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

cutter17 said:
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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Just needed a clarification.

In your earlier post, you said nylon will "deform".
In the materials science world, "tear" is not the same as "deform".

"Tearing" is physically causing the the molecules to separate, see "cutting".
"deform" is to bend and take a permanent set.

Like I said in my earlier post, Nylon will tear, but not deform at room temp.
 
When I said deform, the definition you gave is what I meant. what had started out as round washers that were probably .020" thick came out torn in 2 places, and permnantly flatter than they started out. This only happened on one washer, as the other was not torn, just flattened and no longer round.
 
I'll have to think about that one.
The glass transition temperature (Tg) for the form of Nylon with the lowest Tg I have found is 118F.
By definition, it can't take a permanent set at a temp below that.
One has to wonder if incorrect material got into that particular knife, since many polymers look quite similar.
But I'll dig some more and see if I can find more info.

By chance do you remember the brand and model that had the failure?
 
I went to look for it but could not find it. I must have given it away. Anyway it was a CRKT, the Carson designed 16 series, the large tanto. I'm almost certain they were nylon, of course this is a step down from my earlier post where I said they were "definately nylon". I now have that little seed of doubt beginning to take root..............
 
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.
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No luck finding them at HD. Even had a guy that worked there
help look. He had never heard of them.

I guess he's not a knife knut or he would have picked up on that. ;)


Now back on topic,........I have no problems with the washers in
my Zings. They have a smooth action and flip open like a rocket.
Unless I have problems latter on, they'll stay there. On the other
hand, if someone changes there's out to PB and it makes much of
a difference,(for better or worse) I'd like to hear about it.
 
wwells20 said:
I replaced my Zing's washers to PB and it works fine.
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Just seen your post. Did it make your Zing any smoother and or
faster when flipping open, or do you just prefer the PB's over nylon?

I'm all for smoother and faster, so if you can honestly tell me it made
a big difference, I'll be ordering some PB.
 
svrider3 said:
Just seen your post. Did it make your Zing any smoother and or
faster when flipping open, or do you just prefer the PB's over nylon?

I'm all for smoother and faster, so if you can honestly tell me it made
a big difference, I'll be ordering some PB.
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The knife felt somewhat smother. but the real difference I saw was when the blade was closed, it was tighter. ie: it took much more pressure to move the blade side to side. The knife still flipped open nicely. Note that the PB washers were larger outside dia. and the washer on the non-lock side was larger in outside dia. than the lock side. These were washers that had come from another knife but I could measure them if anyone wants exact sizes.
 
Mcusta use Teflon washers in their Damascus bladed folders - and advertises it as a plus, smoothness wise. Anything wrong with Teflon? Where would you find it as a washer/bearing material?

Stainz
 
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