Do some slipjoints have a quarter-stop?

T

thisisallen

Joined
Aug 28, 2014
Messages
73
I have an old Northwoods probably made by Queen. When I open it I feel a bit of resistance at less than half open (half open means blade is about 90 deg to the handle). Then I can continue opening without resistance until half open. At half open there is more resistance than at ‘quarter” open (but it’s not very solid like my GEC Harvester). I can go back and forth between the 2 spots. Do other slipjoints have that “play” in the opening/closing?
 
After writing this ^^^ I soaked the joint with A Lot of mineral oil and also worked the blade back and forth. The action is much, much better - basically eliminated that “quarter-stop” I was feeling before.
 
I'm not aware of any slipjoints having quarter stops. I believe if they did, it would reduce the strength of the 1/2 and full open snaps since the back side of the tang would be octogon shaped instead of square shaped.
 
SteveC said:
Sounds like a worn or miss shappened cam tang .
Click to expand...
as I mentioned previously, after flushing the joint with lots of mineral oil the action is much better. However there is still a bit of “play” or rocking motion from the half-stop and forward a little. In other words there’s still a bit of noticeable resistance in a place before the half-stop. Once going past that place I can rock the blade back and forth between that place and the half-stop. So can that be repaired? and/or Can the all the resistance (half-stop included) be removed altogether?
thx
 
Rookie82 said:
I'm not aware of any slipjoints having quarter stops. I believe if they did, it would reduce the strength of the 1/2 and full open snaps since the back side of the tang would be octogon shaped instead of square shaped.
Click to expand...
I have a Manly comrade that has "quarter stops". Closed, open & 3 stops in-between. Pretty strong pull on that knife, and not easy to accidentally close once open.
 
I'm a bit confused. Does your knife have a cam tang (rounded) or does it actually have a half stop (flat tang end)? I've never heard of a traditional knife (Queen Nortwoods included) that had any kind of quarter stops but if the tangs weren't finished with a smooth rounded end, such as when whoever finished them stopped three quarters of the way through that radius and ground a bit of a flat spot, it might give that impression.

Eric
 
I’m not sure this counts as a slipjoint, but I couldn’t resist :p :
iXpRpu7.jpg
 
20230512_113752.jpg
This lockback has the halfstop at the quarter position....
 

Attachments

  • 20230512_113731.jpg
    20230512_113731.jpg
    1.4 MB · Views: 1
Thx for the info
first pic shows the position at the half-stop
IMG_0274.jpeg

second pic is where I feel resistance when I move the blade forward. So I can “rock” the blade back and forth between the 2 spots
IMG_0275.jpeg

does that help in understanding the situation?
 
ea42 said:
I'm a bit confused. Does your knife have a cam tang (rounded) or does it actually have a half stop (flat tang end)? I've never heard of a traditional knife (Queen Nortwoods included) that had any kind of quarter stops but if the tangs weren't finished with a smooth rounded end, such as when whoever finished them stopped three quarters of the way through that radius and ground a bit of a flat spot, it might give that impression.

Eric
Click to expand...
I believe the tang is flat. Can you tell from the pics I uploaded?
 
It appeasr that what you have there is a tang that isn't quite flat. A slight bow to the tang end or spring coupled with them possibly rounding the corners off too much would give you a result like that. Hard to say thought without actually seeing the tang or having it in hand.
 
ea42 said:
It appeasr that what you have there is a tang that isn't quite flat. A slight bow to the tang end or spring coupled with them possibly rounding the corners off too much would give you a result like that. Hard to say thought without actually seeing the tang or having it in hand.
Click to expand...
Thx. That’s interesting. Practically speaking, can it be fixed?
When I watch the tang as the blade closes past the half-stop it looks like it then nudges against the backspring causing a bit of resistance.
 
Can you take a picture of the tang from the end with the blade closed?

When you say you can rock the blade back and forth until you feel resistance, do you mean it kind of flops around between those two points with no resistance, as if the blade's not touching the spring? If that's the case I was wrong above. I was assuming you had tension against the spring. If it's floppy the tang flat has had too much material removed and your spring is not reaching it. This is really tough without having it in hand. I'd know in a second what was wrong if I was holding it.

Eric

Eric
 
Last edited:
ea42 said:
Can you take a picture of the tang from the end with the blade closed?

When you say you can rock the blade back and forth until you feel resistance, do you mean it kind of flops around between those two points with no resistance, as if the blade's not touching the spring? If that's the case I was wrong above. I was assuming you had tension against the spring. If it's floppy the tang flat has had too much material removed and your spring is not reaching it. This is really tough without having it in hand. I'd know in a second what was wrong if I was holding it.

Eric

Eric
Click to expand...
Eric,
Your explanation sounds about right. Except the blade doesn’t flop on its own between the 2 places. When closing, for example, I need to use a little pressure to guide it from the half-stop to the next bit of resistance and past that it snaps closed on its own.
a couple pics of the end of the knife:
IMG_0276.jpegIMG_0278.jpeg
 
So my new 56 has an issue like this but it’s at about 135°. It was hanging up at about this point on both open and close. After flushing it quite a bit, it no longer does it when opening but it still “stops” at this point when closing. Odd…
IMG_2234.jpeg
 
Jerbhola89 said:
So my new 56 has an issue like this but it’s at about 135°. It was hanging up at about this point on both open and close. After flushing it quite a bit, it no longer does it when opening but it still “stops” at this point when closing. Odd…
View attachment 2192311
Click to expand...
I sent mine to a FM to get checked out and it seems the tang is mis-shaped. Hoping it can be adjusted/repaired.
 
Every Case Tribal Lock that Ive seen has a 3/4 stop with a flat on the tang. So it is a thing, just not very common.

I wish it was though, since I am not a fan of half stops.
 
It looks like you have some uneven wear on the tang too, it that a ridge on the right side of your photo?
 
Ernie1980 said:
It looks like you have some uneven wear on the tang too, it that a ridge on the right side of your photo?
Click to expand...
since I sent the knife off, I can’t answer your question.
definitely has issues!
when purchasing I should have been more careful. Emotions (and Northwoods brand reputation) got the best of me - lesson learned, I hope
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top