How can I loosen Cold Steel Gunsites?

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Evolute

Joined
Mar 19, 2001
Messages
4,769
I just got a new Gunsite, a used one, and a 5" tanto Voyager. They're just what I was looking for. However, just like everybody mentioned in all the posts I read about these knives, the pivots are STIFF. I can open it with the thumbstud, but it is slow and requires a lot of effort. I'm concerned that my ladyfriend will have trouble even opening the one I got for her (using the thumbstud).

I plan on cleaning them thoroughly, relubricating them well with some Militec-1, and then opening and closing them several hundred to several thousand times over the next few days.

Other than that, does anyone have any suggestions? I'd also like to hear your experiences of whether these knives loosened up over time. If they did, how long, or approximately how many openings and closings, did it take?

Thanks in adavance.
 
That seems to be a good plan. I've been in a tanto-kinda mood lately, and I dug out my brand new (but never messed with-cause I was in a Spyderco mood) 3" medium tanto voyager about 2 weeks ago. I haven't even oiled it, but I have been playing with it at work constantly. Open, close....open, close....no telling how many times that poor little knife has been flicked, but it is smoothing up nicely now. Funny thing too, now that I am in a tanto mood, I'm discovering how usefull a blade-shape it really is!! Think I might order a large tanto voyager to keep the medium one company! Let me know how yours turn out. Oh, by the way, did you get the old version with the plastic clip, or the new one with the metal one? Mine is the new one, and since they are getting a little "P.C." at work I decided to take the clip off for a while just to see if I could get used to carrying it like that (my boss doesn't like us carrying at work, he hasn't said anything yet, but everytime he sees that clip on my pocket he gets this "look" in his eyes) and I've got to say this little knife makes a great pocket knife!! I just love the shape and feel of the new handles!!

Flinx
 
Flinx,

The Gunsite that I just bought new has the steel clip; the Gunsite and the Voyager which I just bought used have the plastic clips. I'm not yet sure which I prefer.

By the way, before you get a 5 inch Voyager or Gunsite, let me warn you that the stiffness of the smaller ones isn't comparable. The 5" blades are much, MUCH stiffer. I'm taking about stiff enough that I would guess a large percentage of people simply couldn't achieve a thumb stud assisted opening; stiff enough to be honestly straining thumb exercise. I'm telling you this as someone who has been opening knives one-handed for the better part of a decade: these knives are in their own category, in terms of the tightness of the action.
 
hey I got a 5" gunsite and though it opens fine w/the thumbstud, no way ya can flick it open -and i have worked mine open and shut a kazillion times, white lightening, etc - even tried a lanyard to give ya leverage which works great on my spyderco matriarch - no way - but my wife has no probs w/the thumbstud, and she's only 5'3 and 110.....oh BTW a good knife IMHO

vet
 
Wow, Evolute, I haven't had any problems with my Gunsite II w/steel clip. I've had it for about four or five months now, and it doesn't seem much, if any, stiffer to open or close than my old Endura or my large Ascent. I can easily inertia open it as well. Also, the other L and XL Voyagers I have tried at the store were not hard to open either (I've tried maybe three or four others total).
Don't know what to tell you!

Karl

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"Celebrate the diversity of inclusive, self-esteem nurturing, multicultural weapons arts." Karl Spaulding, The Safety Guy
 
You might want to try working some toothpaste into the action. It's mildly abrasive, will help to smooth the parts, and is easily cleaned out when you're done.

A more radical approach is to Dremel the stop notch out into a wider, more rounded, one. Jim March had posted info about the Dremel procedure that you can probably find in the older general discussion archives (I'd try the oldest & second oldest.) once the search function is restored. Good luck.

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Cheers,
Brian
(formerly bcaffrey)
He who finishes with the most toys wins.
 
I have a 5 inch tanto Voyager,that opens smooth as can be.Don't even have to use the stud,just flip it open.Must be their making them tighter now.
 
I've owned two of the XL Gunsite Folders. Both were fairly stubborn to open, just as you described. I found that with repeated openings, and a good lubricant such as Militec, they did eventually loosen up a bit. Still takes more effort than say, my XL Voyager Clip Point to open though. When the Gunsite locks up though, you know you have one strong folder.
 
ALL 3 of my Gunsite folders open pretty smoothly, and without too much effort, (although the XL "old-style" does open just a little "harder" than the other 2). I use Break Free as a "cleaner/lube", and it seems to work pretty well.

Come to think of it, my Voyagers, and Vaquero Grande also flick-open with ease, yet lock-open tightly.
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Damn, I love Cold Steel.
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Dann Fassnacht
Aberdeen, WA
glockman99@hotmail.com
ICQ# 53675663
 
I had the 5" model the first year they came out, it was so stiff I could not open it with the thumb stud. The next I took it back. I now have a large plain edge Voyager clip point, the smoothest lock back we have. I'm crazy about it. Those 5" models are just to stiff! RKBA!
 
Try a tiny bit of BreakFree... doesn't take much. Slicks up my two Voyagers when they get sticky. Both open as easy as well broken-in Zippos, no wobble, after thousands of openings.
 
Evolute,

Thanks for the tip, but I was just going to get the 4 inch one. 3.5" is the limit here in Arkansas. I can probably get away with carrying the 4" but it would be pushing it to carry anything bigger. I've read in a couple of articles that the gunsite's backspring is stiffer that the regular voyagers, so maybe that is part of the problem. I think Brian's idea with the toothpaste sounds pretty good. Keep us informed on how it goes!!

Flinx
 
Toothpaste was my first choice as well. If that doesn't do the trick, try some Flitz metal polish. Often times it is not a matter of lubing the surfaces but rather smoothing them out just a tiny bit. Follow up with a flush of WD40 and air blast clean.

Nakano
 
IMHO its the spring on my CS Gunsite 5" thats the problem - seems to be too stiff to flick it - first 1" to 2" travel from the closed position is stiff - doesnt seem to be in the pivot area - anyway thats the way mine is ,,,,,,,,,,,

vet
 
Hi, everyone. Sorry it's taken me so long to follow up on this.

I lubed my knives with Militec-1, heated and all, several times. I've also opened and closed them perhaps a couple thosand times each.

They loosened up a lot. They are still much tighter than any of my Spydercos and CRKTs. Tighter, in fact, than any knife I've experienced either through friends or at a shop. But now they are within an acceptable range of tightness.

I didn't try the toothpaste idea. I still might try the dremel idea.

My ladyfriend can open it, though not very well. It's hard to know whether this is an issue having to do with necessary strength and a tight pivot, or whether she simply needs to develop the coordination and skill of opening knives one-handed. Anyway, she loves it, and she practiced opening it until her thumbs were sore.

A couple of side notes:

1) The newer Gunsites are easier to open than the old ones. This is not because the action is looser; it is because the redesigned handle allows you to better place your thumb for leverage.

2) Militec-1 is astounding stuff...far better than I expected. I may just have to write up a review of it some time.

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions.
 
I have a couple of Gunsites for sale, if anyone wants to try-out their opening for yourselves. (They are both pretty smooth.).
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Dann Fassnacht
Aberdeen, WA
glockman99@hotmail.com
ICQ# 53675663
 
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