Brous Mini-Division Flipper

Rubicon_Joey said:
The dark line where the detent ball contacts the blade looks pretty wide, maybe thats your problem? Possibly the ball has a flat spot? Maybe try manual opening the knife while you hold the lock bar out? I can feel the detent ball rubbing on my blade if I open the blade with two hands and it feels kinda gritty in places but it still flips open smoothly.
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I held the lock bar out and relieved the pressure on the blade. As far as I could open and close the blade without making hand contact with the blade it felt nice and smooth. The lock bar locks hard but isn't "too" hard to release the blade.... I can close the blade with one hand if this puts it into perspective.

I bet you are right, the detent ball probably has too much surface area rubbing on the blade causing friction.
 
Let's hope Jason takes care of it for you. I haven't heard anything about his customer service. Not sure if that's good or bad....
 
A quick reply from Mr. Brous.

Try putting a little WD-40 on the blade where the ball rolls on contact
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I'll try this tonight to see the results. I understand the upkeep of a knife with movable parts but I sure hope adding some WD40 to my EDC isn't added to my monthly list of to-dos.
 
WSU Tony said:
A quick reply from Mr. Brous.



I'll try this tonight to see the results. I understand the upkeep of a knife with movable parts but I sure hope adding some WD40 to my EDC isn't added to my monthly list of to-dos.
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I don't like that reply at all. My M-D came pretty well soaked in what I assumed to be cutting oil. Hopefully if that doesn't fix your problem (I doubt it) he will fix it.
 
everythingsharp12 said:
I'm awaiting mine in the stone wash finish. I love my Reloader and i'm hoping to get the same enjoyment out of the mini Division.
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I've been reading about all the satin finish purchasers very happy with the flipping action. At first I thought the stone washed blade might be causing the "grind" when I open mine. The stone wash is a very smooth blade - it has a good look, too.

I've WD40'd my knife a bit. It flips much better now. I still need to pre-load the flipper to make it lock. Getting past the detent is NOT even close to opening the knife for me, even when facing it downward towards the ground.

Do you guys find it takes much more effort than breaking the detent for yours to open? I am able to light switch it open when facing downward.
 
Rubicon_Joey said:
It's a big knife, no doubt...It does tuck into my khakis pretty well though and the deep pocket clip helps a lot. I haven't owner either of those two knives, but I have handled the 560. The weight will be less than the 560 (5.98 vs 5.5 oz) but if I remember correctly the M-D will be wider. I would say that if you don't have a problem with the 560 you wont have a problem with the M-D.
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Thank you for the reply. :)
So i might not be able to Carry it in My front jeanspocket. Too bad, but we'll see when i get it :)

Great to hear that ! I Do appreciate smaller knives, but i Also love bigger knives. But not too big ofc, its a thin thin line between them. :)

Thanks man, have a great One !
 
Just wanted to chime in....

We just got our shipment of Mini Division flippers. It was a smaller order and we opened and closed every knife to make sure they were okay.
Of the 25 knives we received, only 4 of them had a grinding feel when the blade is being rotated. It sounds as if the ball bearings are not as round as they should be. The problems were ONLY in the satin versions; the black and stonewash versions were perfect.
The flipping action was perfect on those "defective" satin ones; but that grinding feel was just a little bit awkward and isn't something I'd want to sell; so they are going back to Jason.

For the rest of the knives, the flipping action could not have been better. The blade smoothly opens to the locked position. It does not take much effort to flip the knife and I can keep my wrist completely still with no flick action required.

I have found that the flipper knives from Brous can be hit or miss. For the most part, his knives flip well, but there are a few duds mixed in.
 
gte217e said:
Just wanted to chime in....

We just got our shipment of Mini Division flippers. It was a smaller order and we opened and closed every knife to make sure they were okay.
Of the 25 knives we received, only 4 of them had a grinding feel when the blade is being rotated. It sounds as if the ball bearings are not as round as they should be. The problems were ONLY in the satin versions; the black and stonewash versions were perfect.
The flipping action was perfect on those "defective" satin ones; but that grinding feel was just a little bit awkward and isn't something I'd want to sell; so they are going back to Jason.

For the rest of the knives, the flipping action could not have been better. The blade smoothly opens to the locked position. It does not take much effort to flip the knife and I can keep my wrist completely still with no flick action required.

I have found that the flipper knives from Brous can be hit or miss. For the most part, his knives flip well, but there are a few duds mixed in.
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Can you confirm that you were seeing problems in the SATIN versions and not the stonewash? The gritty issue has been, up to this point, only reported in the stonewash version.
 
gte217e said:
Just wanted to chime in....

We just got our shipment of Mini Division flippers. It was a smaller order and we opened and closed every knife to make sure they were okay.
Of the 25 knives we received, only 4 of them had a grinding feel when the blade is being rotated. It sounds as if the ball bearings are not as round as they should be. The problems were ONLY in the satin versions; the black and stonewash versions were perfect.
The flipping action was perfect on those "defective" satin ones; but that grinding feel was just a little bit awkward and isn't something I'd want to sell; so they are going back to Jason.

