Cold Steel Ultra Lock

S

sog

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Jul 5, 2006
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hi all,

i recently bought a Cold Steel Recon 1 straight edge tanto through the mail, (i am now pretty down on getting things through the mail).

when i got it there was a small surface scar (slightly larger than the head of a pin) in the teflon finish on the blade (i am a user and not a shower so i just winked at it). then about a week later i went to open it and the lock jammed and the blade would not come out of the handle. i then got the lock unjammed and put some gun graphite on it and it worked just fine. then about a month later i went to open it and the blade opened all the way but the lock refused to lock the blade open, making it extremly hazardous to my fingers. i then put some more graphite on the lock mechinism but it would still refuse to lock the blade open on occasion. i then called CS and explained what happened and they said send it in with an explanation. i sent it in and then after thinking about it i realized that the seller might have sent me a knife that someone returned after they screwed the lock up. i am further convinced that they sent me a returned knife because, when ordering on the phone, they at first said i was out of luck to get one but after a few minutes of holding (at their insistance) until they checked, they "amazingly" found one. if i had realized that, before i sent it in, i would have told CS about it. they then might be more apt to replace it then fix it (cutting down on the time it takes). now they may not want to give me a perfect knife instead of a bitched up one (i should've got a perfect one from the seller).

has anyone else had a problem with the locking mechinism on a Recon 1?

(i am otherwise extremely pleased with the knife)

sog
 
I've only handled one, not owned it.

Is the one you own of Japan manufacture or Taiwan?

It should be reliable as the action falls along the lines of the Axis lock (with a bit of difference).

It sounds like there was some FOD (foreign object and/or debrie) in the lock or a spring problem.

As an aside, the sales people were probably just checking stock (computer versus reality). Differences happen.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums. Did you mention this to Knife Outlet at all?

moving-van.jpg
 
made in Taiwan. there is nothing in the lock as i examined it thouroughly!
 
tks Cougar (btw i had a dream i was a cougar). since it was over a month since i got it i deemed it useless to contact them.
 
i posted this message in Blade Discussion and not The Good, The Bad, The Ugly! because i wanted to know if anyone has any experience with Ultra Lock. my dealings with Cold Steel and the seller is merely incidental. Sorry if there is any confusion.
 
sog said:
i posted this message in Blade Discussion and not The Good, The Bad, The Ugly! because i wanted to know if anyone has any experience with Ultra Lock. my dealings with Cold Steel and Knife Outlet is merely incidental. Sorry if there is any confusion.
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It may seem incidental to you, but you've made a public accusation here that some people are bound to take seriously whether or not you meant it seriously.
 
It's a little late to tell you to try something now that the knife is in the mail, but I'll bet I know what the problem is. The Ultra Lock is made to function (to the user) like an Axis lock, but it is different. The lock bar rides inside of a sort of G-shaped cut-out in the tang. It is this contact between the bar and the tang that seems to be the source of problems. What I say from here on is speculation, since I have not actually disassembled the knife to be sure. On mine, you can turn the bar a little bit in either direction. I believe the bar is not perfectly round so that it cannot turn too far and unwind the spring. However, if it does get turned, the non-round edge can get the bar stuck. If the bar is stuck in the "up" position, the knife doesn't open. I've never seen it stick in the "down" position, but that could present a serious danger to the user. I play with mine occasionally to try and see if the bar will wear-in and not get stuck anymore, but I'll probably send it back sometime and see what happens.
 
you're right it can look like i am accusing. i shouldnt have mentioned the sellers name. the seller may have not done anything amiss. thanks for the feedback.
 
The new model Recon 1 (with AUS-8 steel and G-10 scales) has the ability to lock the blade closed (a new feature). Just turn the locking "scew" 1/8 turn clockwise to lock and counter to unlock. But since you say you can't get it to lock open, I'm wondering if the machining tolerances for this feature are a bit too close. I'd send it back to Cold Steel or exchange it from where you got it. I have 2 and have had no trouble with them.
 
So this is a feature? That never occurred to me. That explains why the bar is slotted, though, doesn't it? The problem with mine is that it will lock and unlock itself with normal use. I didn't know if it was a manufacturing defect or just faulty design. But if yours work fine, then I guess it's defective.
 
Martini said:
So this is a feature? That never occurred to me. That explains why the bar is slotted, though, doesn't it? The problem with mine is that it will lock and unlock itself with normal use. I didn't know if it was a manufacturing defect or just faulty design. But if yours work fine, then I guess it's defective.
Click to expand...

The old models also had the slot. It's there for assembly reasons. You should be able to rotate the 1/8 turn with you finger/thumb or just you thumb nail. The old models will turn continously. It is not suppose to lock open, however, as you say yours does. Yes, something is defective.

If you feel confident, you could probably repair it with some jewler's files. If not, let CS do the dirty work. If you do give it a try, take some pictures along the way in case you have problems with reassembly. I suggest you just send it to CS. Taking it apart may void the warrently....I don't know.

Good luck
 
I recently posted that i might not do business through the mail because i felt i got a defective knife from a seller (Knife Outlet). I thought that they might have sent me a knife that was a return. The moderator said someone might take it seriously and asked if i talked to the seller first. I didnt and i thought that was incidental and that i needed to say what i said to show that i might have gotten a defective lock. I realized after that, that i was wrong :( , so now i decided to call the seller and find out what happened.

The seller told me (when i called them) that i should have called them right away and tell them what happened and then they would send me a shipping label to take to UPS with the knife and it wouldn't cost me anything to ship it back to get another from them. They dont know if the knife couldv'e been a return because they get the knife from a vendor and they dont always look at the knife either. I told them about the post and that what i did was wrong and they said it was ok. I also told them i will post that i am now confident to do business with them :) especially since they have the best prices i saw on the internet :o and because they ship a lot of knives to service men and to Iraq :thumbup: .

sog
 
No problem with mine, an early "Japan" version. No, not a single problem as yet. Great knife BTW.

Matador-
 
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