Lock stick Spyderco K2?

J

Jim malone

Joined
May 25, 2007
Messages
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I have a K2 in the mail right now. I've read a lot of posts about this knife and i am sure i'm going to like the knife. The only thing that bothers me is the possible lock sticking. I have a first generation Ti Military that has the same problem. Is the lock face of the RIL hardened or not? Why didn't they use a steel insert like spyderco did in the second generation of the Military? Does the lock stick disappear after some use?
And does the custom K2 also have this problem?
 
Galling is what is happening when you have a sticky lock. It happens because of the difference in hardness between steel and titanium and the friction that is caused when they are firmly met and then they slide. It is essentially the harder steel pulling the TI lock face apart. Though this is on a microscopic level and can take years for it to affect the lock. Can also take much shorter as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galling

To ease up the friction and smooth out the lock I suggest putting some Sharpie on the lock face or blade tang where they contact. Makes it as smooth as it should be and probably lessens the wear as well.
Pencil graphite is suggested as well for the same application but I've had much better success with the Sharpie or other permanent marker. You may have to reapply every so often.
 
Lock stick can usually be fixed with some EP/antiwear lubricant on the lock face.
 
My K2 has moderate lock stick that hasn't really gone away. I would not characterize it as a positive attribute, and will likely limit my Ti framelock purchases in the future to those that have a steel insert. The Ti Military transitioned from no insert to yes insert, and presumably there was a reason for it.
 
"I would not characterize it as a positive attribute,... "

I deleted my first reply before I posted it.
Any knife with lock-stick...from ANY origin...will be dumped. No exceptions. How ridiculous is it...to have to use a long-nosed pliers to pry the lockbar off of the tang in order to close the blade on a nice folder?
I've had lock-stick on some Leafstorms, several Gayle Bradleys, one ZT 0550, and certain Striders. It does not compute...I get rid of them...quickly.
It's not every knife of those models...just occasionally...so it's a conundrum...
...and pencil lead and black markers have not helped...in my trials.
 
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Sonnydaze said:
I've had lock-stick on some Leafstorms, several Gayle Bradleys, one ZT 0550, and certain Striders. It does not compute...I get rid of them...quickly.
Click to expand...
One of my gayle bradleys' had lock stick. Aside from taking it apart and back together, it took all of 2 minutes to remedy it. Just polish the two offending surfaces.
I used a small black Arkansas stone.
Crocus cloth will work too.
 
My K2 has lock stick that hasn't really improved since I got it back in October. I've tried the Sharpie trick, actual graphite grease, Break-Free CLP with Teflon in it, and trigger slick (Graphite grease) designed to self polish metal 1911 sears to smooth them without having to remove any metal. The issue still persists.

I contacted Faraid about this issue and he said I might want to consider bending the lock bar to relieve the tension. Sorry but for me that's not an option. I don't feel comfortable or qualified doing that, especially since I believe it would void my warranty in the process.

I contacted Spyderco and they did say they intentionally left the lock a bit harder to close due to the size of the blade and that I could send it in for evaluation and if deemed out of spec they might be able to do something about it.

Still on the fence about how I'm going to proceed if at all. I've gone this long so I may just decide to live with it.

Truly love the knife otherwise, it's pretty awesome and the actual blade is out of this world but closing it at this point is no fun at all.
 
powernoodle said:
My K2 has moderate lock stick that hasn't really gone away. I would not characterize it as a positive attribute, and will likely limit my Ti framelock purchases in the future to those that have a steel insert. The Ti Military transitioned from no insert to yes insert, and presumably there was a reason for it.
Click to expand...


Plenty of Ti framelocks have no lock stick. None of mine do. Give some others a try! The Techno, Slysz Bowie, and Outhard don't suffer from this, but those locks are all treated, which makes a difference.
 
I think a bigger issue for me isn't the lock stick (given that the knife was designed to start off with lock stick), but the complete lack of chamfering on the handle. The K2 is possibly one of the most uncomfortable knives I've handled. Granted, I wasn't a big fan of the Slysz Bowie, but at least that had come chamfering on the edges of the handle scales. For a knife as big and heavy-use as the K2 is designed to be, the discomfort involved with any kind of grip makes no sense.

It feels like a knife that exists just to exist. I can live with lock stick, I can live with a heavily-pretensioned lockbar, and I can live late lockups. Those all make sense for a hard use folder. What doesn't make sense is a hard-use folder that hurts the heck outta the hand that tries to use it hard.

I wasn't impressed with the the K2 after handling one.
 
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