Having an issue with one of my Buck 112 customs - will not unlock easily

H

Happy Hippo

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Nov 8, 2022
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I have a 112 that will open and lock quite nicely. However, when I try to unlock it, the blade will not go down. If I press the unlock spring and rap the blade spine on the table, it will disengage. I've tried unlocking it and locking it a bunch of times to wear it down a little but it still won't open without me rapping it. It is a custom, so I don't think Buck warranty would work on it. Any suggestions that would be non-destructive? It is a drop point blade. Thanks.

PS. I cut my finger once so far fiddling with it. Dang thing is sharp!😀
 
can you contact the place who did the custom work on it?
 
jbmonkey said:
can you contact the place who did the custom work on it?
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Thanks. Yes, I did that and am waiting for a reply. I'm sure he'll address it. But I thought I'd run it through the group of experts here in case there is an easy fix. And also, maybe to get some education on what causes this type of issue.
 
Happy Hippo said:
Thanks. Yes, I did that and am waiting for a reply. I'm sure he'll address it. But I thought I'd run it through the group of experts here in case there is an easy fix. And also, maybe to get some education on what causes this type of issue.
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I wouldn't do any work yourself on it. have the custom fella do it. cause if ya do something to it you may void his warranty......
 
I wonder if the blade spring is not disengaging when pushed, something there to cause friction or is there a thing where there is not enough tension on the bar?
 
cbach8tw said:
I wonder if the blade spring is not disengaging when pushed, something there to cause friction or is there a thing where there is not enough tension on the bar?
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cbach8tw said:
I wonder if the blade spring is not disengaging when pushed, something there to cause friction or is there a thing where there is not enough tension on the bar?
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I think you were on to something. I was just able to get it working again. I finally got it to unlock if I pushed the spring while rapping it on the blade spine. I did that over days about 100 times. Eventually, it unlocked without rapping the blade spine. I think there might have been a glob of epoxy or something that was preventing the spring from fully disengaging. With all the rapping, it eventually wore down the obstruction so that it moved freely again. Just a guess. The weird thing is that it worked fine when I first got it. I put it away for about 3 months after which it had this problem. Seems to work fine now. The customizer never did get back to me on it.

P.S.: The knife gods were unhappy with my constant opening and closing of the knife without any use of the knife. So it had to taste blood. It cut the top of my finger with a decent cut. That blade is sharp!
 
Coolio, that is working again…..not that you cut yourself. We all do that at times.
 
Happy Hippo said:
The lockbar does still take more force than normal to unlock.
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If the center pin was replaced / reset during the customizing and over tightened it will be harder to push the lickbar down or there is alot of crud still in the gaps of the knife. If the lockbar when pushed down doesn't release the blade the back of the lockbar could have been sanded down too much during the customizing in order to flush everything up on the back of the knife. If this is the case the lockbar actually isn't going down far enough so than the notch in the handle needs to be ground a touch lower so that the lockbar goes down further when pushed. Hopefully this makes since.
 
Unfortunately you can't just disassemble it to check all the spots where parts could have extra friction. But if it opens smoothly but is resistant to unlocking it sounds like what gedlicks is describing is likely. With the blade closed inspect the notch in the blade where the lockbar tab should fit in when opened, are there any irregular or worn or shiny spots?
 
Happy Hippo said:
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Than I am guessing the lockbar pin was overtightened. Common mistake with someone still learning how to customize Buck folders. Hard to give you advise on fixing the problem because you could easily cause more damage. Best just to lube it in the pin area and try to work it in.
 
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