Liner lock question after cleaning

J

jaceh14

Joined
Jun 19, 2013
Messages
14
I just tore apart my Commander to clean it for the first time. Before the cleaning, the lock up was solid and the blade was for the most part centered. Now, after cleaning, living, and putting back together, the blade rides towards the lock side, and the liner lock has a very small resistance when disengaging. I'm not to worried about the centering since the blade doesn't drag the liner when opening, but I am a little worried about the lockup now.

I've tried taking it apart and putting it back together a few more times, but still get the same results. I'm wondering what I did to cause these two issues. Should I be worried about the lockup? This was my favorite Emerson because it was so rock solid, but now I'm having doubts.
 
Sounds like you overextended the liner and lessened the tension on the lock. Take it back apart and bend it further over so it engages with more force and that should help. Just don't go too far to where it starts to stick
 
Bending the lockbar is risky business, and should be reserved as a last resort in my opinion. Are you sure the barrel of the pivot was replaced in the same side it was before disassembly? That can make a difference.
Try loosening all the screws, then push the closed blade up against the liner opposite the lock, holding it there while you tighten them back down.

Bending the lockbar can seriously screw up your knife. If you go that route, be very careful and go slowly.
 
The pivot barrel is flat on one side, so there's only one way of putting it back in. Unless I'm not thinking of the right part.

I've torn apart and put it back together a few times, but did the paper wedge thing to try to center the blade. I wedged it in between the lock bar and the blade to push the blade to the right. Maybe this is the cause of the issue?
 
I doubt you bent the lockbar with the paper wedge. Since you did it with the knife assembled the lock bar wouldn't have been able to bend past the inside of the scale, which it's designed to handle without issue.

It's possible to put the pivot barrel in from the left or right side of the knife, but it's unlikely you reversed it.

I've had better luck pushing the blade with my hand rather than using a wedge. You can push it a little further if you open the knife slightly while doing it. Just be careful not to slip!

There are a few more tricks in this thread:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1104684-I-cant-center-my-emerson-(

Good luck getting it back to normal! Let us know how it goes.
 
Does the centering have anything to do with my locking liner being able to disengage so easily? I've tried tearing apart again and trying those ideas (minus the bending of the liner lock), and the lock still disengages too easily from what it seems to me. My washers are the same size, and I even tried switching them to no avail. Anyone have any other ideas? I may just try calling CS on Monday about it. Thanks for the help everyone
 
Rules of thumb for myself:

Use a clean white terry cloth towel as a surface to work over for disassembly.

Note location and spot of each screw in the assembly of the folding knife

1)Consider each screw as 'location specific'
2) Take each part out noting which part of the pins if any where both ends are identical, are facing you. Dot the facing same end parts to note which piece should face you on the install. This insures that each part is not just placed back where it was but the same way that it was placed.
3)Always note location of washers if any, and especially when different outside diameter washers are used on either side.
4)note which washer was on which side
5)assemble knife in the same way putting each part back where it was originally and in the same way it was installed originally. Ideally even the pocket clip screws should be placed right back in the same holes they came out of after being installed in the factory! This is the proper way.

Issues such as you describe most often occur from one or more of the above. Many think it won't matter but often for even the smallest reasons it does. A few microns in a folder can make a diff. My guess is you mixed things up and probably have some screws tighter than they were. If spacing is off slightly front to rear where its a wedge of sorts you can get a squeeze effect going. I'd try loosening some of the rear spacer screws while adjusting the pivot and see what that does as the blade center changes. Its likely a happy medium that was reached between the two. Find it and loctite them down right there.
 
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