Inkosi Pivot?

M

Modernflame

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Jun 12, 2021
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I've had my Inkosi for two and a half years. It is my only CRK with this style of pivot. There is precisely one position and one position only at which the pivot will function correctly. At this position, there is side to side blade play when the lock bar is disengaged. Also, the blade is slightly off center favoring the show side. One micro turn tighter and the pivot is locked. It can't be opened, either with one or two hands. One micro turn looser and the blade rubs against the show side. Fortunately, the pivot tension does not wander in normal usage. There are no alternate positions for this pivot.

Is this normal?
 
No, it’s not normal. Do you keep the same washers on the same side of the knife? Have you checked the slabs for burrs or loctite? How about loosening the lanyard screws and seeing if that makes a difference? It sounds to me like if none of that makes a difference your washers are too thin causing it to get pinched. Though on any knife I’ve owned I can get the knife with zero play and not locked up, it’s just VERY minute turning.
 
Neither my Large nor Small Inkosi are that finicky with regards to pivot tension & centering.

I agree with checking for burrs, pinched washers, etc. Replacement Inkosi washers used to be available from CRK. Might be worth a try.
 
these are the only crk I own. so I can't compare to other models. my two came from the factory set up perfect. I haven't messed with them as I have no reason to yet.
 
Have you taken it down entirely and then reassembled? I had this problem years ago. While fiddling with it I noticed one of the washers was not staying in the right position with the stop pin. Unsure if this was causing all of the problems but everything corrected after I ensured the washer was correctly married up to the stop pin.
 
SuzukiGS750EZ said:
No, it’s not normal. Do you keep the same washers on the same side of the knife? Have you checked the slabs for burrs or loctite? How about loosening the lanyard screws and seeing if that makes a difference? It sounds to me like if none of that makes a difference your washers are too thin causing it to get pinched. Though on any knife I’ve owned I can get the knife with zero play and not locked up, it’s just VERY minute turning.
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+1 ;)
 
Thanks, fellas. I'll take it apart later and look closely. I've had the knife apart a number of times, so it's probably something I did. I don't recall exactly how it was out of the box except that it was extremely tight. It was a two hand opening knife until it broke in.
 
I own a red micarta large inkosi, a large 21 in splayed beech and ladder Damascus and I had but sold a large 21 CF knife art exclusive. What I love about the sebenza line is that the pivot tension is set via a bushing at the factory. I ended up taking my large 21 Damascus and taking the bushing to a 1500 grit stone and taking literally half a hair off of it. When my pivot was tensioned fully I would have some blade play. I was able to take out the play and keep the knife perfectly smooth. They must have missed it on QC but no big deal. It took me a few months to get the courage to do it. I wasn’t carrying it because I’m weird like that. Now I use it at work.
I like the inkosi but I feel like a lot of the genius of a CRK came from that pivot system. My inkosi is rock solid but a lot of people like the fine line between smooth pivot and no play which they could have achieved with the sebenza pivot system. I feel like the inkosi pivot is just like a lot of other production knives and not many people like fiddling with them.
 
I disassembled my Inkosi this afternoon. I polished the washers in hopes that this would reveal which parts of the washers are truly flat and which, if any, are not. As it turns out the washer on the show side is slightly out of flat. That has to be the problem, as there are no burrs on the scales or within the pivot mechanism. Do you guys think it would help to swap sides with the washers? Polishing them helped a little with the left to right blade play, but I'm still having issues.
 
Modernflame said:
I disassembled my Inkosi this afternoon. I polished the washers in hopes that this would reveal which parts of the washers are truly flat and which, if any, are not. As it turns out the washer on the show side is slightly out of flat. That has to be the problem, as there are no burrs on the scales or within the pivot mechanism. Do you guys think it would help to swap sides with the washers? Polishing them helped a little with the left to right blade play, but I'm still having issues.
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What about sending back for a spa treatment? I’m a firm believer in this as I’ve always had a better than expected results
 
Modernflame said:
I disassembled my Inkosi this afternoon. I polished the washers in hopes that this would reveal which parts of the washers are truly flat and which, if any, are not. As it turns out the washer on the show side is slightly out of flat. That has to be the problem, as there are no burrs on the scales or within the pivot mechanism. Do you guys think it would help to swap sides with the washers? Polishing them helped a little with the left to right blade play, but I'm still having issues.
Click to expand...
I have not polished CRK washers but did on my BM griptilians. It did help. If you feel comfortable in lapping them I say go for it. It’s got an adjustable pivot so taking some off the surface wouldn’t be as detrimental as in a sebenza. I say swap sides first. Run the washers a few passes over a high grit stone on both sides to knock off any edge burrs and put it back together. Are you using lubricant?
 
Yeah, I've been running 85 wt nano oil for the last couple of years but I just reapplied the reeve grease. I'll try swapping the washers.
 
That is not normal and sounds like a washer issue. You can call CRK and order spare washers.
 
I finally decided to send my Inkosi back to CRK for a spa day. I've struggled with the pivot and washers since the knife was new, but I was reticent to send it back because, well, I love the knife and didn't want to live without it for two months or whatever. My sebenzas will keep me company in its absence.

Just wanted to thank you guys for the input.

Cheers
 
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