Benchmade hexagonal blade stop comments.

T

Tostig

Joined
Jun 16, 2009
Messages
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So I've been fiddlin' with the blade stop on my Lfti and am wondering how it is supposed to be used , as in when you tighten it is there supposed to
be a flat side that rests to the back of the blade , or one of the hex points , get what I mean ?? The lockup that seems best for this knife at this
time is resting on one of the hex points , it just seems that after prolonged opening , especially if you like to snap your blade open that it would force the stop loose no matter how tight you have it.

Thoughts , comments... I could not find a single byte of info from BM regarding this blade stop or how it is supposed to be adjusted , I'm assuming
maybe they expect you to send them in to have it done ? :rolleyes: dont wanna void that warranty now ..


Tostig
 
In researching same knife I see people complain about this over and over. I believe I saw that people loctite'd it in place. I want this knife so bad but this, along with its price tag are deterring me. I wonder why BM wouldn't have just put a good old cylindrical stop pin in there....
 
That is exactly what I did -- Locktite -- On 2 nitrous strykers with that hex stopper... Only way to make it lock up solidly. Annoying as hell.
 
Hexagonal stop is originally a great idea. I though have no issues with using thread lock, and am not great fan of snapping my knives open...
Unfortunately some of the knives from BM that I have got come already with the stop turned to the point, not the flat and the frame/liner lock locked somewhere beyond first 30% - that is before any tear. That to some degree defeats the whole idea of turning the stop to adjust the lock as it wears down. :(
Could they supply different diameter stops in the set included with the new knife - that would be quite nice, wouldn't it? And no problem with stop turning!
 
I have this problem with my MPR, a knife which I otherwise really like. And now the 760 is on its way to me, if it's gonna develop the same locking problems (they are small but noticeable) that's gonna p!$$ me off. I have yet to receive any sign of life from Benchmade to the various emails I sent, so I have no confidence that they'll be any help whatsoever. I saw a video on Youtube with a tip on how to make the Lfti lock up solidly every time, so perhaps there is hope. It didn't involve the stop btw. Hate to say it but I can't for the life of me find that clip anymore.

Is there a possibility of replacing the stop altogether, with a round one that works like 'normal' folders have? I have a friend who is excellent at tinkering with metal at the micro level. :)

PS: I also saw that the lockbar is cut so it can't travel to the opposite liner, again like the MPR. That is a bad idea to me, because wear will cause room between the blade and the lockbar, and if the lockbar can't adjust by traveling further to the right, again there is going to be blade play, no?
 
I may be wrong, but I thought that the hexagonal stop pins were designed and machined to be asymmetric; that one could rotate it to a different face to adjust for wear in the lock.
 
Cynic2701 said:
I may be wrong, but I thought that the hexagonal stop pins were designed and machined to be asymmetric; that one could rotate it to a different face to adjust for wear in the lock.
Click to expand...


I think it is. I don't see what the issue is to rotate until you have a good lock up and then put some Loc tite on the screws to keep it in place. I believe Spyderco used a stop pin with an eccentric screw hole in the center. That seems like it would be a lot harder to adjust. And I think you would want the blade to hit a flat face on the pin. If it hits a corner the small contact area will be more prone to deformation.
 
Cynic2701 said:
I may be wrong, but I thought that the hexagonal stop pins were designed and machined to be asymmetric; that one could rotate it to a different face to adjust for wear in the lock.
Click to expand...
Just tried it with the MPR and it works. :o So simple, all I needed to do was remove the pocket clip and I could rotate it clockwise, using the same size torx the screws on the clip used.
I hope (and suspect) it will be the same on the 760.
 
philwar said:
Just tried it with the MPR and it works. :o So simple, all I needed to do was remove the pocket clip and I could rotate it clockwise, using the same size torx the screws on the clip used.
I hope (and suspect) it will be the same on the 760.
Click to expand...

Good to know! :thumbup:

From what I remember, it also works for the BM 440's hexagonal stop pin as well.
 
Good replies folks ! This is what I was looking for , so it is okay to rest on the angle point of the hex , even though I think the same as FlaMtnBkr
I may be wrong, but I thought that the hexagonal stop pins were designed and machined to be asymmetric; that one could rotate it to a different face to adjust for wear in the lock.

I think it is. I don't see what the issue is to rotate until you have a good lock up and then put some Loc tite on the screws to keep it in place. I believe Spyderco used a stop pin with an eccentric screw hole in the center. That seems like it would be a lot harder to adjust. And I think you would want the blade to hit a flat face on the pin. If it hits a corner the small contact area will be more prone to deformation.
Click to expand...
That is so obvious I am surprised Benchmade does not
realize this ??


