Crucarta weak detent

[nigol]

Hello everyone
I am going to attempt to fix the weak detent on my pm2 crucarta by enlarging the detent hole slightly. The preferred tool to do this it seems is a dremmel ball bit diamond coated. My question is can anyone tell me exactly what size I should use for a pm2 detent hole. In video I watched one guy used a 1.5 mm on a Gayle Bradley. Also would tungsten carbide work as well as diamond coated? I do not plan on doing this under power. Will do by hand. Many thanks

 

[minimag03]

Have you confirmed that your detent ball is sitting proud of the blade when it's in the closed position?

My suggestion: buy a set of diamond bur bits off amazon. They'll come in a variety of shapes/sizes. It will allow you to choose the appropriate size. That's what I did when I did this mod on my Spyderco Dice.

 

[nigol]

Have you confirmed that your detent ball is sitting proud of the blade when it's in the closed position?

My suggestion: buy a set of diamond bur bits off amazon. They'll come in a variety of shapes/sizes. It will allow you to choose the appropriate size. That's what I did when I did this mod on my Spyderco Dice.

No. I have not taken the knife apart yet. There is a visible gap between the blade and the lock bar when in the closed position. Could this be an alignment issue rather than a detent hole issue and how do you tell the difference. This will be my first time taking any knife apart. I only have you tube to guide me at this point.

 

[King of the Cheese]

Allow me to suggest an alternative option:

Send the knife in to Spyderco explaining what is wrong and have them fix it.. or sell it to someone that doesn’t mind that issue and buy another.

The second you touch a knife with a dremel, you’re going to kill the re-sale value. I know it’s awful tempting to tinker, but I’ve been there.. done that.. lost a lot of money doing it.

 

[SwissHeritageCo]

No. I have not taken the knife apart yet. There is a visible gap between the blade and the lock bar when in the closed position. Could this be an alignment issue rather than a detent hole issue and how do you tell the difference. This will be my first time taking any knife apart. I only have you tube to guide me at this point.

Interesting you bring this up. I was looking at a few of my folders yesterday and noticed the gap between the lock bar, point of contact was small in comparison with the width and yet they are still rock solid.

 

[nigol]

Allow me to suggest an alternative option:

Send the knife in to Spyderco explaining what is wrong and have them fix it.. or sell it to someone that doesn’t mind that issue and buy another.

The second you touch a knife with a dremel, you’re going to kill the re-sale value. I know it’s awful tempting to tinker, but I’ve been there.. done that.. lost a lot of money doing it.

Thanks for the tip. I actually did buy another one which is rock solid but now I want to fix this one as a backup. This is probably my favorite knife out of all the ones I have so I don't mind having two. The otherr option I have heard is bending the lock bar inward to increase the strength. I don't see this working though If the hole is the problem

 

[nigol]

Interesting you bring this up. I was looking at a few of my folders yesterday and noticed the gap between the lock bar, point of contact was small in comparison with the width and yet they are still rock solid.

I have two of the exact same knife. The one with a strong detent does not have the gap. I'm a total newbie at this. Kinda stumbling in the dark

 

[nigol]

Have you confirmed that your detent ball is sitting proud of the blade when it's in the closed position?

My suggestion: buy a set of diamond bur bits off amazon. They'll come in a variety of shapes/sizes. It will allow you to choose the appropriate size. That's what I did when I did this mod on my Spyderco Dice.

Ordered them just now for ten dollars. Thanks

 

[J. Doyle]

Hello everyone
I am going to attempt to fix the weak detent on my pm2 crucarta by enlarging the detent hole slightly. The preferred tool to do this it seems is a dremmel ball bit diamond coated. My question is can anyone tell me exactly what size I should use for a pm2 detent hole. In video I watched one guy used a 1.5 mm on a Gayle Bradley. Also would tungsten carbide work as well as diamond coated? I do not plan on doing this under power. Will do by hand. Many thanks

This sounds like a really bad idea, especially with not much experience taking folders apart.

The detent ball/hole is a high precision area/mechanism and a little tiny bit of altering can have dramatic effect, often not positive.

If there really is something wrong with it, I'd send it to spyderco.

 

[nigol]

Allow me to suggest an alternative option:

Send the knife in to Spyderco explaining what is wrong and have them fix it.. or sell it to someone that doesn’t mind that issue and buy another.

