circa 2006 Para Mil lock-up

S

silent17

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Jun 19, 2012
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So please excuse me if my nomenclature is not spot on but Ill give it a go. So the Para Military, as you all well know, has a liner lock located on "top" for index finger activation, as opposed to the traditional "bottom" liner that is activated with the thumb...so down to business. My Para Military has a locking bar that seems to be a tad off. It seems to lock up way late and almost too far over on the blade, almost like some Frost Cutlery-type stuff. Is this normal of this model? Or is this something that I should have them take a look at? I wish I could get some pics up, but I am having some MAJOR issues...just imagine an Emerson lock up and then add almost a milimeter....lemme know what you all think as I know there is a knowledge base here equal to that of Santa. Thanks!
 
Is there up and down blade play? If not, don't worry about it.
 
Yes the lock is a compression lock, mechanically it is very different from a liner lock. That would be why it's activated differently. I'm not sure what your comment of being similar to "Frost Cutlery type stuff" is meant to convey. Seeing as you appear very unfamiliar with the knife itself, it's hard to realistically understand your description. I will say that the way you would gauge a regular liner lock doesn't really apply to this type of lock, being different and all.
 
With a compression lock, as long as the locking tab doesn't go so far that it no longer engages the blade tang, it will be perfectly safe.
 
Is it a knife you bought new and have had all this time, or did you buy it used? Any idea of its history, how it was handled and used? The compression lock is reliable, but it opens so easily that it tends to get hammered by people slamming it open too hard and too often. I bought a used Yojimbo with compression lock that had been thrashed to the point the lock traveled all the way across and the blade had considerable vertical play, yet the edge appeared to be factory, like it had never been used to cut anything. Even in that condition, the blade wouldn't close unless you deliberately released the lock. I voided the warranty and was able to repair the lock to like new lockup, so I know it can be done, but I don't know if Spyderco would have repaired it or said to retire it. It was obviously the result of abuse, and should not have been covered by warranty.
 
JNewell said:
With a compression lock, as long as the locking tab doesn't go so far that it no longer engages the blade tang, it will be perfectly safe.
Click to expand...

Even if it does and the knife develops up/down blade-play, it's still very secure since it's not a matter of the lock-bar doing the work against the tang, but rather the lock-bar is merely between the tang and a pin that is screwed into the frame. So as long as it's there, and not broken off (which I've never heard of a case of) or sprung back so that it doesn't engage at all, you're pretty much solid as can be.
 
Thanks for all the info all. i guess I was comparing it to the lock up of a liner lock or frame lock. I did not ever fathum that it was a totally different animal, just thought it was a top locking liner. Thanks for setting me strait. There is no up and down play at all in the blade, so I think Im good. So the advice here is dont do too much hard opening with it? That will "stretch" that lock out? Thanks again!
 
The blade slamming against the stop pin will eventually peen a flat spot on the pin. The harder it hits, the fewer repetitions it takes. As that flat gets hammered down, the blade will open a little farther and the lockbar will have to travel a little farther to compensate. Eventually, the lockbar will run out of travel and vertical play will develop. You can hasten the process even more by spine wacking your knife to test the lock. That will peen another flat on the stop pin as well as mushrooming the top and bottom surfaces of the lockbar. That doesn't even take into account the impact damage to the screw holes in the liners where the stop pin is mounted.
 
I wouldn't worry about wearing out the lock on a P2. The Para 2 that I use at work gets fondled for hours each day. I hate to say it but I use it like a worry stone and repeatedly open/close it over and over again. I always thumb or Spydie flick it open pretty hard. It has seem literally thousands of hard openings and the lock hasn't moved at all. If I ever wear a flat spot on the stop pin I'll just rotate the pin to a new position. Based on what I have put that knife through I would say that it would take me several lifetimes to wear out the lock on a para 2. Just me 2 cents.
 
Yeah, because the two mechanisms work in entirely different ways the "lateness" of engagement of a compression lock doesn't warrant the same kind of concern that a liner lock does. A compression lock is wedged between two surfaces, so as long as it engages those surfaces it will perform its function. It really doesn't have a space to "slip off" into because it is engaged by friction on the top and bottom surfaces. A liner lock is fixed on one end and engaged on the other.
 
yablanowitz said:
The blade slamming against the stop pin will eventually peen a flat spot on the pin. The harder it hits, the fewer repetitions it takes. As that flat gets hammered down, the blade will open a little farther and the lockbar will have to travel a little farther to compensate. Eventually, the lockbar will run out of travel and vertical play will develop. You can hasten the process even more by spine wacking your knife to test the lock. That will peen another flat on the stop pin as well as mushrooming the top and bottom surfaces of the lockbar. That doesn't even take into account the impact damage to the screw holes in the liners where the stop pin is mounted.
Click to expand...

All true, Jack. However, if you run into this problem, just loosen the bolts on the stop pin, rotate it a quarter turn to an "unpeened" area on the pin, and tighten everything back up. This can also sometimes help sticky locks.

TedP
 
The Yojimbo I referenced was beyond that. The locking tab was mushroomed top and bottom to the point that a new stop pin would not have helped. Also, the screw holes for the stop pin screws were twice as long as they were wide, so the stop pin was about 3/32" farther toward the butt of the knife than it started. Trust me, that is more than enough to wreck the lockup.
 
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