How do I know if my Boker Subcom Titan is a slip joint model or not?

[Doogoon]

So I called the Boker service department today, and the guy I spoke to told me (after I told him the lock bar doesn't engage) that I may have a slip joint model. I think he called it a 42. I doubt it is, because before my knife jammed up after a small tightening of a remarkably loose pivot screw, the lock bar did in fact engage at about 45%.

So in case I happen to purchase the wrong knife, or I was sent the wrong knife, I'd like to know how I'd know it's the wrong knife (the slipjoint being the wrong knife, the titanium frame lock being the right knife). Will it be anywhere on the knife or receipt? I don't know what I'm looking for.

Also, how do I go about getting my knife to get serviced?

 

[Big Barn]

Technically - a 'slip joint' doesn't have any sort of lock. Just the tension of the back spring

 

[Tsujigiri]

The slip joint has two detent holes in the blade, the frame lock has one. I don't think the tang of the slip joint is sheared off at the end to meet the lockbar, either. Frame locks and liner locks sometimes don't engage properly if they've been disassembled and put back together improperly. Try taking it apart and putting it back together again to see if you can get it working. And if you don't have the proper Torx bits for it (the supplied one doesn't work), that's something you absolutely need if you're going to get into knives. I mean, you can ask around for jury rig fixes to whatever knife problems you have, but there's not that much you can do without the proper tools. If you get a cheaper set of Wiha's you'll be very glad you got them in the end.

 

[calvinw]

Not my video, but it explains the difference:

[video=youtube;GrE0wyXhKIQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrE0wyXhKIQ[/video]

 

[Doogoon]

K I definitely do not have the 42. As for the tork bit, I used the correct size that fit exactly, and no about of force could loosen it up. The damn thing is broken. I never took the knife apart in the slightest.

 

[Daywalker]

K I definitely do not have the 42. As for the tork bit, I used the correct size that fit exactly, and no about of force could loosen it up. The damn thing is broken. I never took the knife apart in the slightest.

Aloha Doogoon,

Would you be able to post pics? On your receipt it should have a designated number 42 on it IF you got the slipjoint. ALL of my designs designated with 42 are slipjoints, YET they still have the framelock cut out on the "lock side".

Try checking the blade's kick, the end of the blade that locks onto the frame. IF you slowly rotate it, you should see TWO large detents...that means it's a 42, if not, then ya got one that slipped past QC on a Monday or Friday afternoon.

At any rate, Boker USA will fix your issues with that one...tell them Chad said to do so...IF ya got the wrong knife that is.

Mahalo much and keep us posted please!

 

[Doogoon]

Aloha Doogoon,

Would you be able to post pics? On your receipt it should have a designated number 42 on it IF you got the slipjoint. ALL of my designs designated with 42 are slipjoints, YET they still have the framelock cut out on the "lock side".

Try checking the blade's kick, the end of the blade that locks onto the frame. IF you slowly rotate it, you should see TWO large detents...that means it's a 42, if not, then ya got one that slipped past QC on a Monday or Friday afternoon.

At any rate, Boker USA will fix your issues with that one...tell them Chad said to do so...IF ya got the wrong knife that is.

Mahalo much and keep us posted please!

There is no 42 at all on my receipt, no number 42 on the blade, no second detent hole and as you can see in the picture below, the lockbar wants to engage, but it does not. (it used to engage before it all jammed up) It is still very difficult to open up and requires both my hands and a fair amount of pulling.

Unfortunately I do not have any means of posting a higher quality photo.

Another problem I am facing is the fact that I have to mail it to Boker USA, and as a Canadian, I am looking at some larger shipping fees, as I already faced when receiving my knife. So I am hoping I can send it in a little later for when I get some more spare hobby money to pay for that comfortably. It is still really upsetting that I will end up spending nearly the same amount on this little knife as the amount I was saving to get the ZT 170. This set back is quite frustrating.

If you are actually Chad, it is certainly an honor to speak to you here. I really appreciate the design of the Subcom, it is my favourite design of a little knife.

 

[Daywalker]

There is no 42 at all on my receipt, no number 42 on the blade, no second detent hole and as you can see in the picture below, the lockbar wants to engage, but it does not. (it used to engage before it all jammed up) It is still very difficult to open up and requires both my hands and a fair amount of pulling.

Unfortunately I do not have any means of posting a higher quality photo.

Another problem I am facing is the fact that I have to mail it to Boker USA, and as a Canadian, I am looking at some larger shipping fees, as I already faced when receiving my knife. So I am hoping I can send it in a little later for when I get some more spare hobby money to pay for that comfortably. It is still really upsetting that I will end up spending nearly the same amount on this little knife as the amount I was saving to get the ZT 170. This set back is quite frustrating.

If you are actually Chad, it is certainly an honor to speak to you here. I really appreciate the design of the Subcom, it is my favourite design of a little knife.

