F ball bearings! OK, maybe not so much now, opinion changing

I been using bearings for a good couple years and yet to have a problem with play developing due to the bearings eating away at the titanium. Ive had a good many pb washers last far less time. Not all though. You know, maybe the next step here is hardening the contact area the way they harden non insert titanium lockbars
 
Dfunk1210 said:
I been using bearings for a good couple years and yet to have a problem with play developing due to the bearings eating away at the titanium. Ive had a good many pb washers last far less time. Not all though. You know, maybe the next step here is hardening the contact area the way they harden non insert titanium lockbars
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Well i do know now a lot of manufacturers if not most now are using hardened steel washers inserted into the handle or blade stock. Sometimes both. It seems to work pretty well. Id probably prefer it to carburized ti which while harder than standard ti would be hard to implement and would still never be able to be as hard as steel inserts.
 
Aldebaran said:
I am not the only person that thinks the way I do. For example this guy has handled more knives than I ever will:
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And here's that same guy raving about a ball bearing pivot knife (and its spectacular build quality & flipping action) :cool:
 
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I don't think sports cars are very good for off roading, so please auto manufacturers, stop making them.

Seriously, ball bearings work, washers work, buy what you like and if you don't believe in ball bearings, don't buy it.

If enough people stop buying ball bearing knives, it is a free market system, knife makers will stop producing ball bearing knives.
 
Aldebaran said:
Full disclosure: I have not owned a ball bearing pivot knife and never will. I have extensive experience as a heavy industrial mechanic, and mechanical engineer position, and scientific instrument design engineer, automotive and motorcycle mechanic, and machinist. I have camped in the forest and the desert. Dirt is everywhere.

A foundry is probably one of the worst industrial environments you could ask unprotected ball bearings to survive. So you just need to blow some compressed air through the knife and squirt some special oil into to pivot. Do you have access to a compressor and oil in the middle of the desert? How about just after gutting a fish for the fire by the stream? Should you need to clean and lubricate all the time? My washer pivot knives never have had grit get into the bearing surface causing it to stick.

It is simple. A ball bearing system costs much more to implement than just a couple of washers. Washers need a drop of oil and off you go. I don't always have a compressor with me wherever I go. In high load low speed applications, plain bearings (washers) are highly preferred over ball bearings. It is an engineering principle.
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well for your camping and fishing and desert going i would think a fixed blade would suit you better. but whatever floats your boat bear grylls
 
I have not responded to nor perpetuated this thread. I have actually admitted I could be wrong and said in this thread that I was buying a couple of knives with bearings to give them a try and have empirical data to re-evaluate my belief. You people who are still trying to beat me over the head over this are beating a dead horse.
 
Yes I have. I have been using a Harnds Talisman for over a month now. I also have another knife somewhere lost in the mail. So far I have been impressed with the Talisman as a general knife despite it having AUS8 and being a cheap knife. I have been so impressed with it as a knife that it has become a daily driver.

As far as developing an opinion on the bearing pivot, I have been holding off making any statement until I get the other knife and both have had some proper long term use. I will say that at this point, the ball bearing pivot in the Talisman works very well and has not caused me a problem in the light use I have put it through up to this point.

I also will add that I know that ball bearings are not necessary for a free pivot action. I have a Ritter Griptilian that swings as free as any ball bearing pivot might be able to, and without any play or lock rock.
 
Aldebaran said:
Full disclosure: I have not owned a ball bearing pivot knife
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That's where you lost credibility IMHO. I get you don't like the idea of a bearing knife....and feel nobody on earth actually uses them....I mean really "uses" them like you.

Get used to change, happens all the time....don't like it, don't buy it, but don't go throwing shade on something you have never put through practical application and testing. An engineer should know this, you may be surprised at what you find
 
Kreyzhorse said:
I don't think sports cars are very good for off roading, so please auto manufacturers, stop making them.

Seriously, ball bearings work, washers work, buy what you like and if you don't believe in ball bearings, don't buy it.

If enough people stop buying ball bearing knives, it is a free market system, knife makers will stop producing ball bearing knives.
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I think the issue in many cases is that while an option between bearings and washers exist there are no knife companies in the production realm offering the same models in both systems. What you often get is either a guy who gets jazzed to see a knife design he/she really likes only to be bummed when they discover it has bearings. Or on the flipside the same person who loves the design only to be disappointed it doesnt have bearings. With that said im surprised makers havent opted for a modular design where the owner could have the option. It would be very easy for a company to have special over sized thickness washers that could replace the bearings and then both lovers and haters of bearings could enjoy the same knife and not feel either was being ignored.
 
Rival1314 said:
That's where you lost credibility IMHO. I get you don't like the idea of a bearing knife....and feel nobody on earth actually uses them....I mean really "uses" them like you.

Get used to change, happens all the time....don't like it, don't buy it, but don't go throwing shade on something you have never put through practical application and testing. An engineer should know this, you may be surprised at what you find
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It is interesting to see you hold judgement on my first assertion, but ignore that I said I could be wrong and am trying BBs so that I might have a valid viewpoint. You also put words into my mouth that I have never said. Honesty is the first thing I look for in doing business with someone. When a businessman comes here and attacks a potential customer and lies about what they have said, then why would anyone want to deal with that "KnifeMaker/Crafstman/Service Provider" who is dishonest before they even have had dealings with them? A business man attacking a potential customer..... great business plan.
 
craytab said:
Um...
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Yes, I am investigating and trying to make a real assessment based on real use, without making another bald face unsupported assertion. Why is this a problem? You want more unsubstantiated claims, or do you want informed discussion?
 
Why not make the "real assessment" before you start a thread about Fing-something?
 
It's a free market. I don't see an issue either way. If you really hate ball bearing knives you can replace the bearings with washers.
 
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