First EDC: Kershaw Skyline. Some issuues though

M

mattjns93

Joined
Jul 23, 2010
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Hello everyone! So today I just bought my first EDC, the Kershaw Skyline. After watching tons of videos about it and reading a lot, it seemed like a great started knife. Overall, I'm very impressed with what $35 bought me. Very solid feeling, INCREDIBLY sharp knife, and overall attractive looking. However, I do have an issue with it.

I knew it wasn't spring assisted, but nearly all of the videos show people opening it with ease as if it was spring assisted. For example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoE8Al8JQZE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss-kyAEv80s&feature=related

However, this is what it does for me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDyj2H_-LV0

I tried loosening the screw at the top that supposedly makes the blade more loose, but the screw just seemed to turn and turn without doing anything. I'm sorry if I sound very stupid, but this is my first nice knife.

Thank you everyone!
 
Welcome to BF's!

Your technique needs some dialing in. Some of the Kershaw flipper experts will be by to help you out.

You should be able to do a before and after video once their done with you. :)
 
I don't have the Skyliner, but I do have a Zing. To open it fast, you have to give your wrist just the tiniest snap as you hit the flipper and the weight of the blade should snap it open.
 
when you go to press down on the flipper, do so on the very end of the flipper, not up on the flipper like you were. Also instead of doing it while the knife is vertical, try it with the knife horizontal, and slightly tilted downwards. Hope this helps.

ETA: Oh an welcome to the forums, nice first knife :thumbup:
 
At 4:27 in that video, watch where he presses on the flipper, he is at the tip of it, the farthest point from the handle, and is pressing the flipper protrusion towards the handle. You were up on the flipper, right next to handle, trying to run straight down the spine with it. I hope this makes sense, it's a little hard to explain in text.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss-kyAEv80s&feature=related
 
Thank you everyone! With the new strategy I seem to be getting a 1/5 success rate without using any wrist action! :p I think I'm getting the hang of it, but man, my finger is starting to get raw already. I'm going to need a callus soon. I already cut myself on it, I think I underestimated the sharpness! Luckily it was just a tiny cut, but I now have much more respect for the blade.

Here is an updated video, how's my technique looking now?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-3D21HCgbQ
 
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Once you get the hang of it, the flipper works perfectly with no wrist action required. I can do a drag through the flipper or a push on the point of the flipper and both methods will flick that blade open darn near as fast as a speedsafe. The Skyline is a great little knife.
 
My Skyline was actually pretty tough to open 100% at first. I loosened up the pivot some (like you were trying to do) and it opened every time with no problem. Just earlier today I took the whole knife apart and lubed each washer individually. Now I can open it with my pinky if the need ever arises. Good luck and congrats on your purchase.
 
mattjns93 said:
Thank you everyone! With the new strategy I seem to be getting a 1/5 success rate without using any wrist action! :p I think I'm getting the hang of it, but man, my finger is starting to get raw already. I'm going to need a callus soon. I already cut myself on it, I think I underestimated the sharpness! Luckily it was just a tiny cut, but I now have much more respect for the blade.

Here is an updated video, how's my technique looking now?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-3D21HCgbQ
Click to expand...


Looks much better :thumbup: And buy you some super glue, make sure it's liquid and not gel, they work a heck of a lot better on small nicks than band-aides IMO
 
practice makes perfect i guess. i picked up a skyline 2 days ago and it took me a while to use the 'flipper' effectively. now i get it. you will too.
i must say the skyline is everything i expected and then some.
 
Try one more thing: make sure your thumb touches the pivot screw.
 
Don't forget that opening and closing smooths out the contact between the washers and blade and the liners. It'll improve over time. Same case for my JYD2 D2 composite.
 
John E Woven said:
put your wrist into it. it'll just come straight out.
Click to expand...

When it is properly adjusted you shouldn't need any wrist action at all. Adjusting the pivot screw may also be in order. When I first got mine, it was stiff as well and the combination of "working it in" and adjusting the pivot screw fixed that. Once it worked in, I needed to slightly tighten the pivot screw to take up the "slack" that caused slight bladed play. It took about 50 flips to "work in" for me. After I was comfortable with the action, I took it apart, lubed it with a couple drops of light PTFE (Teflon) oil, put some blue LocTite on the pivot screw and put it back together doing a final adjustment making sure it opens quickly with light flipper action and that there is no blade play.

Now it is so smooth and fast opening it opens like an auto.

BTW, welcome to Blade Forums :) . And good choice on your first EDC. The Skyline is still one of my favorite EDC knives. :thumbup:
 
Your video looks just like me when I got my first non-Speedsafe/AO flipper. You probably don't even need to adjust the pivot screw, though it might help a bit. The important thing is, as said earlier, to practice to get the proper form. You should be pushing on the tip of the flipper, rather than the base or even the entire flipper. Your opening motion should be fast, and the flipper should move smoothly into the recesses of the handle.

If it helps while you're getting the hang of it, a little bit of a wrist flick will make the motion easier, though shouldn't be necessary eventually. You also might try taking the knife apart to clean and lube the washers and pivot...though if your pivot screw just turns and turns, you might have a stripped screw on your hands, in which case you might have to get in touch with Kershaw or the shop you bought it from about getting a replacement.

Congrats on your purchase, and good luck getting it down. Kershaw flippers are some of the best out there, and if you're anything like me you'll eventually find yourself just flipping them open for no reason.
 
One other tip is to make sure the butt of the knife is braced against the heel of your palm. That helps to ensure that when you pull on the flipper, as much force as possible is transferred to the flipper/blade rather than being partly used to push the knife backwards (however slightly) in your hand.

As far as your finger getting raw, the one and only (and very minor!) complaint I had about Skyline when I got it was that the inner edge of the G10 scale on the side opposite the steel liner is somewhat sharp. My index finger actually developed a cut from hitting that sharp edge enough times on the follow-through of the flipper pull. (Yes, I'm sure I didn't just cut myself on the blade. :p) Fortunately, it's an extremely easy fix -- just file the troublesome edge down a bit. Breathing G10 dust isn't a good idea, so I took the knife apart and filed the scale by itself underwater to keep the dust from becoming airborne. But if you don't yet feel confident in disassembling/reassembling the knife, you can also file the scale with the knife intact. Just make sure you do it in a well-ventilated area (outdoors, ideally) and with some sort of breathing protection.

And finally, welcome to the forums! :)
 
Like every other flippable knife I own, the Skyline seemed a bit stiff initially, and loosened up. I'm generally not a proponent of disassembling and lubing knives unless absolutely necessary, and in the case of my various Kershaws, it's never been necessary.

I find pushing the flipper, perpendicular to the handle, into the handle, rather than parallel to the handle, forced the blade to overcome the closing detente with more force, and thus swing open with more momentum, ensuring lockup. Activating the flipper by pushing the flipper parallel to the handle allowed the blade to disengage the detente with little effort. So little, that the blade sometimes didn't have enough momentum to swing completely open.

Different way of describing, pushing the flipper into the handle, perpendicular to the handle offered more consistent lockup, with more consistent amount of force needed. Pushing the flipper parallel to the handle only allowed lockup if the flipper is pushed with sufficient velocity.
 
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i think the mistake you're making is youre "just" pushing the flipper. pretend youre trying to pop bubble wrap. Push down hard and quick and move your wrist a tiny bit. When you get better youll be able to stop the wrist flick. It was the same for me when i got my CRKT m16 years and years ago.
 
Dont slide your finger down the flipper like that. Press your finger on the very tip of the flipper and just press down harder and harder until the blade comes flying out. It takes technique with any knife, but you will eventually learn and it will slowly become second nature.
 
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