How can I loosen the back springs on my case?

Y

youknowwhatimsayin

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Jan 2, 2014
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156
So I just bought a case Folding Hunter in cv and the springs are super tight. I left the knife half open and put a fair amount of mineral oil in the pivot for about 4 days. It helped a little but it's still pretty stiff. I have a couple other case knives and they aren't as hard to open. Is it just because it's a bigger knife so bigger Springs? If there is anything else I can do to make it easier to open or just give it time? Thanks for reading guys

Chris
 
It can take from three weeks to three months to loosen a slip joint. You've done the right thing by storing it open at its widest spot, usually 3/4 open.

I have three knives I am doing this with now and every day or two I put a rag on the blade and work it back and forth for a couple of minutes and then re-store it in an open position. The rag allows you to grip the blade without cutting yourself.

IMO it's best NOT to use much oil on these joints as you can attract dust that just makes things worse. A drop now and then is fine. I use TufGlide Dry Lubricant by Sentry Solutions for all of my knife pivots and joints except my CRK knives which call for fine grease.

It should be mandatory that all slipjoints be given an 'opening' rating between 1-10. Most sellers here do list slipjoints as long pull (no stops) and/or a pull rating.

Some knives simply won't get much easier to open.

Mike
 
Just remember, the looser you make it the easier it is to close and that might not be good. Personally, I let them loosen naturally through use.
 
There is a difference between a strong pull and a tight blade. Look at the tang end of the knife open end up, if the sides are not parallel and closer toward the open end, this would indicate a tight blade. If they are parallel then probably it just needs working a little bit as described above.
 
My father-in-law recently purchased a Case folding hunter. It's a big knife with big springs, designed for a hard pull and a hard close. If I remember correctly, half stops were also used, which makes the issue twice as aggravating.

This is just the reason why I prefer lockbacks for larger traditional folders. Lockbacks can be made with a gentler pull, since spring tension is not required to keep the blade from accidentally closing. All you need is enough tension to keep the knife closed. No half stops required either.
 
I never make a final decision on how hard a pull is until I've carried the knife for a few weeks. A lot of them seem to smooth out with time.
 
Big blade, big springs.......big pull. Nature of the beast so to speak. Fixed blades are the best for hunting size knives. :)
 
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