Chinook I Question

C

cds1

Joined
Jan 24, 2004
Messages
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Are all the Chinook I knives hard to open? I got mine from a distributer that has a very bad reputation. I bought from them anyway because they were much cheaper than anyone else. (Bad move on my part.) It is the most difficult to open of all my tactical folders.

Have any of you had a different experience with the Chinook I? I like the grip of the Chinook I much better than the Chinook II (it fills my hand better), and I am wondering if there would be any point in looking for another one.

Regards,
cds1
 
Well, all lockbacks are naturally stiff at first. The Chinook II was loose for me. At ECCKS, nearly slammed blade onto my finger as I pressed the lock
 
Hi,

Have you tried loosening the pivot screw, cleanig and lubing the pivot? This may help a lot. Mine was easy to oopen when I got it.

Jeff/1911.
 
cds1 said:
Are all the Chinook I knives hard to open?
Click to expand...

I currently have one but have had three of the original Chinooks pass through my collection and all were stiff. Even my Chinook 1 with S30V steel is stiff so it doesn't matter whether it was an earlier or later generation model. Some lube helps a little but not a whole lot.

The spring on the lockbar on a Chinook 1 is considerably bigger than that of a Chinook 2 thats why its so stiff. I turned both of mine over the other day to have a look and the difference is very noticeable.
 
I've owned 3 of the original Chinooks, and they all were stiff as a wedding pric...(Oops, I forgot that this isn't W&C :D.).

Anyhow, the stiffness is the result of a heavy lock-bar spring, as BOK said.
 
cds1,
I just got a Chinook I a couple of weeks ago. Opening and closing the blade as noticeably stiff. It finally lossened up after two or three days of knifesterbating. I did lube it with a few drops of Sentry Solutions. Even with all that the Blade still is a bit harder to open than the Chinook II.
 
Thanks for the replies. I've been keeping mine halfway open for several weeks now (inside a closed plastic case), hoping that by constantly straining the lockbar it will loosen up. It is significantly looser than when I got it, but still very stiff.

Regards,
cds1
 
My Chinook I is the smoothest-opening folder that I own. By smooth, I mean there's no gritty feeling while opening it.

There is a bit of resistance when opening it though: probably the design of the tang and the backspring weight.

It has become much easier to open over the three or so years that I've had it. A lot of opening and closing of the blade will stress the spring and make it weaker.
 
Put some flitz on the part of the blade tang that catches the backspring.

Cycle the blade a thousand times and you'll be good to go. My Chinook 1 required this but the C11 was a dream right out of the box.

Brownie
 
My Chinook I is stiff and has been that way since I bought it. The Chinook II I bought two weeks ago is very smooth. Actually, it's one of the smoothest opening knives I own...I had to tighten the pivot a bit because it was just too easy to open.
 
brownie0486 said:
Put some flitz on the part of the blade tang that catches the backspring.

Cycle the blade a thousand times and you'll be good to go. My Chinook 1 required this but the C11 was a dream right out of the box.

Brownie
Click to expand...

Well, I tried cycling the blade, about 600 times so far, without the flitz. All I can say is that my hand is very well broken-in now. :) The blade has developed some side-to-side play when in the closed position, but it is not noticably easier to open. (Maybe it will be tomorrow when my wrist recovers.)

Regards,
cds1
 
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