How do you guys get your Emersons smoother?

BenLong1018

BenLong1018

Joined
Apr 12, 2012
Messages
1,668
I've had my Horseman for quite a while now and I cleaned up the black sludge that comes in the pivot from factory. It became much smoother after I cleaned it, but I want it to be smooth enough to flick out. I'm thinking about getting some phosphor bronze washers. What do you guys do to smooth out your Emersons?
 
Clean the gunk out, oil , and cycle it about 2,000 times it will be the smoothest knife you own.
 
Why do you want to flick it out? That's what the wave is for ;)

The more you open and close it, the better it will get. I've heard mixed things about PB washers in Emerson's. The nylatron ones he uses just keep getting better with age. I owned a 2004 CQC-8 without the wave and it was close to custom smooth.
 
It's all in the pivot. At least after its broken in. With my Mini Commander I just tighten it as far as I can with my thumbnail. Still solid with no side to side play and smooth with an easy flick too. It just takes fractions of a turn to get it in the right spot. Beware though, to much flicking it out may wear down the lock face eventually.
 
Good thing you posted this lol cause i was gonna do the same! Anywho i cleaned the gunk out of mine already and re oiled and lubed it with clipper oil and clipper grease (don't ask... i use my barber stuff on my knives works great) and whenever i have time i open the knife right before the lock engages and close it again. So doing this with two hand looks kinda like a scary sharp metal pacman thing going on...but the good thing is im not wearing down my lock face and my emerson is smooth enough to flick out with my thumb. (its a lil tough still) but much better than when i first got it this morning... (like trying to open a rusty door...) hope this helps!
 
I don't know much about that black sludge in there on the pivot. Should I clean that junk out of my Mimi Commander and re-lube it with Tuf-Glide (my usual folder oil/lube)?
 
Also balance the lock force with the detent force on the other side, I have set all my emersons so that I cant shake the blade out. More pressure from the detent then that is just going to make a smooth knife impossible. Good luck!
 
Emerson's by design are tough to flick out, which is mostly a combination of the detent and the thumb disc. However they will eventually reach a point of smoothness where a tiny bit of wrist flick will make them come out very nicely, aided by how smooth they are. Unless you get one with an unusually strong detent, in which it may flick open. Also, like someone said before, keep playing with the pivot. As it breaks in more, you can make microadjustments to the pivot without really affecting blade play/centering.
 
Never taken any of mine apart. I just spray/soak the pivot with WD-40 while working the blade, blow out with can of air, and wipe down good. But most of all, just use it. It will break-in in time.
 
After 500 or so opening and closings, I took mine apart and cleaned it out. Then I tried some white lithium grease between the washers and pivot. Not the spray but the tube kind that is in a gel form. Out of my 3 Emersons, the Horseman is now the smoothest. I used tuff glide on my 7 & 8 great stuff, but the Horseman now comes out with just the thumb flick.
The only thing is that the Horseman has a slight 'whistle' when it opens. Like a little bird. I'm actually growing rather fond of this.lol
Cheers
 
macknife12 said:
After 500 or so opening and closings, I took mine apart and cleaned it out. Then I tried some white lithium grease between the washers and pivot. Not the spray but the tube kind that is in a gel form. Out of my 3 Emersons, the Horseman is now the smoothest. I used tuff glide on my 7 & 8 great stuff, but the Horseman now comes out with just the thumb flick.
The only thing is that the Horseman has a slight 'whistle' when it opens. Like a little bird. I'm actually growing rather fond of this.lol
Cheers
Click to expand...

I think I'm gonna go get some lithium grease at the hardware store.
 
Check it out. It's also cheap, so if you don't like it then no big whup.
Main thing is the breaking in. You have to work that baby before and after the cleaning and lubing.
Also very clean. Sticks nicely to the applied areas.
This is what I love about Emersons. The breaking in gives you that true pride of ownership, like "this baby is mine!"
Enjoy.
Cheers
 
macknife12 said:
Check it out. It's also cheap, so if you don't like it then no big whup.
Main thing is the breaking in. You have to work that baby before and after the cleaning and lubing.
Also very clean. Sticks nicely to the applied areas.
This is what I love about Emersons. The breaking in gives you that true pride of ownership, like "this baby is mine!"
Enjoy.
Cheers
Click to expand...

I know I could never sell an Emerson after all the time that I have to spend on them haha it's so worth it though.
 
I polished the washers on my cqc 15 with 3000 grit wet abrasive paper. Then put nano oil on the pivot, washers, and on the face of the blade where the washers touch. I adjusted the pivot carefully and found the fine line between blade play and smooth action. I can easily thumb flick now. It's as smooth if not smoother than any other knife I own.
 
Jensen81 said:
I polished the washers on my cqc 15 with 3000 grit wet abrasive paper. Then put nano oil on the pivot, washers, and on the face of the blade where the washers touch. I adjusted the pivot carefully and found the fine line between blade play and smooth action. I can easily thumb flick now. It's as smooth if not smoother than any other knife I own.
Click to expand...

Polishing the washers.....not a bad idea at all I may try that.
 
I ended up cleaning all the black gunk out of mine and almost drowning it with Tuf-Glide. Much better now.
 
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