Chinese Lum Nishijin Washers Question

viper89 · May 21, 2012

Hey Guys, I recently got the Lum and I have a Question. The washers in the Lum are...different. There is a white [teflon? idk] washer on the liner side and a bronze washer on the other side. Two different washers [?]. And the blade is off center to the liner lock side. So, is this normal? Or is it a Warranty issue?

leafstorm · May 21, 2012

I'm pretty sure the washer is teflon. It might be nylatron, but I think its teflon because it is so incredibly smooth. And yes, the blade is supposed to be off center like that.

How is the detent on yours? Mine seems a little week compared to my sage 1 but it's acceptable.

Enjoy the lum :thumbup:

The Savage Rabbit · May 21, 2012

Mine has the same plastic washer. Don't like the feel of the action at all.

viper89 · May 21, 2012

leafstorm said:
I'm pretty sure the washer is teflon. It might be nylatron, but I think its teflon because it is so incredibly smooth. And yes, the blade is supposed to be off center like that.

How is the detent on yours? Mine seems a little week compared to my sage 1 but it's acceptable.

Enjoy the lum :thumbup:

The detent feels a little weaker than my own Sage 1 but not significantly. I think is it similar to yours then.

viper89 · May 21, 2012

I am really curious as to why this was done. I have not seen this before. I really love the Lum but the obsessive compulsion to have it centered and symmetrical would be so much better. I shall give it a whirl and see if I can overcome this.

Misanthropia · May 21, 2012

I might be in the minority, but my smoothest knives have teflon washers (SOG mini Vulcan and Kershaw Zing). They're far smoother than any of my spyderco's (PPT, Delica, Sage 1) with phosphor bronze washers, so I'm kind of glad to see that the lum has a teflon washer because I was always interested in getting it.

1SHOT1KILL · May 21, 2012

My Gunhammer 2 (DDR)was like this and I took it apart and installed a nylatron washer in place of the nylon one. After that the blade was centered and it opened a lot better. I haven't had a Lum to check this on, but I feel it may the same kind of set up. If you're as obsessed as I am about your knives...you will probably fix it or send it in to be fixed. (just my $0.02)

viper89 · May 22, 2012

Misanthropia said:
I might be in the minority, but my smoothest knives have teflon washers (SOG mini Vulcan and Kershaw Zing). They're far smoother than any of my spyderco's (PPT, Delica, Sage 1) with phosphor bronze washers, so I'm kind of glad to see that the lum has a teflon washer because I was always interested in getting it.

Don't get me wrong, the Lum is a very smooth. Open more smoothly more so than my Sage 1. But my issue is that it used 2 different types of washers, one on each side, on this one knife.

1SHOT1KILL said:
My Gunhammer 2 (DDR)was like this and I took it apart and installed a nylatron washer in place of the nylon one. After that the blade was centered and it opened a lot better. I haven't had a Lum to check this on, but I feel it may the same kind of set up. If you're as obsessed as I am about your knives...you will probably fix it or send it in to be fixed. (just my $0.02)

Yeah, I am a little obsessed with the symmetry (aren't we all a little?) but we shall see. I sent Spyderco an email and still waiting for a reply. I would prefer to send it rather than fix it on my own as it will void the warranty and also I am not "skilled" enough to take it apart; mostly because I might mess it up one way or another...yeah I have that kind of luck.

The Deacon · May 22, 2012

Don't have the Nishijin Lum, but I've seen that same setup used on at least some other Lum versions, and on several other liner lock models as well, so I'd say it's done intentionally. Most likely reason is to allow extra clearance for the detent ball on the lock side.

AF · May 22, 2012

Yeah that set up is not uncommon. I see the same thing on my Large Lum. Doesn't bother me at all.

dman62 · May 22, 2012

My Nishijin Lum is one of my favorites to sit and just open and close. Washer set up is the same as yours. Blade is centered and it's smooth so I'm a happy camper.

viper89 · May 22, 2012

The Deacon said:
Don't have the Nishijin Lum, but I've seen that same setup used on at least some other Lum versions, and on several other liner lock models as well, so I'd say it's done intentionally. Most likely reason is to allow extra clearance for the detent ball on the lock side.

AF said:
Yeah that set up is not uncommon. I see the same thing on my Large Lum. Doesn't bother me at all.

dman62 said:
My Nishijin Lum is one of my favorites to sit and just open and close. Washer set up is the same as yours. Blade is centered and it's smooth so I'm a happy camper.

Thanks guys, that's good to know. I am now just debating whether or not to send it in to fix the blade centering as I don't really want to take it apart myself.

The Deacon · May 23, 2012

viper89 said:
Thanks guys, that's good to know. I am now just debating whether or not to send it in to fix the blade centering as I don't really want to take it apart myself.

Know that photos can make a well centered blade look off center, and an off center one look centered. That said, the only thing I'm seeing is that the blade is uniformly closer to one side than the other due to the difference in washer thickness. The centerline of the blade spine appears to be parallel to the liners. If that's the case, rather than the blade being cocked to one side and rubbing the liner, then I don't see what Spyderco could or would do about it. If you do decide to send it in, be sure to include $5 for return postage.