Cynic2701
I may be wrong, but I thought that the hexagonal stop pins were designed and machined to be asymmetric; that one could rotate it to a different face to adjust for wear in the lock.
Click to expand...
That's what I thought too but the other night I took my Lfti apart to fiddle with this idea and no matter where I turned it it seemed to not change the lockup as long as it rests on one of the points , that is.



philwar
I have this problem with my MPR, a knife which I otherwise really like. And now the 760 is on its way to me, if it's gonna develop the same locking problems (they are small but noticeable) that's gonna p!$$ me off. I have yet to receive any sign of life from Benchmade to the various emails I sent, so I have no confidence that they'll be any help whatsoever. I saw a video on Youtube with a tip on how to make the Lfti lock up solidly every time, so perhaps there is hope. It didn't involve the stop btw. Hate to say it but I can't for the life of me find that clip anymore.

Is there a possibility of replacing the stop altogether, with a round one that works like 'normal' folders have? I have a friend who is excellent at tinkering with metal at the micro level.

PS: I also saw that the lockbar is cut so it can't travel to the opposite liner, again like the MPR. That is a bad idea to me, because wear will cause room between the blade and the lockbar, and if the lockbar can't adjust by traveling further to the right, again there is going to be blade play, no?
Click to expand...

Unless they changed the Lfti 760 , it does not have that same cut out as the 755 , mine does not anyway and I know what you mean , I share the same thought with my 755 that over time the lock cutout is a bad idea , I guess we will see...

All in all I relly wish since Benchmade did this innovative stop pin idea that they would use the thing sitting on top of their neck and publish a little 'hints and tips' on the hexagonal stop pin.



Thanks for the replies everyone !

Tostig
 
Tostig said:
That's what I thought too but the other night I took my Lfti apart to fiddle with this idea and no matter where I turned it it seemed to not change the lockup as long as it rests on one of the points , that is.
Click to expand...

My previous post may have been confusing, but what I meant when I said asymmetric, was that the flat sides (the faces) are machined to very slightly different distances from the center of the stop pin. If you are having the tang of the blade contact on the points, I wouldn't be too surprised that if you took a very close look at the points, they are flattened a bit--this would make it seem like rotating the stop pin isn't doing much.

However, I don't have an LFTI 760, so I'm just speculating.
 
I have disassembled LFTI 760 at some point in the past to bend the framelock, to make it harder. But I can not remember if the stop pin was ex-centric. If it was, which makes perfect sense to me, it would be impossible not to notice while assembling the knife back. But I do not recall making any significant adjustments in this department. So I am a bit mystified. I still got the knife - so it would not be that difficult to check. I just need to find it and take it apart again. But my curiosity is not as strong as my laziness... It is a pity! :(
 
Bumping this thread....Im considering a LFTi and id like to hear how yours have fared so far? Any input on long term use? And did any of you ever find out the true deal about the blade stop?
 
An update since earlier post I made withing this post. I got one in March 2012 and so far so good, no stop pin problems and I believe mine may be resting on one of the "flats" on the pin. I haven't used it long term but I've certainly been using it hard and often and it's as tight as the day I got it. I friggin love this knife.
 
crom said:
An update since earlier post I made withing this post. I got one in March 2012 and so far so good, no stop pin problems and I believe mine may be resting on one of the "flats" on the pin. I haven't used it long term but I've certainly been using it hard and often and it's as tight as the day I got it. I friggin love this knife.
Click to expand...

Good to hear :thumbup:

Ive read many complaints about the weak detent, but some report that it was possibly fixed on later versions. Hows the detent on yours?
 
BMLFTi.jpgThe detent on mine is good, not weak and not too strong. It's not going to open accidentally from what I can tell. I haven't tried an inertia opening and don't do those anyhow. Been contemplating tapping it for tip up carry but have gotten used to tip down. IMG-20120424-00058.jpg
 
I have found the stop pin on my 760 to be asymemtric. One of the flat sides has a small bump drilled out in the middle ( what looks to be a reference mark) and if it is spun one direction or another it will change the lock up slightly. I haven't had any issue with the stop pin moving once I tightened it down and put on a little lock-tite. I have beat mine up pretty good and it is still going strong. Stone washed the blade and pocket clip on it just cause I could.

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I went through this with a 760 and I won't buy one like it ever again unless I can get some time on my father in law's lathe.
 
I have had no problems with adjusting my 790s stop pin and I can say for sure that the flats are different heights and one of them has a dimple on it so you can identify which ones you have tried, no problem with rotating either.
 
I had a machine shop knock the same amount of metal off of each high point on the pin. My pin was loose and BM wouldn't/didn't/couldn't fix it for whatever reason. When I would open then knife the blade would thwack into a high point, then shift to a flat so the blade had significant vertical play, or on some of the lower flats (the pin is offset drilled, not sure if they are all like this or just mine) the blade would move so far the lock bar would just float and could be twanged.

After the shop gave the pin back, I found a 'high' that was now flat with lock-up I liked (50-60%) and epoxied it in place to keep it from spinning anymore.

That, and I sent the blade to Phil Wilson to be brought up to 63.5RC :cool:
 
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