Confession time - Who likes to take apart new knives?

KnifeHead · Sep 13, 2006

I have been known to bring home a new gadget from Wallyworld and promptly take it apart to see how it's made, and knives (with screws...DUH) have been the target of innerds inspections as well. It's something that my dad and I would do when I was a kid and it would frustrate the hell out of mom. I think part of the fun was also mom's amazement that the victim gadget could be reassembled with no (or very few

) extra parts layin on the kitchen table at the end of the maniacle project.

Fess up. Does anyone else do this or do I need to seek professional help

M Wadel · Sep 13, 2006

yeah its always good to have no "extra parts" when youre done..

i like taking stuff apart also, but only stuff i find interesting, stuff i dont know how or why they work. other than that i take stuff apart to judge the quality

KnifeHead · Sep 13, 2006

M Wadel said:
but only stuff i find interesting, stuff i dont know how or why they work. other than that i take stuff apart to judge the quality

Yep...that's me too. I may not have to make an appointment after all but I'll feel better after a few more confessions.

darkestthicket · Sep 13, 2006

me 3, if i cant figure out how it works its not half as fun!

mwb · Sep 13, 2006

Taking it apart also helps you to use things better. You get an idea of the inherent weaknesses and the like. Also, I usually put loctite and lube if needed.

will_77 · Sep 13, 2006

I took apart my Kershaw Cyclone the day it arrived. I had to figure out how the speedsafe on/off worked, it was really bugging me. How they did it is quite ingenious. I had taken apart a normal assisted opener kershaw before, so I knew how that worked, but the on/off switch was very slick in design.

KSDbass · Sep 14, 2006

I've taken apart all of my knives, except for my Spyderco Mariner... I LOVE taking things apart. When I won a handmade bass in a raffle

D ) the first thing I did was take it apart when I got home.

Lemon328i · Sep 14, 2006

I like taking my knives apart too, so I generally only buy knives that can be!
Sometimes it is curiosity about the mechanism, but usually it is to properly clean and lubricate them. I've had knives start to develop rust on the blade parts covered by the handles and the only way to get to it was disassembly. You can also catch factory flaws and improve upon the oils and greases they use. For example, just yesterday I took apart a new Zero Tolerance 301 as it was not as smooth as I thought it should be. I found they used some material that caked up on the pivot and there was no lubricant on the phosphor bronze washers. Now the knife opens smoothly, easily and with some authority!

KnifeHead · Sep 14, 2006

Lemon328i said:
..usually it is to properly clean and lubricate them. I've had knives start to develop rust on the blade parts covered by the handles and the only way to get to it was disassembly. You can also catch factory flaws and improve upon the oils and greases they use.

This is good info. My deal is mostly curiosity but there is definitely a practical side as well. Thanks for all the comments.

KSDbass this is off topic but I scratch built a 4-string fretless. Been a player since 9.