The second you touch a knife with a dremel, you’re going to kill the re-sale value. I know it’s awful tempting to tinker, but I’ve been there.. done that.. lost a lot of money doing it.

The you tubers make this look pretty easy

 

[King of the Cheese]

I would first disassemble and clean the lockbar and detent thoroughly of any lubricants and then reassemble to see if that helps. If it doesn’t then try bending slightly. If all that fails I personally would just move it along and get the money. Dremels have the power to make it better.. or make it worse.. permanently.. so it’s a gamble.

 

[nigol]

This sounds like a really bad idea, especially with not much experience taking folders apart.

The detent ball/hole is a high precision area/mechanism and a little tiny bit of altering can have dramatic effect, often not positive.

If there really is something wrong with it, I'd send it to spyderco.

Thankd

 

[nigol]

This sounds like a really bad idea, especially with not much experience taking folders apart.

The detent ball/hole is a high precision area/mechanism and a little tiny bit of altering can have dramatic effect, often not positive.

If there really is something wrong with it, I'd send it to spyderco.

I would first disassemble and clean the lockbar and detent thoroughly of any lubricants and then reassemble to see if that helps. If it doesn’t then try bending slightly. If all that fails I personally would just move it along and get the money. Dremels have the power to make it better.. or make it worse.. permanently.. so it’s a gamble.

Yeah. Just going to take it apart for now and clean it. If I do mess with that hole it will be by hand not under power

 

[minimag03]

No. I have not taken the knife apart yet. There is a visible gap between the blade and the lock bar when in the closed position. Could this be an alignment issue rather than a detent hole issue and how do you tell the difference. This will be my first time taking any knife apart. I only have you tube to guide me at this point.

If there is not a visible gap between the detent ball and the blade, the mod you're describing will not work. Even worse, there's a chance the mod will cause the knife to no longer securely close shut. Confirming that the detent ball sits proud of the detent hole is the key to this mod being possible. If you have not done that, do NOT attempt this mod. I've mainly seen this mod performed on Taichung flippers to increase the flipping performance. I don't recall seeing one performed on a Golden knife.

It honestly sounds like ya need to follow the advice of others in the thread. Sending it into Spyderco is the safest bet. They'll take care of it if it's not within spec.

 

[J. Doyle]

Yeah. Just going to take it apart for now and clean it. If I do mess with that hole it will be by hand not under power

Just be aware....doing by hand doesn't necessarily make it safer or better.

Again it's a PRECISION located and installed ball bearing with a PRECISELY drilled hole.

There are a couple different ways makers install and tune detents. But "by hand" "with a dremel" isn't one of them.

It's your knife and you're obviously free to do what you wish with it. Just wanted you to be aware that it's a crucial part with tight tolerances. Good luck.

 

[pholder]

The you tubers make this look pretty easy

Surgeons make heart surgery look pretty easy too.

 

[shinyedges]

If you even slightly enlarge the hole to much you'll have slop when the blade is closed. Not ideal

 

[fishface5]

Ok I have done this successfully before to correct a soft detent on a flipper, using a diamond Dremel bit. Tiny increments of sanding is crucial!

First step is to compare how far the detent drops into the blade as you close it between the knife with good action and the one with soft action.

If the one with soft action does not drop in as far, try taking that knife apart and coating the detent ball with a light coat of paint or colored glue. Once dry, reassemble and then open & close a few times. Then carefully take it apart to see from the worn off paint how far the detent ball is from fully seating in the detent hole. That will show you where and how far to enlarge the hole. Don't just guess or you'll end up with a sloppy mess!

 

[nigol]

Ok I have done this successfully before to correct a soft detent on a flipper, using a diamond Dremel bit. Tiny increments of sanding is crucial!

First step is to compare how far the detent drops into the blade as you close it between the knife with good action and the one with soft action.

If the one with soft action does not drop in as far, try taking that knife apart and coating the detent ball with a light coat of paint or colored glue. Once dry, reassemble and then open & close a few times. Then carefully take it apart to see from the worn off paint how far the detent ball is from fully seating in the detent hole. That will show you where and how far to enlarge the hole. Don't just guess or you'll end up with a sloppy mess!

Great advice and good idea. Thank you!