Lock rock or OCD??? ZT0550 ** Resolved**

H

Hawk99

Joined
Feb 17, 2014
Messages
11
Hi All,
Probably a noob question, but my research skills have not provided me an answer to whether or not I may have an issue with my ZT 0550.
I have had the 550 for a little while now (second owner, so broken in) and was checking for bladeplay after cleaning. Side to side is solid, and lock up is good at 45%. However, if I push the blade forward (closing direction) and backwards I can hear some clicking of the blade stops on the frame. Clearly there is some movement, but I cannot visually see the lock bar move at all.
When the blade locks up, the blade stops are snug and tight against the frame, it is only with considerable forward pressure that I can move it the fractions that I describe.
To further explain the tightness, I put a piece of paper in between the thumb studs (blade stops) and frame when opened, and it through the geometry off enough that the lock bar was tough to dissengage.
Anyway, my question is: Is this within tolerance? I never hear of anyone describe the same situation as mine. Not sure if I should be calling Kershaw just yet to discuss.
Any thoughts from this wise forum are greatly appreciated.
Cheers from the North,
Andrew
 
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I had the same problem and I used the pencil trick.
Coated the blade's lock area with pencil lead. It unlocks fine now.
 
I've experienced this with other knives. I wouldn't worry about it on a user knife until you can easily move the lock or you can hear it move with a slight wiggle. If the lock start to disengage as well then I'd worry about it.

If you're ocd about it or the knife was an expensive custom then that might be different.
 
Sounds like it might be the tiniest bit of lock rock. Then again, I have to ask. How hard are you pushing?
 
grownstar said:
Sounds like it might be the tiniest bit of lock rock. Then again, I have to ask. How hard are you pushing?
Click to expand...

Pushing quite hard. I thought it should be ROCK solid, as I have read in many threads, so I was quite aggressive. It's practically impossible to see it move, the lock or the stop pins, but you can hear it.
 
Probably the flexing of the lockbar, in it's thinnest spot. (The cut out) Not anything to worry about.
 
Hawk99 said:
Pushing quite hard. I thought it should be ROCK solid, as I have read in many threads, so I was quite aggressive. It's practically impossible to see it move, the lock or the stop pins, but you can hear it.
Click to expand...

Try cutting something with it (the blade). In all seriousness, there is no point in trying to force movement out of what we can only guess is a solidly locked knife. If you exert enough force on Titanium, yes it will bend. That is what it is designed to do (have some amount of bend and give to it). Titanium is much softer than steel. So when you cut, the blade moves in the opposite direction in which you are pushing. Sounds like what you are doing is much like trying to push a rope.
 
If you cannot see it then forget about it. I could see it on the what I am talking about. It is lock rock and I noticed it on some of the early mode 1st generation 0550.
It was not noticeable without pushing on the back of the blade with a little force. But adding bend to the lock bar did not fix it.
Out of the handful a couple of them had it. Though I doubt they could fail. The 0550 models that I have handled have a bit of a steeper tang and that is why this was happening. It was not true flat like the 0561 which I have probably handled 20 or more of. None of them had lock rock.

If it bothers you I would send it in. Or use the heck out of it and do not fear it. Add some sharpie to the lock face and enjoy.
Matt
 
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Thanks all for the advice.
Now for the happy ending: I took my 0550 (2nd gen) apart agian, just to clean things up a little, re-lube and reassemble. Now for some reason, with just a little finger pressure on the lock bar after lock up, all wiggle sound in any direction is completely gone. I swear I tried this earlier without any change to the issue. Anyway, its all good, and I won't be worrying about this again.
Thanks again, and I love this forum!!
Cheers,
Andrew
 
Happy to hear you got this straightened out! So what you're saying is after you deploy the blade, you just push a little more on the lock bar to make it contact the blade tang a little more?
 
grownstar said:
Happy to hear you got this straightened out! So what you're saying is after you deploy the blade, you just push a little more on the lock bar to make it contact the blade tang a little more?
Click to expand...

Yes. I open the knife in the usual fashion, then grip or push a little on the lock bar to further the engagement, and viola, rock solid.
I probably could take the knife apart and bend the lock bar over a little more to increase the lock pressure, but at this point I am happy that I can fix it with just a little pressure by hand.
Cheers,
 
The lock is meant to move over as it wears, If you bend it, it will have no more movement for wear and you will have up and down play. OP - if it opens, and locks, and doesn't fold up on you, do you really mind the clicking sound that much? You were trying to force a problem to develop.

What the hell is "lock rock"? I have been on BF a minute or 2 and I've never heard of it. It ain't where you snort crank off the blade or something is it?! I guess "lock rock" is the "blade play" of the new generation?
 
Glad to hear you fixed it.
It is always a good idea to just play with if for a while. These things often work themselves out. Have fun with your trusty tool!
 
AntDog said:
The lock is meant to move over as it wears, If you bend it, it will have no more movement for wear and you will have up and down play. OP - if it opens, and locks, and doesn't fold up on you, do you really mind the clicking sound that much? You were trying to force a problem to develop.

What the hell is "lock rock"? I have been on BF a minute or 2 and I've never heard of it. It ain't where you snort crank off the blade or something is it?! I guess "lock rock" is the "blade play" of the new generation?
Click to expand...


Hi AntDog. I think the term applies to the vertical movement of the blade due to the lockbar not making full engagement on the blade tang. I've always fixed something like this by giving the lockbar a little more bend. It doesn't take much bend to fix it. In doing this I found that it made the lock a little stiffer to disengage, and I like that, so now I usually do this automatically to any knife whose lockbar feels "soft". I've not noticed any accelerated wear from doing this though.
 
cutter17 said:
Hi AntDog. I think the term applies to the vertical movement of the blade due to the lockbar not making full engagement on the blade tang. I've always fixed something like this by giving the lockbar a little more bend. It doesn't take much bend to fix it. In doing this I found that it made the lock a little stiffer to disengage, and I like that, so now I usually do this automatically to any knife whose lockbar feels "soft". I've not noticed any accelerated wear from doing this though.
Click to expand...

'Sup cutter?! Thanks for the explanation. Good to know. I didn't know there was a term for that!

I've done that on a couple of knives, but it's really rare to see that these days. I'm with you on this too - I wouldn't push it over too far, so the lock can still account for wear over the years.
 
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