Framelock overextension = Ruined?

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JTR357

JTR357

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I love the Reeve Integral Lock (aka framelock).I only have one problem with them,& that's "how long do they last?"

I have a BM mini-skirmish & a CRKT S-2.Both of the locks are pushed over(overextended) as far as they can go.They have ZERO resale value now.
I plan on buying a Sebenza,Strider,CQC-12,XM-18(if I can find one),custom framelocks,etc.

So,my question is "Do the higher end framelocks have a tendency to overextend?"

Is there any way to reverse this,or avoid it happening all together?

Thanks in advance for your helpful responses.:)
 
Are you talking about the lock travelling to the non-locking side?
If that's what you speak of, then yes, all frame-locks will eventually work themselves over that way as the metal on the lock-bar wears away.
A properly executed one should not wear fast enough for it to be a problem, though.
A tang which is more ramped towards the non-locking side will help slow wear a bit too.
P.S.-you can peen the lockbar to raise a lip, which will get the lock back into the proper locking position.
Won't help resale value, but it WILL help with usability.
 
Just a terminology question.

To me over extended means the lock bar is pushed out away from locking position.

It sounds like what you mean is the lock has worn such that it extends in locking position to the other side of the handle.

Is a sebenza immune from this? No. However the quality is better then either the s2 or the skirmish, so it's less likely to happen.

All bets are off if you tend to abuse your knives.
 
Even if it travels all the way over... it's still functional though right... I mean the blade is even less apt to close on you with the bar all the way over... it might create a little blade wiggle to be that far over but it's not like the knife doesn't work anymore.
 
If you mean you sprung the lock when unlocking the knife I think you might have to send it in for repair. I have a TOPS Thunder Hawke and it has a very simple but ingenious tab that hangs down from the clip. That stops the lock from overtaveling or springing when you unlock the knife. The downside is it is it only tip down carry but I don't mind that a bit. keepem sharp
 
DaveH said:
Just a terminology question.

#1.To me over extended means the lock bar is pushed out away from locking position.

#2.It sounds like what you mean is the lock has worn such that it extends in locking position to the other side of the handle.
Is a sebenza immune from this? No. However the quality is better then either the s2 or the skirmish, so it's less likely to happen.

All bets are off if you tend to abuse your knives.
Click to expand...

I'm talking about #2 in your post.Sorry for any confusion.

BTW,with the S-2,the Ti is so thick(.25")it doesn't really matter.The BM635 has developed considerable bladeplay though.In the 635's defense,it has been used/carried more than any other knife I own.

Also,I don't abuse any folders.That's what fixed blades are for ,& even then not abused,just used hard.

Thanks for your comments.:thumbup:
 
The lock bar on the Sebenza has been heat-treated, forming a thick layer of carbides on the mating surface that are actually harder than the blade. Titanium itself can wear pretty fast (which is why it isn't used in the blades very often) but the carbide layer greatly reduces this.
You can see it when you take the knife apart; it's another one of those subtle innovations that makes a better cutting tool.
I couldn't speak for every Seb out there (even CRK is bound to have inconsistencies now and then) but I've seen a few that have been carried and used for over a decade and their locks are still engaging perfectly. Mine's about the same as it was when I got it several years ago; they design those things to last a lifetime or two.
 
Heat treating it oxidizes it from the inside out. The oxide layer like that of anodizing that creates the light refraction to cause the color to be seen is near ceramic in hardness.

Anodizing puts that on the outer surface. Heating it puts it on the inside too and works its way out to the surface to be seen in blues and other hues of color unless its bead blasted off but that only removes the surface stuff. What was formed inside from heating stays there.

Titanium has a good memory that always snaps it back to the shape it had set. It is possible on frame locks to hyper extend the locks out the wrong way during an adrenaline rush like an emergency situation and there have been a few reports of this happening but it is rare even in the ones that come with very thinned down relief cuts that makers put in the slab locks to create the point to bend and spring the lock to proper tension. The Sebenza is left thicker than a lot of the competitor knives here in these cuts and the thicker material there does indeed make it harder to push it out to cause it to lose spring compared to one taken down to .033 or .039 thickness which are many believe me. I've measured the space and the cuts on the Reeve locks and they are stout enough to hold up. One little spot in the middle of the cut is thinner, and as I recall it stages up and its oval shaped, done twice and all comes together to make for a very stout well engineered lock. Hyper extension can happen yes but it can be reversed so its not permanent.

