KERSHAW VOLT SS. Difficult to unlock frame lock issue. RJ Martin design.

[Golden Gate Bridge]

I purchased a Kershaw Volt SS and have been handling it for a few days and opened and closed it at least a few hundred times or more. I'm having a difficult time releasing/unlocking the frame lock and want to know if other owners experience the same issue.

As a reference, I own the Ontario Rat 1, Spyderco Tenacious, SOG Flash 2, Kershaw Cryo 2, Thermite, Scrambler, Volt 2, all knives were between $25-40 delivered. My first impressions are negative and positive:

NEGATIVE.
1. It's difficult to release the frame lock to close the blade with one hand. When trying to release the frame lock, if holding the knife in your right hand palm up, the right thumb has a difficult time trying to release the frame lock. The frame lock is has no jimping on it, so it's slippery, and it is not raised much as compared to the opposite side, making it difficult to release in normal warm dry conditions, cold and wet conditions are going to make closing it more difficult. If you use your left thumb nail/tip to push down on the frame lock, it's easy to unlock, but that requires two hand closure and pressure on your thumb fingernail. The frame lock appears to be slightly higher than the non frame lock side, about 1/64", but it is not high enough. My lock release on my Kershaw Cryo 2, Kershaw Thermite, Kershaw Scrambler is raised about 1/32" higher than the non frame lock side with no jimping on it, which is not high enough. My Ontario Rat 1 is raised about 1/32" (not enough) Kershaw Crown is raised about 1/8"(easier), Spyderco Tenacious is raised the highest, about 1/4" (the best), with these 3 having jimping on them. These 3 are easiest to close one handed. The Spyderco is the easiest to close one handed and could probably be closed with gloves on. The bottom line is that the frame lock or liner lock on all knives should be raised about 1/4 of an inch or more and have jimping on it for easy closure, similar to the Spyderco Tenacious. I'm not a knife maker. It's Kershaws job to figure this out and build knives using this simple solution. This one simple fix would have been all this knife needed to make it perfect. I don't think I got a defective knife. I think this is the way they are manufactured. I'm going to contact Kershaw and get their opinion on it.

I contacted Kershaw explaining this, and their response was I can return the knife and get my money back. That's not the problem. The problem is the way the lock release is designed. The lock release is not raised enough to allow the user to unlock it with one hand.

 

[salehonasi]

A quick aside, that "gray powder" is a bead-blasted finish. To the point, if you really like the Volt SS, but the lock is giving you trouble, return it and get one of the FRN Volt IIs. I have one of those, and it's a liner lock with a little bit of clearance and jimping on the liner, so it's definitely easy to disengage.

 

[Golden Gate Bridge]

A quick aside, that "gray powder" is a bead-blasted finish. To the point, if you really like the Volt SS, but the lock is giving you trouble, return it and get one of the FRN Volt IIs. I have one of those, and it's a liner lock with a little bit of clearance and jimping on the liner, so it's definitely easy to disengage.

I own the Kershaw Volt 2 and I agree, it is much easier to close, but it is a liner lock where as the Volt SS is a frame lock. The Volt SS is a larger length blade.

The Volt SS says "RJ Martin Design" on it. Would a knife maker design this knife and allow this flaw or does Kershaw hire RJ Martin to design the knife then Kershaw puts his name on it and makes changes as they see fit?

 

[Rasco]

I own the Kershaw Volt 2 and I agree, it is much easier to close, but it is a liner lock where as the Volt SS is a frame lock. The Volt SS is a larger length blade.

The Volt SS says "RJ Martin Design" on it. Would a knife maker design this knife and allow this flaw or does Kershaw hire RJ Martin to design the knife then Kershaw puts his name on it and makes changes as they see fit?

What you're experiencing is not really a "design feature" per se, but more likely just a result of the manufacturing process and quality controls on a $30 knife.
RJ Martin has designed a knife or two for Zero Tolerance and they are some of ZT's most sought after knives, so the designer certainly isn't the problem with your Volt II.

 

[GCG199]

I bought one of these recently too.

I agree with it being rather slippery to unlock it: Are you sure that part of it isn't from opening and closing it so much that it has tired your thumb out? I might be a good idea to put it aside for a while and try it again later.

One other thing: If you changed the pocket clip to tip-up, the clip may be riding against the frame-lock. This is what happened when I changed the pocket clip around on the SS Zing.

 

[Misanthropia]

This isn't necessarily a design flaw, but a trade-off that some makers choose in lieu of having a very defined cutout to release the lockbar. By having them at equal heights, it helps to prevent accidental disengagement of the lock in use. Some like it, some don't.

 

[Golden Gate Bridge]

I bought one of these recently too.

I agree with it being rather slippery to unlock it: Are you sure that part of it isn't from opening and closing it so much that it has tired your thumb out? I might be a good idea to put it aside for a while and try it again later.

One other thing: If you changed the pocket clip to tip-up, the clip may be riding against the frame-lock. This is what happened when I changed the pocket clip around on the SS Zing.

I see what you are saying about the pocket clip resting on the frame lock. I removed the pocket clip and tried closing the knife and the same problem still exists, so that's not the problem. If you are holding the knife in the palm of the right hand and are trying to close it with the right thumb, you use the tissue that is between the tip of the thumb to mid thumbnail on the inside of the thumb. It's just difficult to do. There is not enough metal sticking up on the lock release to give your thumb a surface to push against, so you end up using the tip of the opposite thumb to unlock it. My Kershaw Rainbow Leek has the same problem. It's slippery to start with, then add the low frame lock release, and it's just difficult to close one handed, and that's with dry warm hands.

I understand what you mean by putting it away for a day or two and try again because you've irritated the tissue on the thumb trying to repeatedly close it.

 

[Golden Gate Bridge]

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[Golden Gate Bridge]

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[Golden Gate Bridge]

This isn't necessarily a design flaw, but a trade-off that some makers choose in lieu of having a very defined cutout to release the lockbar. By having them at equal heights, it helps to prevent accidental disengagement of the lock in use. Some like it, some don't.

I understand what you are saying that if the frame lock and the opposite side are very close in height, there is less of a chance of an accidental closure causing lacerations to the fingers while gripping the knife. My Spyderco Tenacious has a liner lock that is raised about 1/4 inch higher than the opposite side making it much easier to close and possibly even close with gloves on. It just seems like the blade lock release was not thoroughly thought out while designing and testing it.

 

[Golden Gate Bridge]

This isn't necessarily a design flaw, but a trade-off that some makers choose in lieu of having a very defined cutout to release the lockbar. By having them at equal heights, it helps to prevent accidental disengagement of the lock in use. Some like it, some don't.

Can you give me a few examples of knives with frame locks in the less than or around $30-40-50 range that have frame lock releases that are much higher than the opposite side?