I recently picked up a Curtiss F3M from the exchange, despite the fact that I generally dislike knives with proprietary pivots. The knife was slathered in some kind of oil, which was getting on the lock face and causing lock stick, so I definitely wanted to tear it down and clean it out. As you can see, the pivot has a sort of reticle in the center, so it is possible to use a screwdriver, coin, or something along those lines. In my experience, that's often a recipe for disaster -- especially when the hardware is coated or (in this case) anodized. In fact, the previous owner had already put some marks on one of the pivots from doing just that.
Curtiss sells a pivot tool for his knives, but it's $50 AND you would really need two of them, because it's not a captured pivot.
So, another practical application for the 3D printer! Works perfectly. All cleaned up, no more lock stick, and installed some Skiff bearings while I was at it.
If anyone's interested, I'd be happy to send you the STL file.
Curtiss sells a pivot tool for his knives, but it's $50 AND you would really need two of them, because it's not a captured pivot.
So, another practical application for the 3D printer! Works perfectly. All cleaned up, no more lock stick, and installed some Skiff bearings while I was at it.
If anyone's interested, I'd be happy to send you the STL file.