STR
 
missin_hobo said:
The lock bar on the Sebenza has been heat-treated, forming a thick layer of carbides on the mating surface that are actually harder than the blade. Titanium itself can wear pretty fast (which is why it isn't used in the blades very often) but the carbide layer greatly reduces this.
You can see it when you take the knife apart; it's another one of those subtle innovations that makes a better cutting tool.
I couldn't speak for every Seb out there (even CRK is bound to have inconsistencies now and then) but I've seen a few that have been carried and used for over a decade and their locks are still engaging perfectly. Mine's about the same as it was when I got it several years ago; they design those things to last a lifetime or two.
Click to expand...

Carbides, hmm.
This story gets better and better. I guess in some time it will be probably forged by dwarves under Mount Doom...
 
For some reason huugh doesn't believe that the framelock on the Sebenza is heat treated. He acts like a condescending jacka$$ when someone talks about it.

huugh said:
And how exactly can "heat treat" wear off, hmm?

And if we are at it, what purpose serves this "heat treat"?
Click to expand...

huugh said:
So it is not heat treated, but case-hardened. Ok, then.
Are there any proofs to support this claim?
Click to expand...

"try" "asking" "Chris Reeve Knives" "if" "you" "don't" "believe" "it".
 
huugh said:
Carbides, hmm.
This story gets better and better. I guess in some time it will be probably forged by dwarves under Mount Doom...
Click to expand...

Your sneer is late and your own explanation is lacking. STR explained it correctly in the post before yours.
 
mongomondo said:
For some reason huugh doesn't believe that the framelock on the Sebenza is heat treated. He acts like a condescending jacka$$ when someone talks about it.





"try" "asking" "Chris Reeve Knives" "if" "you" "don't" "believe" "it".
Click to expand...

As I see it, education system has not quite succeeded in your case.
After receiving some more lecturing on reading, comprehension and logic, you might consider trying to understand the fact, that claims like the one posted above are fictional at best.
 
Esav Benyamin said:
Your sneer is late and your own explanation is lacking. STR explained it correctly in the post before yours.
Click to expand...

You mean that explanation how heat treat transforms a titanium alloy into titanium oxide, specifically from inside out, somehow?
 
Huugh he means that its an oxide layer not a carbide layer. Titanium has no carbides to speak of or it would be a better choice for blades as opposed to the pocket clips, body parts and other things. Even when ti is used in a blade its a special alloy that works best like beta ti not the same stuff as the lock is made of. Its no big deal which is why I didn't draw attention to it.

You guys let the thread smooth back out. No need to make bumps in the path way here arguing over nit picky stuff. :thumbup:

STR
 
huugh said:
As I see it, education system has not quite succeeded in your case.
After receiving some more lecturing on reading, comprehension and logic, you might consider trying to understand the fact, that claims like the one posted above are fictional at best.
Click to expand...

There are no dwarfs in Mount Doom.
 
STR, the OP is not talking about over extension he is talking about the lock bar traveling all the way over the nonlocking handle side, i.e. wearing out. I would suggest he send the knives to you to do what you did to my MPF 3, when you peened the end of the lock bar.

OP, talk to STR he can probably fix your problems, I do know this I have seen many pictures and read several post on this topic and the sebenza here on this forum and there are plenty of sebenza's that get carried and used day in and day out and the lock up on them is pretty darn close to when it was new. Some of the knives I have seen were over 10 years old.
 
i have owned many cr knives. i have never had happen what you are describing. even if it did happen, i am not worried. i know crk will fix it.
 
theres also another remedy or two, one is to get a slightly larger stop pin,which would move the blade down slightly & move the locking bar back slightly ,too. another method although a little more crude is a little jb weld on the back of the blade, & file it flat when dry & touch it up with silver enamel,it too will push the liner back over. i did the jb weld on a rekat carnivore with black blade that had some up & down play. jb welded it,filed it & colored it with a black marker,couldnt tell it was there, & it locked up tight.....
 
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