For the rest of the knives, the flipping action could not have been better. The blade smoothly opens to the locked position. It does not take much effort to flip the knife and I can keep my wrist completely still with no flick action required.

I have found that the flipper knives from Brous can be hit or miss. For the most part, his knives flip well, but there are a few duds mixed in.
Click to expand...

With the "grinding" knives - if you open and close the blades slowly with your finger on the blade can you feel spots where the blade closes smoothly then hits a "rough" patch then a smooth patch then a rough patch and so on 5-6 times? The WD40 Mr. Brous instructed me to use definitely helps the flipping action but even after a few hundred open and closes with the grinding action I still feel grind. By now, I would hope, the detent ball would be creating a groove in the knife and it should feel smooth but that just isn't the case.

Are you able to close the blade with gravity and very small shakes of the handle for help with the defect knives?

Trying to decide whether to send the knife back to him or not.
 
For those of you with the Brous mini Division - how much effort does it take to open the blade? Do you have to "pre load" it like I do? Only the most aggressive light switch motion will make this blade open in a horizontal direction. Facing the ground (tip up hold) I can light switch it open. I'm trying to see how mine opens compared to others. I need to put my blade opening effort required put into perspective compared to yours...
 
The SATIN version were the ones that had the grinding effect for me. The stonewashed ones were fine.

In terms of effort required to flip... this will vary.
Pushing on the flipper with just enough effort to overcome the detent opens the blade in the following ways:
Horizontal: Blade opens 75% of the way
Vertical Position - Pivot on bottom: Blade opens 100% and locks
Vertical Position - Pivot on top: Blade opens 50%

Putting any amount of effort on the flipper will cause the blade to open 100% and lock up properly.

I will put together a video later today to show the action.
 
My satin one came with a very stiff detent and was very gritty feeling. I added some Daiwa reel oil to the pivot and after working it to help it break in, it smoothed out quite a bit.
Pushing the liner lock off the blade showed it was the detent ball causing the grinding effect I felt.
 
Kowan said:
My satin one came with a very stiff detent and was very gritty feeling. I added some Daiwa reel oil to the pivot and after working it to help it break in, it smoothed out quite a bit.
Pushing the liner lock off the blade showed it was the detent ball causing the grinding effect I felt.
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Both my T4 and Reloader in satin have had this same effect. No amount of breaking in/lube ever seemed to make it fully go away.

Edit: I stand by my comment on the Reloader, it never truly felt very "smooth". However, I guess I forgot that I never lubed my T4, just applied some Tuff Glide and it's substantially better. With Brous' knives, there seems to be a fair bit of lockbar tension which presses the detent ball up against the blade pretty hard, causing the grinding feeling.
 
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OnionsAndDragons said:
The T-4 is the best flipper I have handled this side of an RJ. I honestly couldn't believe it; it flips better than my Bodega, in my opinion.

I am also hoping that the new mini-Division has similar action. I thought the original was quite good for his first real flipper. Haven't had a chance to handle either the Reloader or Bionic.

I think Jason provides a lot of value for the dollar in his products. It is hard to find the kind of quality in something like the T-4 for less than 4-500$.
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I have to second the comment on the T4. Mine flips way better than my bodega. But the fit and finish on the bodega is better.
 
I appreciate a knife which closes tightly and securely but in the knifes I own that really isn't an issue for any of them. I wonder if the tension bar will weaken over time. I don't mind the "grit" feeling - I just want to make sure this thing flips like it is supposed to.

Horizontal detent break = 70% open. (never locks open)
Tip up detent break = 70% open (and 25% chance blade opens and locks)
Tip down detent break = 50% open (never locks open)

It would be nice if the detent was harder to break knowing how much of a pre-load the flipper needs to open completely. If I want to be 100% sure the blade will lock open I have to use 80-90% of my strength to pre-load the flipper. Only at this point am I confident the blade will lock open.

Are you guys having a similar feeling?
 
My experience is about the same.....

If you're after a lighter or stronger detent break I would suggest taking the knife apart and adjusting the liner lock. Bending towards the blade adds strength and away makes the break lighter. Careful not to tweak the lock too far away from the blade as you may end up with very little lock up.
 
I would totally send that back, mine is smooth as butter. Mine requires no preload at all.
Also, your detent ball track looks like something is wrong. I can barely see the track on mine and I've flipped mine hundreds of times.
 
Still waiting for mine.. Im going crazy over here.
It has passed through the customs, so i hope ill get it this week.

EDIT: I got mine today, and wow i love it !
But something i noticed now was that the lockingside scale doesnt match the liner very good. Is this only on my knife, or is it on yours to?
Could you guys please have a looksy and tell me? :) thanks !
Also, i can feel the detentball craping a bit, but i haver only flipped it maybe 40times max, so i guess it gets better with time. :)
 
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