How to you soften the lock on the Nirvana

[MyLegsAreOk]

Topic. It hurts my dang thumb trying to unlock it sometimes to close the blade. I have stclaire oil on both the end of the bar and the back of the blade yet it still sticks very hard. Do I have to polish something titanium side because the blade side already is? Maybe apply a thick grease? My other spydies in all kinds of locks and steels would be well broken in by this point.

 

[MaxFactor]

Never oil the lock surface. That will only cause the lock-up to engage further; potentially causing it to stick more. Or conversely, it could make the lock-up more prone to slipping.

Additionally, I'd advise that you don't attempt to alter the lock bar on the Nirvana due to the integral construction. If you were to try and bend the lock-bar to alleviate some of the tension you'd run the risk of ruining the entire knife.

At any rate, my Nirvana's lock bar was always very stiff. It's a common complaint. The best thing you can do it clean off any oil you put on the lock surfaces. Disassemble the knife. Use q-tips and alcohol to thoroughly clean the lock surfaces (both the tang and the lockbar). Again, NEVER put oil on the lock surfaces. When you think all the oil has been cleaned off, clean it again. Once the surfaces are free of oil, take a Sharpie and carefully draw a layer of ink onto the lock surface of the lock bar. Alternatively, you can use a pencil (graphite) on the lock surfaces but I've had better luck with Sharpie.

 

[MyLegsAreOk]

I did just that. It worked! I just scribbled with a pencil on the surfaces and removed all the oil. I know titanium directly against iron isn't ideal so this graphite surface is brilliant. Thanks.

 

[Barman1]

I did just that. It worked! I just scribbled with a pencil on the surfaces and removed all the oil. I know titanium directly against iron isn't ideal so this graphite surface is brilliant. Thanks.

The graphite will wear off quickly but repeated applications will wear the lock face into a more manageable release.
Just keep at it, it will get easier.

 

[Riz!]

After the graphite wears off, color the face of the tang with a black sharpie marker. Let it dry and it acts as a dry film lubricant. It works for a sognifcantly longer period of time compared to pencil. Eventually the tang and lock interface will wear and the stick will go away

 

[MyLegsAreOk]

Well I'll do that next time it wears off. I re-applied pencil many many times now. Are you certain that steel and titanium can wear against each-other to create good surface? Titanium is so much softer, and all my other knives do indeed develop a polished region where the liners touch the blade, but that's 400 grade steel against the steel alloy.

 

[Riz!]

Yes. I have a southern grind bad monkey that has a titanium liner lock and it stuck bad. I used the sharpie trick which remedied the stickiness and the time between applications grew and grew until it wasnt needed anymore

 

[MyLegsAreOk]

I couldn't get the sharpie to apply right and was a PAIN to get out of the bead blasting crevices where I made an oops. I'd say if I EDC'd it often the graphite would be the best as I would only use it once or twice a day which is about how long the graphite lasts, but it's very easy to apply.

Sadly, I am putting the Nirvana up for sale. The lock in no way is good enough for a 4~700 buck knife, it cuts poorly because of the grind, the bead blasting needs oiling and it's a pain, you can barely do tricks with it because of the open balance, and nobody gives me comments on it despite it being double the price of all my other EDC blades. So not only do I not see a reason to keep it no one else cares either.

 

[Lapedog]

I couldn't get the sharpie to apply right and was a PAIN to get out of the bead blasting crevices where I made an oops. I'd say if I EDC'd it often the graphite would be the best as I would only use it once or twice a day which is about how long the graphite lasts, but it's very easy to apply.

Sadly, I am putting the Nirvana up for sale. The lock in no way is good enough for a 4~700 buck knife, it cuts poorly because of the grind, the bead blasting needs oiling and it's a pain, you can barely do tricks with it because of the open balance, and nobody gives me comments on it despite it being double the price of all my other EDC blades. So not only do I not see a reason to keep it no one else cares either.

If the knife is over oiled and oil is getting on the lockface it will cause substantial kciiffjy

 

[Riz!]

You just reminded me. I used a razor and trimmed the felt tip of the sharpie so it fit in the scales without drawing on the them

 

[marcus52AR]

I couldn't get the sharpie to apply right and was a PAIN to get out of the bead blasting crevices where I made an oops. I'd say if I EDC'd it often the graphite would be the best as I would only use it once or twice a day which is about how long the graphite lasts, but it's very easy to apply.

Sadly, I am putting the Nirvana up for sale. The lock in no way is good enough for a 4~700 buck knife, it cuts poorly because of the grind, the bead blasting needs oiling and it's a pain, you can barely do tricks with it because of the open balance, and nobody gives me comments on it despite it being double the price of all my other EDC blades. So not only do I not see a reason to keep it no one else cares either.

Send it to Josh at RE.. it will come back a different knife.