Is this anything to worry about?

C

crk1984

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Nov 19, 2023
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A knife ive been carrying for several years was getting to be pretty bad action wise, so i decided to finally clean it. I took it apart and saw tracks on the liners and blade. Is this something i should be concerned about, or is it normal wear? Thanks!
 
Although wear tracks are normal, those look unusually deep to me. I checked my most used knife with a ball detent (carried and used for years, opened and closed many thousands of times, and with no lubricant), and although it has a detent wear track, I cannot catch my thumbnail on it when I drag it across the track. The track on my knife is only in the surface finish of the blade.

What knife is it?

I would check the ball detent for a burr, and if I found one I would polish it away.

I don't think such wear is going to render your knife useless any time soon. I'm assuming the knife has pivot bearings, and that it's the bearings causing the wear groove around the pivot hole. The only thing I think might be an issue is if that wear goes deep enough to either cause side-to-side blade play, or that it becomes so deep that the bearing cage starts binding.

If you're not using lubricant, I would recommend you start.
 
killgar said:
Although wear tracks are normal, those look unusually deep to me. I checked my most used knife with a ball detent (carried and used for years, opened and closed many thousands of times, and with no lubricant), and although it has a detent wear track, I cannot catch my thumbnail on it when I drag it across the track. The track on my knife is only in the surface finish of the blade.

What knife is it?

I would check the ball detent for a burr, and if I found one I would polish it away.

I don't think such wear is going to render your knife useless any time soon. I'm assuming the knife has pivot bearings, and that it's the bearings causing the wear groove around the pivot hole. The only thing I think might be an issue is if that wear goes deep enough to either cause side-to-side blade play, or that it becomes so deep that the bearing cage starts binding.

If you're not using lubricant, I would recommend you start.
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First, thank you so much for the response. Its an extremely expensive (to me) greg lightfoot custom pit boss. Thats why i was concerned. Ive owned it for several years, and was adding kpl through the space betwen blade and liner, but apparently that didnt help. I noticed it eventually began flipping poorly and was becoming difficult to center, so i took it apart to clean lube and adjust. Once i got it apart i saw this damage. I also saw it had some bottom of the barrel bearings in it, so i put some skiffs i had around in it. After reassembly it does flip much better, but still cant center it (its got a terrible pivot design in my amature opinion) as i like, sadly, but its doable) ive gotten several years of good service out of it, so i shouldnt be so upset, but i paid almost 2k dollars for it new 😞. I will say, im glad i did this, as i was considering selling it. I couldnt sell a knife in this condition in good conscience.
 
If I were you I would send the first two photos you posted to Mr. Lightfoot, explain the issues you're having with the knife, and see what he has to say. Unfortunately there isn't much he could actually do, except make a new blade and liners. And I have no idea how inclined he would be to do that.

In my opinion, a knife that costs almost $2K should provide you, then your child, and then your grandchild all with a lifetime of reliable service. But that's just my opinion.
 
killgar said:
If I were you I would send the first two photos you posted to Mr. Lightfoot, explain the issues you're having with the knife, and see what he has to say. Unfortunately there isn't much he could actually do, except make a new blade and liners. And I have no idea how inclined he would be to do that.

In my opinion, a knife that costs almost $2K should provide you, then your child, and then your grandchild all with a lifetime of reliable service. But that's just my opinion.
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Thank you. I will do just that. My aesthetic likes have changed since i bought this (im into much simpler designs now) but i was really expecting this to be a "lifetime" purchase from a quality standpoint.
 
A little dab of grease would have gone a long way to prevent that.
 
Is this anything to worry about?
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Yes it is. At least I would worry.
The first image (the blade) looks like the combination of poor machining in factory and deformation made by bearing balls.
The pivot hole also looks (at least in your photo) somehow deformed. This sort of deformation/wear should not happen on hard blade material.

The second photo (liner with lock) does not show the same deformation. This groove near the pivot hole .... I have no idea what could make this kind of wear.

I'm not familiar with those knives but I'm looking at this wear on the blade and it looks to me as the blade is soft.
In any case; bearing balls and bearing cages or anything else in there should not cause such damage to hardened steel.
Definitely there is something very wrong.
 
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Check with the maker. If he won't help you, consider adding Taco bearings. I have not used this product, but they come with race washers (i.e., thinner bearing with a hardened steel washer). Seems like a reasonable alternative solution to try.
 
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