Blackout lock failure

Pete1977

Pete1977

Joined
Apr 15, 2002
Messages
3,376
After a few months of using the blackout that Dennis Strickland sent me I cleaned it this morning with some running water...I shook the water out of it before letting it air dry and while I shook it lightly the blade overcame the detent and opened...I noticed some up and down and horizontal play in the blade after cleaning and attempted to close the knife without disengaging the lock...it took little to no effort to bypass the liner lock and close the knife. This happened on 5 consecutive attempts...3 light spine taps on the arm of my chair confirmed that the lock is not functioning...it appears engaged with the tang of the blade but with even light pressure or a light tap, slips and lets the blade close. even when snapping the knife open hard to engage the lock farther along the tang a light spine tap overcomes it and closes the knife. I figured the spring assist would go long before the lock on this knife..i am leaving for a trip to wisconsin for a wedding this afternoon and was going to bring this knife...i am not so sure now..i might tighten the pivot and screws to see if it helps. otherwise this knife is going into the retirement box...

ETA- tightening the pivot did not help..no matter how far i get the lock to engage across the tang of the blade i can overcome it with light hand pressure on the spine or a light spine tap...
 
it appears that the inside edge of the liner lock where it contacts the blade tang is either worn or peened enough that it makes a ramp for the blade to overcome it. i don't know if this is a common result of daily use or whether the steel that comprises the liner lock is not hard enough to withstand the wear and tear of daily use.
 
Pete, if your problem is accompanied by both back and forth as well as horizontal play then it seems the problem is more likely to do with the pivot pin and blade fit. (spring to blade allignment would naturally be out of allignment if the pivot pin to blade was skewed, and the play you mentioned suggests the problem is there)
 
after posting i checked the lock...the point of contact with the blade tang is noticeably peened (for lack of a better word)...this is irrepairable short of replacing the liner lock i would think...no big deal...the knife is en route with me...i have a shallot as a user...i will retire this one when i get back to town...
 
Pete, sorry to belabor the subject, but I see no possible way the liner lock spring could be peened except maybe by stabbing it ridiculously hard like it was an ice pick a zillion times, and even then, to peen an end you need a bit of space to constantly jar against, rather than a snug fit which the liner lock provides. (regular cutting puts the strain on a back pin, not the liner lock, and opening and closing action does very little to either surface in such a remarkably short time.

Anyway, after totally dismantling the same knife just now myself, I am still wondering if it may be repairable by first dismantling and 1) checking to see if each copper colored washer is intact (as you mentioned side to side play which suggests one might have failed and washed out) or 2) again dismantling and then bending out the liner lock spring to see if that will keep it engaged. As long as the linerlock spring does not over-shoot the knife base then you have room to play, such as lightly filing a flat edge on the spring's working end.
 
Pete, I have a blackout blem that was marked as a blem because it has a couple of the pocket clip screws broken off in the handle, the knife is new otherwise, you can have it if you want it, maybe you can swap the handle scale and have a new knife, I would give you one that you did not have to do anything with if I had one, this one is just laying on my desk, yours if you want it.

Dave
 
johnny1950 said:
Pete, sorry to belabor the subject, but I see no possible way the liner lock spring could be peened except maybe by stabbing it ridiculously hard like it was an ice pick a zillion times, and even then, to peen an end you need a bit of space to constantly jar against, rather than a snug fit which the liner lock provides. (regular cutting puts the strain on a back pin, not the liner lock, and opening and closing action does very little to either surface in such a remarkably short time.

Anyway, after totally dismantling the same knife just now myself, I am still wondering if it may be repairable by first dismantling and 1) checking to see if each copper colored washer is intact (as you mentioned side to side play which suggests one might have failed and washed out) or 2) again dismantling and then bending out the liner lock spring to see if that will keep it engaged. As long as the linerlock spring does not over-shoot the knife base then you have room to play, such as lightly filing a flat edge on the spring's working end.
Click to expand...

it is definately peened or rolled...the front inside corner of the locking liner's contact face is noticeably rolled allowing the tang to slip off of it...if i open the knife forcefully enough to give a further lockup it remains locked...i have been away at a wedding for the last 5 days and haven't been able to access bf on my phone enough to respond...i could file the liner to create a more positive lockup across the tang but it is not a huge deal...and no, i have never stabbed this knife into anything...this occured from daily use around my lobster boat and working on my fishing gear.

kershawguy said:
Pete, I have a blackout blem that was marked as a blem because it has a couple of the pocket clip screws broken off in the handle, the knife is new otherwise, you can have it if you want it, maybe you can swap the handle scale and have a new knife, I would give you one that you did not have to do anything with if I had one, this one is just laying on my desk, yours if you want it.

Dave
Click to expand...

wow, very kind gesture dave...i appreciate it but it is completely unnecessary...someone sent me the blackout to review plus i am not really handy enough to be frankensteining knives :D but i have a shallot that has been waiting on deck to be reviewed from the same forumite... again the thought is appreciated Dave...sorry for the delayed response...:)
 
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