CRK lockup

rishma · Jan 31, 2015

while Many seem to prefer early lockup I think it's more about how it looks than how it performs. . I have never heard of anyone having lock bar wear out or needing servicing because additional wear caused it to contact the other scale. I suppose in theory it could happen but I've never heard of it with a CRK. In theory a later lockup is stronger....but similarly I have not heard of an early lockup failure on a CRK. This whole thing seems to be about esthetics rather than some funtional difference or an issue of durability.

Esthetics are important and personal, but let's not pretend like this is about performance.

kidcongo · Jan 31, 2015

Been carrying my Ti-Lock for over a week now, so lock-up is no longer a concern

Having said that all my Sebenzas are 60% plus and that is where I like them. My 2008 Umnumzaan is the latest at about 85%. I use all my knives and safety is my first concern with the lock. I have a Spyderco Southard with about 20% lock-up and I don't trust that as much as a nice deep CRK lock setting.

I my experience they don't move. If you squeeze the knife really,really hard you can deepen the lock-up temporarily, but will be back to normal once opened and closed.

jmclfrsh · Feb 1, 2015

None of mine move a bit when opened and it's not something I even worry about with my CRKs.

With some thin liner lock knives I have, I wonder, but until they start moving around I just use 'em.

My CRKs and two ZT 0560s have such thick liner locks that they seem certain to take a beating before they ever have an issue, and I'd use a fixed blade for that stuff so I feel good about them.

Bob45 · Feb 1, 2015

If your lock wears far enough, it will cause up and down blade play, which obviously is a problem. I have a large bg 42 regular that was my edc for years and I opened and closed that knife thousands of times. I sent it back and they replaced the lock side scale under warranty. It's now really late locking up but it's rock solid. There customer service is a great and they will take care of you.

blade man · Feb 1, 2015

unit said:
Nope. I did when I bought my early Umnumzaan (old pivot, no stabilizer, not Idaho stamp, S30V). That knife appeared to lock up at 80 to 90% (I am not one to measure, and it is tough to really estimate wiht the ball interface). Long story short, I contacted CRK (back when they responded to email very promptly) and they urged me to send photos...I did....they said its normal...and if there is ever a problem, we will take care of it.

That was enough for me. The company that invented the thing, and refined it for almost 20 years (at that point in time) says it is fine, I trusted them.

I gave the knife away to someone that really appreciates it and carries/uses it daily (and has for over 5 years). I see that knife and doo all the maintenance on it (which is nothing really to speak of) and the lock up has not changed in all that time.

I think a lot of folks on the web have a lot of concens based on what they have heard and possibly seen with other lesser knives (lesser in design, execution, and materials). Simply put, I dismiss most of these concerns as ill-founded. When someone shows me a CRK lock face that is worn out I might change my opinion...so far I have only seen mysteriously broken knives with locks that release (and none of these have "late" lock up)

Your Umnum's lockup appeared to be so late because it's the ball that makes contact with the blade tang. The ball is engaging earlier than the bar leads one to believe.

JNewell · Feb 1, 2015

Bob45 said:
If your lock wears far enough, it will cause up and down blade play, which obviously is a problem. I have a large bg 42 regular that was my edc for years and I opened and closed that knife thousands of times. I sent it back and they replaced the lock side scale under warranty. It's now really late locking up but it's rock solid. There customer service is a great and they will take care of you.

I have a 1996 small Regular that did the same, but they only had to replace the stop pin - kept the original scale.

Lost Cosmonaut · Feb 6, 2015

When I got my first CRKs, the lockup concerned me because they "seemed" late, based on what I'm used to. But when I saw that they shoot for 50-75%, and when you take in to consideration that they invented the framelock and have spent the last 25+ years perfecting it, if they say 50-75% is fine, then I have no reason to distrust that.

The lockup on the Sebenza 25 and Umnumzaans look artificially late because of the ceramic ball interface.

Badhammer · Feb 6, 2015

My six year old Large 21 came at around 80% and hasn't moved a lick. The new Umnumzaan I got this week is also around 80% and I doubt it will change much either.

JNewell · Feb 6, 2015

Lost Cosmonaut said:
When I got my first CRKs, the lockup concerned me because they "seemed" late, based on what I'm used to. But when I saw that they shoot for 50-75%, and when you take in to consideration that they invented the framelock and have spent the last 25+ years perfecting it, if they say 50-75% is fine, then I have no reason to distrust that.

The lockup on the Sebenza 25 and Umnumzaans look artificially late because of the ceramic ball interface.

The lockup geometry is also very different. I have a couple of Striders that have maybe (guesstimate) 20-25% of the lock bar face engaging the blade tang - and the blade tang has a very rough machined finish that is concave. My Sebenzas have a smooth, flat face and (guessing again) 85-90% or more engagement. One of these is going to be subject to more rapid wear than the other.

willard0341 · Feb 6, 2015

I received a new small insingo about a year ago, the lock was 75-80% out of the box. I was pretty bent out of shape about it and called crk. I talked to one of the ladies for a bit and then requested to talk to someone in the "shop". She briefly put me on hold and Mr. Reeve picked up. I was truly surprised, he talked to me for probably 20 minutes about the "late" lock up and even apologized about the early lock up on my regulars. Class act all the way. Take care fellas

Screwdriver · Feb 10, 2015

I have many frame locks and liner locks, and have never really understood how people judge the %. Is it how far the lock bar is into the blade, or how much the lock bar is off the blade?

I just got a new 25 today and like where the lockup is. Also, I have a ZT 0550 that has been opened well over 1,000 times+ and if I wipe the blade where the bar contacts, and look at it with a loop, wear is negligible. It has not moved.

So, in my experience, I would prefer a later lockup for safety as long as it was smooth to unlock as my 25 is now. I am also sure that if a CRK became unusable, they would take care of it.

Wavicle · Feb 12, 2015

I have a 25 that was made in June 2014 and the lockup looks at first to be 90% - no exaggeration. However, when I look closer there is that large ceramic ball that makes contact with the blade tang, not the end of the lock bar. So by using the ceramic ball contact position as the definition of lockup, I'd guess it's 40% to 50%.

My question to the group: Is that normal for a 25?

I have six other Sebenza's (21's, Umnumzaan, Wilson Combat) and all of them are between 25% and 50%. The 25 is the only one that looks odd with that lock bar swung over so far.

JNewell · Feb 12, 2015

Wavicle said:
I have a 25 that was made in June 2014 and the lockup looks at first to be 90% - no exaggeration. However, when I look closer there is that large ceramic ball that makes contact with the blade tang, not the end of the lock bar. So by using the ceramic ball contact position as the definition of lockup, I'd guess it's 40% to 50%.

My question to the group: Is that normal for a 25?

I have six other Sebenza's (21's, Umnumzaan, Wilson Combat) and all of them are between 25% and 50%. The 25 is the only one that looks odd with that lock bar swung over so far.

Yes. For the reasons your explained, the Umnuzaan and the 25 lock up at a different point (%) than they appear to be doing because of the ceramic ball on the lock bar. :thumbup:

Screwdriver · Feb 12, 2015

JNewell said:
Yes. For the reasons your explained, the Umnuzaan and the 25 lock up at a different point (%) than they appear to be doing because of the ceramic ball on the lock bar. :thumbup:

Chris said the the Umnuzann should be at 50-70% where the ball touches the blade. My 25 is right at 50%

The lock should engage at between 50% and 75% of travel. With the Umnumzaan, because the interface between the blade and the lock bar is a ceramic ball, it is the ball that must be at 50 75%. This will give the visual that the lock bar is further over than with a Sebenza.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/730951-Some-words-from-Chris