Emerson/Benchmade Collaboration Teardown And Parts Query

[hoxhunbe]

Hi All,

A bit of a throwback here. I kind of collect CQC-7s (small collection ATM), and I've got this old Emerson/Benchmade collaboration, the 970. It's been sitting in its box for years and years (I believe the knife is a 1996 or thereabouts model, but I could be wrong), and it was extremely off-center. Tight lockup, sure, but the side of the blade was scraping the steel liners. So, naturally, I decided to disassemble, clean, and reassemble to fix the issue. This is NOT a user, so it was probably pointless, but there you go.

Unfortunately, there are some issues. I don't know the whole history of this particular knife -- I picked it up used (but "like new") a good while back. It was very gummy on the inside, but it wiped right up decently clean. Unfortunately, one of the washers was broken (and one or two may be missing), and the rear spacer -- which, made out of plastic, has been a notorious weak point on this model -- broke in two places as I lifted it up. Very, very weak, as you can see. Age happens. :thumbdn:

I am getting in touch with Benchmade to see about getting a replacement part (if that's even feasible at this point), and am willing to pay as long as it's not too outrageous a price. I'd also like to replace/upgrade the washers while I'm at it, and I'll update this post with any progress made, good or bad.

My questions for the crowd here is this: What's that weird, jagged-looking, tannish-colored washer that's shown up top on the left? It appears to have cutouts (or ridges) for the clip screws, but I just can't tell. I have no idea what it's supposed to look like or how badly it's now broken (or how much is missing). See the picture below for what I think's going on here. Also, as you can see, the knife's got one big plastic or nylon washer and one small one (both black in color). Now, is each side supposed to have both of these, or was the clip side designed to be smaller (to accommodate the clip screws) while the opposite side is larger? And if so, how does that other aforementioned piece come into play? (And if anyone out there knows who makes or has available a decent pair of upgraded washers for this knife, please drop me an email or PM.)

Like I said, even though I don't intend using the knife, I'd like to get it back into structurally sound, user shape.

Thanks for your input, and I hope you enjoy the little breakdown shots!

 

[EricV]

any of the knife makers supply sites will have the washers, but you'll need to figure out the size of the originals first. Never had one of these apart myself but its pretty standard on liner/frame locks to have a smaller diameter washer on the lock side to provide clearance and a larger washer on the other wise. No idea what you're little crown shaped do-hickey is.

 

[drillsgt71]

I have one of these that I bought brand new in the mid 90's. I had the same problem with the backspacer and made a new one out of a plexi-glass scrap I had. The washers look ok, the small one goes on the lock side(so the lock doesn't hit it) and the large on the other side. That small jagged piece was not in my knife, so no clue about it.