Im thinking of using a round file to put a slight hour glass shape in one side to see if that will reduce the force needed to unlock the blade. If someone knows of any threads on weakening the torsion bar or replacing the existing bar with a homemade bar, I would appreciate any links. thanks men
I've found that simply leaving the knife half open overnight for a couple of nights will soften an excessively strong spring. I'd certainly be hesitant about taking a file to the spring though.
Have you tried unlocking the knife lockbar by putting your thumb 90 degrees across it instead of keeping your thumb in-line with the handle?
Practice doing that with two hands to get the hang of it.
Then see if you can close it one-handed safely.
For safety reasons, I highly recommend closing all of the larger 5.5-inch and 6-inch Cold Steel knives two-handed—it is just too easy to accidentally have it close on the fingers when one doesn't expect it! (Especially the 7.5-inch Espada XL!)
I have found that this makes quite a difference in quickly unlocking all Tri-Ad equipped knives.
Form experience I thought of doing the same but trust me if u dont do anything to the lock it will get easier of time to close it has gotten easier on all 3 triad locks I own
Regular opening/closing an application of EEZOX broke my Voyager XL clip points in. Smooth, very little diference between Tri-Ad and the "old tyme" CS Voyager locks now!!
By no means should you remove material or alter the shape of the lock bar. I recently got a Hold Out 1 that was almost impossible to close. You had to literally use a wooden dowel to depress the lock. I am not weak or injured and own many lock back type knives including CS products that have been tough but not like this. Upon tearing down the knife it was evident that if you remove material on the lock bar you will ruin the lockup interface and be left with up/down blade play. I removed about 1 millimeter and tapered the top of the blade behind the lockup notch, not the lock bar itself. This gave the lock bar more room to move up and over the blade with no increased blade play. It also gave the lock bar a smoother face to contact when moving up and out of the blade lock notch. There is still a good 3/16 to 1/4 of contact between the blade lock notch and bar lock faces. I am more than confident that this is enough contact to insure a very secure lock up. It is more interface than most lock back systems have. It gave me the impression that the lock portion of the blade may have been too wide/high to begin with. My warranty is void but now the knife is usable and still completely safe. I would not recommend this type of alteration unless you have done it before with the proper tooling and knowledge.
I filed down and shortened the spring about an 1/8th of an inch in an Espada XL because the knife was way too difficult to unlock and close. This effort did not completely solve the problem. I then rounded off the interface between the lock bar and the blade tang just a tad. All-in-all the knife is now usable however, the blade is not as secure in the closed position. I would like to get a new spring and try this experiment again if anyone knows where I can get a new spring? I looked for "parts" on the ColdSteel website but did not see it.
BTW...this is my first post on this forum and I'm looking forward to interacting with the knife community. I have enjoyed lurking and reading many posts from experienced knife enthusiasts.
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