Kershaw Mini Cylone AO question

S

SharpOne

Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
630
I noticed that when i activate the speedsafe system on the Mini cyclone, it is actually harder and takes more effort to open the knife than if i were to turn off the AO and manually use the flipper to open the knife. Anyone else notice this, or is this just my knife? I have oiled it, and i believe that the pivot screws are where they should be since opening the knife manually does not require a lot of pressure on the flipper.
 
I own this model,......and it's a nice size for pocket carry,.... and i've used it to open boxes at work. (before i got my ZT 0200's) Right now it sits in the glove compartment of my car.

I always thought this was one of the harder to flip open Kershaws,.......i can open it with the flipper but it takes a bit of grunting and hurts my finger a bit. I don't think your example is anything unusual,.........and compared to my Leek is a brute to open. Like yours mine opens easily as a manual folder,.......and i'm thinking the flipper might have been better positioned to increase the leverage and reduce the flipping effort.

I thought perhaps the smaller size of this folder might have contributed to the problem,.......but as the Leek is even smaller (and opens slick & easy),.... it's probably the linkage points could be improved upon.
 
Thanks, Joejeweler. I too have noticed that the Leek is extremely easy to flip open. Ball bearing on the liner lock to blame? My index finger is hurting from those flippings right now...
 
Is your MC new? All 4 of mine were a little "tight" at first, but after a while flipping whilst watching the boob tube, mine loosened up a bit and are now, IMHO, perfect. If not new, there's always Kershaw's excellent customer service!!
 
SPXTrader said:
Is your MC new? All 4 of mine were a little "tight" at first, but after a while flipping whilst watching the boob tube, mine loosened up a bit and are now, IMHO, perfect...
Click to expand...
Exactly. The new ones will smooth out with use...Mine has. Mine also opens VERY quickly, and locks open with a nice "click".
 
Maybe my mini cyclone would loosen up with use,......but i guess i've been spoiled now by the Spec Bump (AO) and ZT 0200 (Non-AO). These are perfect from the 1st flip! :)
 
I thought it would always be the case that an a/o knife would be harder to open INITIALLY because the spring or torsion bar has to be overcome in order to then expand and open the rest of the way? a/o springs all have to be compressed before they release, right, this is why they are not switchblades. I have the mini cyclone and JYD II, no contest the flipper on the JYD is easy to flip--but there's no spring.
 
Matt,.....the AO feature on the Spec Bump opens SCARY FAST! It has a tortion bar as a "spring", but the makeup of it's parts is such that it takes VERY little effort to overcome it.

Not so with my Mini Cyclone,.........but i may work on it to see if i can get what some here are saying is a decent flipper response.

MassMatt said:
I thought it would always be the case that an a/o knife would be harder to open INITIALLY because the spring or torsion bar has to be overcome in order to then expand and open the rest of the way? a/o springs all have to be compressed before they release, right, this is why they are not switchblades. I have the mini cyclone and JYD II, no contest the flipper on the JYD is easy to flip--but there's no spring.
Click to expand...
 
We have to be mindful on models that don't have a safety that lock it's blade in the closed position.

You will probably find that the "safetyless" models take a bit more to get started.
 
I think it has all been said here the blade is under a slight spring load when the assist is on.On my Mini-Cyclone with the AO off the blade lies perfectly centered in the handle when closed.Now when I open it turn on AO then close again the blade is off-center by about .015" to the right, just barley perceptible with the naked eye.Somehow Kershaw has designed the torsion spring to slightly load the blade closed so it doesn't open of its own volition.Very nice design here.I wonder who did design this?
 
ice-pic said:
I think it has all been said here the blade is under a slight spring load when the assist is on.On my Mini-Cyclone with the AO off the blade lies perfectly centered in the handle when closed.Now when I open it turn on AO then close again the blade is off-center by about .015" to the right, just barley perceptible with the naked eye.Somehow Kershaw has designed the torsion spring to slightly load the blade closed so it doesn't open of its own volition.Very nice design here.I wonder who did design this?
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I believe that the Speed-Safe is a Ken Onion design.
 
Makes sense,......although i must admit i carried my easily opened AO Spec Bump down the front of my pants(before i got the ZT 0200),......


..........safety OFF!:eek:

..........had to be ready to pull it out ready for action without fumbling for a safety. ;)

Thomas W said:
We have to be mindful on models that don't have a safety that lock it's blade in the closed position.

You will probably find that the "safetyless" models take a bit more to get started.
Click to expand...
 
Thomas, why doesnt the mini cyclone and other AO knives not have the tip safety lock like the leek? I found it easiest to open and have the knife "ready for action" if the knife is set up as tip-up, so that naturally the index finger goes to the flipper, while the ring finger can slide the safety lock from off to on.
 
Received my Mini-Cyclone this past Friday and as posted by others, it also takes more effort to open in the AO mode where the manual mode is much easier. As suggested, I will keep flipping while watching the tube in an effort to smooth it out. Otherwise, the knife is just the right size for EDC, very well made, extremely sharp and made in the USA. This is my 2nd Kershaw (JYD-1 is my first) and it certainly will not be my last.
 
It took me some time to get used to it - but for me - the trick seems to be - convert to tip up carry and only use the flipper plus there is no question they "wear in" nicely. I would question trying to force this - it just makes sense that if you're speed safeing the knife open several times a min. - you're exceeding anything the knife was designed to do as a tool . Even under these conditions the only thing that's gonna break is the torsion bar - a easily replaced part.
 
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