Best Custom Washers

P

Portholes

Joined
Dec 19, 2009
Messages
21
I just got a Spyderco SuperLeaf in the mail. Love the design and ergos but was disappointed to find teflon washers inside. I'm gonna get some new washers to put in there but I'm not sure what the best material and best source for it would be. The standard for high end knives is phosphor bronze, right? Is there anything better? Maybe graphite bronze? I hear the caly3 is super smooth with no washers, just stainless on stainless. Would it be a good idea to polish up some stainless washers and drop them in?

Cheers,
Joe
 
Teflon washers are not that bad, really. Many top custom makers are using them in their knives and have no desire to switch to PB.
 
Yeah, they do feel fine. But I admit, I'm a purist and I hate having synthetics in the mechanisms of my knives.

Cheers,
Joe
 
Teflon or nylatron makes for the smoothest action in my limited experience.

You can pick up pb washers from any of the knife making supply sites, like usaknifemaker, or knifekits.com just measure the ones that are already on the knife.
 
Portholes said:
Would it be a good idea to polish up some stainless washers and drop them in?
Click to expand...

This would help way more than buying new washers. Whatever you do, try to get the highest polish possible on all surfaces involved. If you go with PB, polish them too. I did this to a BM/Snody 425 and it was (not shitting you) smooth as IKBS.
 
Ok, so I'm thinking I'll try getting some ss washers and polish them up and see how that works. I'll use my fine grit japanese stone and emory paper unless anyone has a better idea. If the ss doesn't suit me, I'll get the bronze.

Cheers,
Joe
 
Portholes said:
Yeah, they do feel fine. But I admit, I'm a purist and I hate having synthetics in the mechanisms of my knives.

Cheers,
Joe
Click to expand...

Hmm. If that were true you would have a full tang carbon steel fixed blade with a leather wrap you made yourself. G10 is a synthetic material too. Enjoy the knife and wear out the washers it has before you go all "custom washers".
 
My XM-18 uses teflon washers, as does my Lionsteel SR-1. I like them better than bronze phosphor.
 
RevDevil, just that I'm a purist doesn't mean I'm against folders. I just stated that I dislike synthetics in the mechanism of my folders. That does not include the handle material.
Noctis, I do admit I have drooled over the xm-18 and the sr-1, but that does not affect my perspective on synthetics. And I wish could have a knife with IKBS, but honestly I was not familiar with the term until tonight, and I'm pretty sure I could not afford a knife with that system and I definitely do not have the wherewithal to modify my Spydie to IKBS. So for now, unless anyone has a better idea, i will go with either the bronze or ss polished.

P.S. For future reference, does IKBS require oil or is it self-lubricating?

Cheers,
Joe
 
Call me old skool but I adhere to the "mo parts, mo problems" theory when it comes to a folder that is going to see any carry/use. Demko's TriAd lock has 2 moving parts (+ washers)... blade and lockbar. Framelocks have 2 moving parts... blade and lockbar (+ washers). IKBS has 16+ moving parts. Murphy was right.

PS... if you want, I can polish your stuff up for you. Score some PB washers and PM me.
 
Last edited:
You can probably afford a CRKT Ripple, which usually goes for around $75 and also has IKBS.

img_102886tn_CRKT-Ripple-2jpg.jpg


Very good knife. Excellent though it is, if you want to really step up your game, try a Galyean Pro Series.
GLP_6900_1_800.jpg

They go for about $400ish though.

I really doubt washers will make that big of a difference. Smoothness is much more related to the locking mechanism than the interface of the handle and pivot. A Kershaw RAM, for instance, will always have a substantially smoother movement, all things being equal, because the majority of the time the blade is in motion it has absolutely no resistance from the lock. Compare this to say, a frame lock, where the lockbar is pressing against the tang, or the worst of all mainstream locks, the lock back/tri-ad lock, which puts constantly pressure (supposing you don't hold the button down, which is pretty hard to do for the entire deployment in most knives) on the tang. The increased drag has the consequences of making the deployment feel rough.
 
I don't remember seeing any knives with stainless washers before. Can you get them in the required thickness?, or will you have to sand them down to the correct thickness?

Phospher/bronze is a self lubricating washer, although I always oil them anyway. You are probably going to need a .010" to .015" thick washer for the Spyderco I suspect. Many knives I've seen usually fall within those measurements.
 
Use caution when you are polishing washers , you remove too much material and tolerances will be off , blade play is next.

Polish it real slow and gentle.

Tostig
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top