How long does it take to break in a 0560?

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Jul 5, 2012
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I bought this new and I've had it for a month and I play with it every day till my fingers get sore. I have actually developed calluses on the tips of my fingers from having to pry open the damn lock so many times. The pivot still squeaks and the lock still sticks. :mad:

Every thread I read says that it will break in but it has barely improved since I got it. Right now the most annoying thing is the stupid squeaking noise it makes when I open and close it, I payed way too much for a squeaky knife. Also it feels a little gritty, not super smooth, so I am going to oil it and see if that helps.

Did most people have to wait more than a month for the squeaking to go away? It really ruins the knife for me

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Bonus knife porn
 
Never had a problem with squeaking or lock bar. Maybe loosen the lock bar stabilizer and the pivot screw a touch?? If you don't mind modding it, removing a little of the scale by the lock bar release makes it easier to unlock. I'm sure people smarter than me will chime in soon.
 
Just don't put any oil on the lock-bar, that'll just make it worse. Have you tried the Sharpie trick?
 
Mine took a week or two. Didn't take a whole month. No singing now.. the Ti has also worn in very snug to the tang. Rock solid every flip, extremely smooth.
 
Thanks for the replies! I have tried the sharpie trick but it wears off so fast that it isn't worth the trouble, even if I put 3-4 layers on. I've found that loosening the pivot screw helps the lock issue but the pivot has to be so loose that I get some horizontal blade play and the action turns sloppy. I always try to clean off any dirt or grease I see, but it doesn't do much.

I don't want to have to send it in to be fixed, because I'm sure they will just say "wait for it to break in" and also I don't want to part with my knife for however long it takes. I think I might just take some sandpaper to the lock bar but I think it won't turn out well.

Right now I still need to use a tool to open the knife sometimes if I keep the pivot properly tightened.
 
I'm not actually going to do that, I'm just so frustrated by this knife that sometimes I want to. It has so much potential to be my favorite knife
 
Alright, so I have a 0560 that's pretty close to the same serial you have. I tore it down, wiped everything down as clean as I could get it (no detergents used, greased the bearings with Ultra Lube white lithium grease that I bought at Home Depot and reassembled it. then used a pencil instead of the sharpie and it is perfect now. Oh, btw, I like using teflon tape on pivots since I got my Striders and it works so much better than loctite because there's no chance it'll leak and potentially ruin the action you are trying to smooth out in the first place.

I got the idea of tearing it down from reading or watching something/someone that said that there was a gritty sound coming from the pivot and after they cleaned it out it worked great. The knife has been fantastic since I did that and I hope it helps.
 
I have never had a problem with mine,she works like magic,just touch the flipper and the little girl is open.:thumbup:
 
Mine was very sticky when I first got it and I mean very tough to disengage the lockbar. But it broke in eventually. I went from tool to disengage it to two hands to finally one hand.

I think it took a little more than a month to break in for me; maybe longer?. At most I would think 2.5 months and that is an exaggeration. Now it is perfect. The lock now sits in nice and snug with zero stick.

I did not take it apart but I did use a pencil/graphite to help a bit. Just give it some more time and it will break in. Patience :)
 
worst case call up Kai. I'm sure their CS would love to help you out. If this persists, I'm sure it could be considered as fault in workmanship.
 
Use the sharpie and continue to flip it! Mine did take almost a month to break in... keepin the bearings lightly lubed may help. I rum mine dry but may put a bit of light gun oil in.
 
Treat the lockfaces with a lot of sharpie and allow it to dry without the edges touching each other - kind of half open. Continue with the hard open/close cycles. Re-apply sharpie when it wears off. Eventually, it'll get fixed. Beefy titanium framelocks are the culprit.

I've had similar issues to varying degrees of stickiness on DPx Gear HEST/F T3, ZT 0550 and ZT 0550CBCF. The first two needed tools to un-stick them. The DPx one took over 500 cycles and several weeks. Strong right thumb was sore and raw. Learnt lesson and used a band-aid the next time.

Here's a helpful video: What Is A Carbidized Lockface?
 
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I don't know how long out will take, but I'll let you know when my CBCF arrives :p
 
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I had some of the squeaky issues with one of my tilts after I started using it. I had not previously taken it apart, but doing so, wiping off everything, putting some lube on the bearings and pivot area fixed it right up for me.

I found that if I flipped over the bearings, the noise was much less evident. Just try cleaning and wiping everything down and see if it persists
 
I've had mine for at least three months frequently flipping it. The detente was rather weak on mine which made flipping it a bit of a challenge but the sharpie trick worked on the sticky frame lock. I also found that the pocket clip wouldn't mount tip up on the scale side and Kai suggested sending it back rather than just using longer screws, so I sent it back listing all of the issues at the same time that I sent a red stonewashed Skyline back because it couldn't be centered. Got the 561 back and the detente works much better, the clip is mounted, but the frame lock still requires the Sharpie thing to work correctly. It's possible it always will.

BTW, the Skyline still doesn't center. I'm not sure that they did anything with it, but it looks like both blades were resharpened.
 
A knife breaks in over time, with use. I don't understand why people try and rush the process. It's like getting new tires on your car and complaining that there is too much traction and tread, waiting for them to get bald. :confused:
 
Dry Teflon lube will fix your squeak. It works great and doesn't make your lock stick either. The product I use is made for bike chains.
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Dry Teflon lube will fix your squeak. It works great and doesn't make your lock stick either. The product I use is made for bike chains.
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Similar to the Remington Rem-DriLube which is also a dry Teflon-based lubricant.

RemDriLube-prod.ashx
 
Thanks for all of the fast replies! I am going to try breaking the knife down, cleaning the whole thing and adding a touch of gun lube. I'll be persistent with the flipping, and if it doesn't wear down in a few more weeks it is heading to Kai. The pivot gets loose on it's own too, so I'll add some teflon to fix it up. I'm a little disappointed in the knife right now, but I keep hearing great things about it so I won't give up on it just yet


I don't know how long out will take, but I'll let you know when my CBCF arrives :p
You are just making me jealous right now and it isn't helping :P

A knife breaks in over time, with use. I don't understand why people try and rush the process. It's like getting new tires on your car and complaining that there is too much traction and tread, waiting for them to get bald. :confused:
I feel like it shouldn't take more than a month of breaking in a knife just so I can carry it without worrying if I will be able to close it or not.
 
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