresee any in the future either.