Help with Lockback Problem

AFAustin

AFAustin

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Joined
Jun 8, 2004
Messages
2,496
I recently acquired a nice Schrade 5OT and the lock is giving me problems. I washed, dried, and lubed it well, and the problem remains. The problem is that the lock has to be pushed pretty far into the spine to close the knife, and that's hard on the thumb!

I tried very lightly filing the "hook" (sorry, don't know the correct term) in the tang, using a small and narrow diamond file, thinking that maybe it protruded too far. No luck, but then I didn't file very much and wasn't sure if I should continue.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Andrew

5OT%20001_zpslthvcll9.jpg
 
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Not having the knife to examine, it's hard to say for sure what the solution would be. It sounds like it's got a stiff spring ("hard on the thumb"). If it's a new knife it might just need to be "broken in" a bit.

As far as filing off metal, here are my feelings- don't go filing unless either you know it will produce the results you want, or you're willing to risk screwing up the knife.

Taking even a little metal off a lock, or the corresponding blade tang, can dramatically change the lock-up of a knife. It only takes the removal of a little metal to turn rock-solid lock-up into forward-to-back blade play. And once that happens there's no going back.
 
I'm confused, you have to push the lock for opening? I might be fully misunderstanding, but generally with lockbacks you don't need to push the lock for opening, as the blade provides far more leverage for opening. If you are pushing the lock to drop the blade open, some knifes will do it, some won't, buts more a design bug and a feature.
 
gadgetgeek said:
I'm confused, you have to push the lock for opening? I might be fully misunderstanding, but generally with lockbacks you don't need to push the lock for opening, as the blade provides far more leverage for opening. If you are pushing the lock to drop the blade open, some knifes will do it, some won't, buts more a design bug and a feature.
Click to expand...

You are quite right and my mistake (now corrected above). The lock is hard to push when closing the knife.

If it matters, it helps to push down more on the back portion of the lock (although even so it needs a pretty hard push).

Andrew
 
well, that makes sense since farther back you get more leverage. As for the mistake, I sometimes get things backwards, being upside down here and all. See how it breaks in, that's all I can think of.
 
I think for a lockback, it's better to be needing a deep press than a shallow one. Finding a balance of enough depth and yet easy to unlock has been a quest of many and even took Spyderco several years of R & D (referring to Native 5).
Try breaking in, and perhaps by time you'd be accustomed to the knife and found it totally acceptable.
 
Thank you, gents, for your posts and advice. I decided to put another dab of Nano oil in the lock, and then I wrapped a soft cloth around the lock and handle and used a pair of large needle nose pliers to depress the bar a few hundred times. It has improved considerably. :thumbup:

Thanks again and Happy New Year!

Andrew
 
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