I love the Zing!.. But why nylon washers?

nevermind35

nevermind35

Joined
Aug 14, 2009
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Hey guys I have a couple things on my mind id like to share. First off I dealt with Dave (Kershawguy) today at a local gun show and I am very impressed with both his knowledge of Kershaw knives and his customer service... A grade! Second I was giving my orange zing a once over the other day and noticed that it has nylon washers. Dont get me wrong it still opens very smoothly and has no noticable play but its been bothering me the last few days. I notice all of the other US made kershaws that I have looked at since have the bronze phosfur(sp?) washers. Thomas, maybe you could fill me in on why the decision was made? By the way I love the knife it fits my hand perfectly! Keep up the excellent work.:thumbup:
 
I don't know?

Probably because nylon and some other synthetics are a less expensive material with lower coefficient of friction than phosphor bronze.
 
I felt the same way I only wanted bronze washers in my knives until a friend who was making knives for me asked me to test nylon washers in one of my designs. after opening and closeing the knife 350,000 tines and having it still tight and smooth I have switched to nylon
 
I replaced my Zing's washers to PB and it works fine. But, I have always felt that a knife designed with nice tight tolorences can use nylon washers and be just as strong as PB. I do however, feel there is a big differences in "nylon" washers. (for clarity, I'm not talking about the black/dark nylatron(sp?) washers) I suppose nylon washers can be manufactured as good or cheaply as the intended customer specs the product.
 
I was under the impression that most nylon washer actually are nylatron?
Is Nylatron the same or better than plain nylon?
What is actually used?
 
In my Zing, plain white and what I presume to be nylon washers are used. From what I have seen, nyatron washers are tougher, meaning they don't flex/bend as easily as the plain white nylon washers. They seem to fall in the middle of nylon and PB washers. I like the nyatrons a lot, i just don't have many laying around to use. (I don't claim to know eveything about knives, just what I've expirenced on my work bench) *nyatrons are used in the Vapor from Kershaw.
 
Can PB washers be picked up at Home Depot or Lowe's or do you have to order them from a specialty store? I would like to replace the washers in my Groove with PB.
 
Flashpoint said:
Can PB washers be picked up at Home Depot or Lowe's or do you have to order them from a specialty store? I would like to replace the washers in my Groove with PB.
Click to expand...

I'm going to HD today, I'll check and see if I can find any.

I doubt they carry them but I'll check anyway.
 
Id also really like to get my hands on some pb washers to use in a few of my knives. Anyone fill us in on where to get them?
 
To my knowledge, the Zing is the only Kershaw knife I have seen with white nylon washers, but I have not handled all the models. If ordering new PB washers, measure the inside dia. and outside dia. and thickness for proper replacement.
 
Nylatron washers are stiffer than the nylon. Nothing wrong with nylon as they will compress a bit and that would keep the the blade tight. My only problem with nylon is that I keep a really tight pivot and the nylon can actually deform and tear over a period of time. But if you are a normal person, and not anal as I am, then nylon will work just fine. Btw, nylon is smoother than pb.

I've always used www.knifekits.com for all my pb needs.


....and now I see that svrider3 also uses them.
 
cutter17 said:
Nylatron washers are stiffer than the nylon. Nothing wrong with nylon as they will compress a bit and that would keep the the blade tight. My only problem with nylon is that I keep a really tight pivot and the nylon can actually deform and tear over a period of time. But if you are a normal person, and not anal as I am, then nylon will work just fine. Btw, nylon is smoother than pb.

I've always used www.knifekits.com for all my pb needs.


....and now I see that svrider3 also uses them.
Click to expand...

You personally have had nylon deform? How certain are you that it was actually Nylon and not another plastic?

Tear? Yes. Nylon can be cut or torn at room temp.
Deform and take a permanent set? Not a happening thing for Nylon at temperatures under 118°F



A. G. Russell said:
I felt the same way I only wanted bronze washers in my knives until a friend who was making knives for me asked me to test nylon washers in one of my designs. after opening and closeing the knife 350,000 tines and having it still tight and smooth I have switched to nylon
Click to expand...

There's the man with data and not a theory!
I believe data. Theories? not so much
 
They were definately nylon, and they definately tore, and this is definately not a theory. But as I said I had a very tight pivot, tighter than normal because the detent ball was gone and the tight pivot kept the blade from opening unless I wanted it open. After a few days the pivot began to feel funny when opening the blade, as it would be easy then hard. Took it apart and found I had a torn pivot. I have since retired said knife to the darkest corners of my knife drawer.
 
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