Aloha Doogoon,

Weird...have you got some junk around the stop pin? It is not supposed to be so hard to open as you already know, have you tried loosening it at the pivot, "wobble' the blade around a bit, and then slowly re-tighten? The washers may be misaligned or something...

I appreciate your appreciation for the SubCom! My apologies for your getting one that was Sub par.

We'll get this SubCom Titan working for you so hang in there!

Mahalo and take care!

 

[Doogoon]

Aloha Doogoon,

Weird...have you got some junk around the stop pin? It is not supposed to be so hard to open as you already know, have you tried loosening it at the pivot, "wobble' the blade around a bit, and then slowly re-tighten? The washers may be misaligned or something...

I appreciate your appreciation for the SubCom! My apologies for your getting one that was Sub par.

We'll get this SubCom Titan working for you so hang in there!

Mahalo and take care!

Thanks!

It got all jammed up only about 10 minutes after I took it out of the box. When it came out of the box, it was functioning fine- easy to open and the lockbar engaged. But I noticed that the blade was so horribly off centre that it rubbed up against the side. I touched the pivot screw and it moved and I was able to turn it with my thumb. I used the little torque key that came in the box to tighten it up. I didn't tighten it very hard- only enough to get the blade to a satisfying distance away from the side. After being satisfied, I tried to open it and it wouldn't budge. It took a stronger friend of mine to pull it open with his hands. I tried to loosen the pivot screw with a number 8 torque screw in the shop, but there was no chance in hell that the screw was going to loosen up. I've been opening and closing it and it's loosened up to the point where I can pull it open myself (difficultly though) but the lockbar still does not engage.

I really want to ship this knife in to get fixed- I love it's design and I've been carrying it around for the simple novelty. I really love the damn thing. I just gotta get my hands on some of that cash first to pay for postage :/

Thanks for the concern about my problem! It really says something to me when a designer cares about their product. I hope you'll be happy to know that damn near everyone I've shown the knife to has also fallen in love with its design- I have 4 people and maybe a 5th that are interested in getting one of their own if I Boker fixes mine up! 4 of those 5 people aren't even knife people!

 

[Daywalker]

Thanks!

It got all jammed up only about 10 minutes after I took it out of the box. When it came out of the box, it was functioning fine- easy to open and the lockbar engaged. But I noticed that the blade was so horribly off centre that it rubbed up against the side. I touched the pivot screw and it moved and I was able to turn it with my thumb. I used the little torque key that came in the box to tighten it up. I didn't tighten it very hard- only enough to get the blade to a satisfying distance away from the side. After being satisfied, I tried to open it and it wouldn't budge. It took a stronger friend of mine to pull it open with his hands. I tried to loosen the pivot screw with a number 8 torque screw in the shop, but there was no chance in hell that the screw was going to loosen up. I've been opening and closing it and it's loosened up to the point where I can pull it open myself (difficultly though) but the lockbar still does not engage.

I really want to ship this knife in to get fixed- I love it's design and I've been carrying it around for the simple novelty. I really love the damn thing. I just gotta get my hands on some of that cash first to pay for postage :/

Thanks for the concern about my problem! It really says something to me when a designer cares about their product. I hope you'll be happy to know that damn near everyone I've shown the knife to has also fallen in love with its design- I have 4 people and maybe a 5th that are interested in getting one of their own if I Boker fixes mine up! 4 of those 5 people aren't even knife people!

Aloha again,

Okay, this has been bugging me for awhile now. How is it now you cannot even loosen it? The clipside of the pivot is shaped like a "D", so it should not move, and you should be able to loosen it, especially if you didn't tighten it too much. IF possible, try taking out the blade and the reassemble...

Pain in the butt, I know, but something just ain't right...

Keep us posted please and sorry if ya got a bad batch Titan...

 

[Doogoon]

Aloha again,

Okay, this has been bugging me for awhile now. How is it now you cannot even loosen it? The clipside of the pivot is shaped like a "D", so it should not move, and you should be able to loosen it, especially if you didn't tighten it too much. IF possible, try taking out the blade and the reassemble...

Pain in the butt, I know, but something just ain't right...

Keep us posted please and sorry if ya got a bad batch Titan...

Hi!

I used the key that came with the knife to tighten it.... I didn't want to slip and strip the screw so I didn't tighten it all that hard (If I even could with that little thing)

I seriously tried as hard as I could with a proper T8 Torque driver (without stripping it) and it is not coming loose. Some people on the forums believe it's spinning around in it's pivot, but it simply will not turn - at all. It's loosened up a little by the way (from use) but it's still impossible to open without pulling on it with both hands (because of this, the studs keep coming loose) and the lockbar still doesn't engage. I don't want to chance losing my warranty by taking the blade apart :/ By the way, I should be sending it in within the next week.

Thanks for all the concern! It's much appreciated. It's nothing against you or the design that this knife doesn't work the way it was intended

 

[Doogoon]

Hey Chad I'm trying to upload a video to give you a better picture as to what is going on with the knife. My laptop is recording really bad ones right now so I'm going to look for the video camera that my mom has lost somewhere in the house.