Detent ball gets rough?

S

SuzukiGS750EZ

Joined
Dec 30, 2008
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Hey guys. I haven't used my seb due to what I thought was a rough pivot. I was concerned that stuff was getting I to the pivot area/washers and grinding up in there so I stopped using it. I've cleaned and relubed with crk grease many times now an it goes away for a bit. I just recently realized it was the detent ball that's rough. After greasing it feels fine, but as the grease wears off it feels rough. Not sandy rough, but just like the same feeling you get when you write with a pencil on paper. Is this normal? Will it wear in after use? I just didn't want to ruin it. It's a large carbon fiber 21. Just out of curiosity to go along with this post, do you have issues with the perforated washers getting contaminated with grit? How often do you have to clean your knife if its just kept in pocket and not dropped into dirty areas?
 
Every once in a while upon opening, my seb gets that same feeling. Like there is sand or some grit between the detent ball and the track on the blade. However opening and closing it a few times usually seems to get rid of the feeling. Not sure if what you're describing is the same thing as I'm thinking of.
 
I have the perforated washers - I use my seb daily and clean it about once a month, give or take. Shouldn't be that big of a deal. Chances are if your washers are dirty enough that they are affecting the performance of the knife it wouldn't matter if they were perforated or not.
 
I find myself not using it as much due to the fact that it gets rough and i don't want to ruin it and have to send it in. I wish it would smooth out. I just wonder if it's a normal CRK thing i have to work through or if it's an issue with the knife.
 
Sometimes they start rough and you have to break them in. Just use it! You won't break it just because the action isn't smooth YET.
I clean mine whenever they get dirty (I know, not the answer you were looking for) for me it's about once a year, but my rotation during the week is around 20 knives to they get carried infrequently.
 
Personally I've never had a problem with dirt getting into the perforated washers. It's a non issue from what I've seen with mine. Gotta love tight tolerance. :)

The more you use the knife the more the detent ball track will smoothen out making the grittiness less and less of an annoyance.
But it still tends to happen from time to time. Especially when Im working.

When mine get a little gritty I will use a small piece of paper towel to clean the ball track.
I stuff a small bit of paper towel in on top of the lock bar and put pressure on it with a sewing needle or something similar.
I then slowly open the knife so the ball track gets wiped off.

After the ball track is wiped clean by the paper towel I clean the detent ball with a Qtip.
On newer folders that aren't broken in yet I'll lightly grease the detent ball track. The older knives that are broken in are usually good to go.

I do this process until the ball track is wiped clean and the knife is back to being smooth.

It only takes a few minutes and I'm back to buttery smoothness.

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That's a good idea. My concern was that metal on metal, the roughness would end up marring the surface and then i would be in for a repair. If you guys say just use it, that's what i'll do. You know better than I!
 
SuzukiGS750EZ said:
That's a good idea. My concern was that metal on metal, the roughness would end up marring the surface and then i would be in for a repair. If you guys say just use it, that's what i'll do. You know better than I!
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I would use it. I don't think anything other then it breaking in and smoothing out on you is going to happen.
Use it and clean the ball track when you feel it get gritty. If its a newer knife lightly grease the ball track. And before you know it she'll be super smooth.
 
I do grease the track, as well as the lock face. Just a thin coating with my finger. I've greased the knife multiple times. I kind of wish i could just clean the knife and run it dry as i do my other knives, but i don't want to ruin it.
 
SuzukiGS750EZ said:
I do grease the track, as well as the lock face. Just a thin coating with my finger. I've greased the knife multiple times. I kind of wish i could just clean the knife and run it dry as i do my other knives, but i don't want to ruin it.
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You won't ruin the knife by running it dry but its good practice to grease the washers.

Just a quick question,
When you look at your detent ball does it look completely smooth?

Added:
If your detent ball isn't damaged and its track on your blade is relatively smooth, then I would say the knife just needs to be broken in some more.
The detent ball on the Sebenza is ceramic and is harder then the blade. So over time as you use the knife the detent ball will ever so slightly cut deeper into its track on the blade, making the knife smoother as you use it more.
 
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Ah that makes sense. All surfaces appear perfect. I'll just use it as is and break it in. As far as running it dry, I meant washers and all. The less lubricant the less grit that's attracted :-)
 
Yep use it:D If you have some Nano Oil a drop on the detent path can work wonder's. Just clean the detent with alcohol and blow clean:thumbup: I's worked every time I get that grittiness so I'm sure that's what's going on.
 
Both my large Sebbies were a bit rough and it seemed to be the detent ball. The older one is now nicely broken in and smooth. My newer one is pretty good, but occasionally a bit rough.

Like others have said. Use it and the rest will take care of itself :)
 
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