Knife bearing seals?

Joined
Aug 1, 2015
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Has anyone thought of putting rubber O-rings along the inside the liner/frame and over the bearings to keep out sand and other elements from gooing up the bearings on there knives?

I wonder if it would cause enough noticeable friction to not be worth there addition/application?

I think if the O-rings were of the correct size and not to thick and properly lubed this could actually work.... what do you think and why hasn't anyone done such a simple mod?

Clean bearings are happy bearings right?
 
I am not going to get into the friction issues that this would cause.
The O-ring would have to seal itself against the blade and the scale to keep anything out.......

If you have IKBS or KVT bearings this is not possible....

If you have caged bearings, this is already done as well as it can be.

What I would suggest is taking your knife apart and taking a look at how it works.
Also, maybe Google or YT what IKBS/KVT bearings look like vs caged bearings, and how bearings and tolerances work..
 
What you're suggesting would completely defeat the purpose of bearings.

Get a ZT0500 if you want something that can truly resist mud and sand.

I've yet to run into a dirty bearing pivot that a quick blow can't fix.
 
Nothing in nature is more dangerous than a seal with a knife!

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Speaking in general, and not in regards to any specific knife, I think it's an interesting idea. The advantage I would see of a seal is that it could keep lube in and dust/dirt out. This could be beneficial in dusty/dirty conditions where a fixed-blade is not possible. And some rubber is very slippery on it's own and doesn't require liquid lubrication to provide a low-friction pivot action.

Lube does a great job of collecting lint and dust. A rubber seal could prevent that. It would also make it possible to wash the folder without affecting the lubed pivot.

Not everyone needs a lightening-fast opening folder. For some people, keeping crap out of the pivot might be more important.

It's good to think out of the box. If no one ever did (and subjected their ideas to public ridicule) we would still be living in caves and our knives would be nothing but whatever sharp rock we happened to find.

I'll bet that there isn't a single innovation in the history of knife design that some people didn't say "We don't need that. Knives are fine just the way they are". I'm glad nobody listened to them. How boring would knives be if they did.
 
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Nothing in nature is more dangerous than a seal with a knife!

Beat me to it... :mad: shakes fist vigorously. Try as I might, I couldn't find any documentation of a seal wielding a knife.

To the OP, I think it's unnecessary.
 
Speaking in general, and not in regards to any specific knife, I think it's an interesting idea. The advantage I would see of a seal is that it could keep lube in and dust/dirt out. This could be beneficial in dusty/dirty conditions where a fixed-blade is not possible. And some rubber is very slippery on it's own and doesn't require liquid lubrication to provide a low-friction pivot action.

Lube does a great job of collecting lint and dust. A rubber seal could prevent that. It would also make it possible to wash the folder without affecting the lubed pivot.

Not everyone needs a lightening-fast opening folder. For some people, keeping crap out of the pivot might be more important.

It's good to think out of the box. If no one ever did (and subjected their ideas to public ridicule) we would still be living in caves and our knives would be nothing but whatever sharp rock we happened to find.

I'll bet that there isn't a single innovation in the history of knife design that some people didn't say "We don't need that. Knives are fine just the way they are". I'm glad nobody listened to them. How boring would knives be if they did.

MUDDVertical.jpg
 
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