EDI GenI users

L

longbow

Joined
Jan 9, 1999
Messages
4,350
I have had a couple of these knives for a few yrs. now and truthfully haven't carried them much due to blade wobble. Over the holidays I have found the one I gave my son to use and took it apart and cleaned it and lubricated the bearings etc etc. Just had it professionally sharpened so figured I would edc it for awhile.

Now I have the blade play eliminated but and here is where my concern lies, the pivot adjustment is tightened as tight as I can get it. Now no blade play but the blade swings out easily. How does one compensate for wear. Or does it not wear? Does anyone edc these knives? Any tips or tricks to get the qc where it should be? I like the way it sits in my pocket as it is nice and low and the knife itself is very flat. I have two of these and use one for parts. I notice the fella that I had sharpen it put a double bevel on the edge. One is the sharpened edge which is narrow and then a highly polished edge that is about what I would consider 22degs' or so. Slices superbly but only kind of shaves hair not what I would consider hair popping but still none the less shaves hair easily.

As always any thoughtfull suggestions are welcome. Keep'em sharp
 
Longbow -

I've had an EDI Gen I as part of my edc since they first came out. From other posts I gather many other forumites have had liner lock and blade wobble problems with the Gen I, but mine was good on both counts from the beginning, and has been one of my favourites for the same reasons you list.

The problem you are having: "Now no blade play but the blade swings out easily. How does one compensate for wear." doesn't sound like wear, but rather a problem with the blade detent, the small ball bearing that (should) be mounted on the inside of the 'ear' of the liner lock closest to the blade tang when the knife is open (you should be able to see it when open). Sounds like either you've lost it (the bearing that is), or the bearing is not lined up perfectly with the small matching hollow on the blade tang that it engages when closed, to keep the blade in the handle. The bearing should not detach or come off of the liner, so if it is missing, it's good you've got the 'second' for parts. If it is still there you will have to disassemble the knife again, make sure that the hollow or divot in the tang is clear (it's very small and not visible assembled), and put it together again. If everything is as it should be, then the problem is that the bearing and the divot are being thrown slightly out of alignment when you are re-assembling the knife, and you may want to do the final assembly tightening with the blade closed and the detent engaged to ensure they line up.

Hope this helps put your EDI back into your pocket, and I'm glad there's someone else out there that still carries and enjoys this discontinued knife.

Bern
 
Hi Bern, thanks for the info. However I don't understand what the ball bearing has to do with the blade wobble when the knife is in the open position. The bearing is in its race or hole that I can see as the knife is open. What concerns me is the blade starting to get side to side wobble after a period of time with use. I know the bearing is contacting the hole on the tang when closed as you can feel it snap into it when closing the blade.

I also performed the drop test on some hardwood floors in an area where my wife won't notice and on carpet and the blade does not come open at all. Maybe the pivot is self adjusting for wear? I will say the knife carries extremely flat in the pocket. The liners make it pretty stiff too for an open build. One would think to look at it that maybe the stiffness wouldn't be there as it looks kind of thin after carrying my S2K but that is not the case at all. As I said in first post I had it professionally sharpened and just a bit ago touched up the blade on a soft white stone at about a 30 deg angle very lightly, stropped it my jeans and now the edge really has bite to it and pops hair. No burr either.

I will continue to ponder this particular knife and carry it for the time being because for now the blade is secure with 0 play in it. Just seems like a very well thought out design that just was not executed as well it should have been. Keep'em sharp
 
You might want to Loc-tite the pivot, as it might be gradually coming loose with use. There's no need to compensate for the tightness of the pivot, as it's nothing that would result in bladeplay as long as the pivot screw is retained in the same place (hence the Loc-tite).

Didn't the Genesis have a bushing for the pivot, similar to the Sebenza? That may be one of the reason's why it's so slick, and the reason why it doesn't "tighten" when you crank down on the pivot.
 
Longbow -

Sorry, from your post I thought that the problem you were having was the blade swinging open too easily after being disassembled.

I have only had noticable blade wobble in my Gen I once over the years, and I simply snugged up the pivot assembly. Not a big user of Loc-Tite, prefer to simply tighten the pivots on my edc's every few months when it's needed, as part of general maintenance. Mine still locks up as well as new, and the bronze bushings still glide beautifully on opening, despite the use and wear it has seen, so seems to be working.

Bern
 
Mine is the cheaper FRN handled one, I'm amazed with how good this thing works considering the price. The Ti liner is the same size as the older Emerson I have (.060")and with bronze washers it actually doesn't wobble much. The blade being .115" is kind of thin for heavy stuff but WOW can it slice. All in all it's pretty cool, one of my "top drawer knives"
 
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