Emerson detent balls

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Muaddib1116

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Dec 26, 2010
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I read somewhere that the 1/16" detent balls that Emerson uses are hardened 440C. Most of the knife parts retailers sell 1/16" 440C detent balls hardened to 59-61 RC. I would imagine that Emerson's are similar? Except that my week old Mini A-100's non-lock detent ball is already pretty flat, and Emerson hardens their blade steel to 57-59 RC. So shouldn't the tang be wearing first? Seeing as how Emersons have two detent balls contributing to the friction of opening and closing the blade, has anyone ever replaced them with 1/16" ceramic balls? Positive results? Negative?
 
Are you sure that it's flat? I look at mine with a Bausch & Lomb magnifying glass and those suckers are still as round as beach balls. Are you using a magnifying glass?
 
The blade is harder than the ball. In all likelihood it flattened shortly after install and it would happen again with a replacement. If it ain't broke and still retains the blade from falling open by gravity it does not need replaced. Replacement is not based on flatness but hold down ability. Being that most of Emerson's hold down is nil anyway they are mostly just to insure smooth operation of the rotation of the blade as it opens and closes. If it is flat to the point it is dragging the liner like if the ball was pushed in too far then yes it needs a fix but otherwise no.
 
newknif said:
Are you sure that it's flat? I look at mine with a Bausch & Lomb magnifying glass and those suckers are still as round as beach balls. Are you using a magnifying glass?
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It's pretty visible with the naked eye.

STR said:
The blade is harder than the ball. In all likelihood it flattened shortly after install and it would happen again with a replacement. If it ain't broke and still retains the blade from falling open by gravity it does not need replaced. Replacement is not based on flatness but hold down ability. Being that most of Emerson's hold down is nil anyway they are mostly just to insure smooth operation of the rotation of the blade as it opens and closes. If it is flat to the point it is dragging the liner like if the ball was pushed in too far then yes it needs a fix but otherwise no.
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Yeah, that's why I was thinking of replacing them with ceramic balls.
 
I would just send it in for warranty work or return if its only a week old. Some of my emerson's are over 10 years old and still function perfectly.
 
Send it to EKI if its under warranty. If not, one thing I've done successfully in the past is tap the ball out, rotate it a bit and reinstall it. Best way I've found to remove one is to use the appropriate sized punch and place the ball onto soft wood (a paint stir stick works great) and carefully tap it into the wood (keeps it from getting lost).

Lockbar ball or detent ball?
 
Detent ball. It's still functioning adequately, I'm just thinking for the future. I plan on modding this knife, which will probably void the warranty, so I was just looking to see if anyone had tried ceramic balls as replacements, rather than the 440C ones that are easily available on most knife parts websites.
 
I use to think this way. ^ No more. Just carry, use and enjoy the knife. You have miles to go before you'll need a tune up.
 
Like I said, if you are going to do it yourself, you need not replace it, just rotate it away from the flat spot. I had it happen on knife of mine, but after rotating it, no further (discernible) wear had occurred (and that knife see's heavy usage to this day). I don't know why the flat spot developed initially, but it never returned on the same detent ball.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I just think that, whether the ball came flat or I made it flat, if I was going to reposition or replace it, why not go ceramic and never have to do it again?
 
I want to say the detent ball is 5/64". Reason I say so is because I went through the replacement process and the smaller size didn't work in my CQC-12. I ended up rotating the ball as Officer's Match recommends but don't press the ball too far in. Use the Nylatron washer for reference to how much of the detent ball is exposed, set it just a touch less than the washer. If it is set too far in the liner will touch the blade and will have some slop while closed. If the detent ball sticks out too much, you'll have excessive resistance while opening & closing the knife since there is no relief cut out of the G10 to give the Safe-D-Tent more space to move away from the blade. Consider this, a small flat will have less roughness since the pressure isn't so pinpointed against the blade. If you choose to purchase some "ceramic" bearings of the size I mentioned, it might be a better price for R/C Car differential bearings.
 
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