Lockup - how late is too late?

M

MatthewSB

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Most of my Emerson knives lock up relatively early, like the lockbar barely engages fully with the base of the blade.

One of them normally locks up at 60% or so, but when opened forcefully it locks to 90%, I assume because the forceful opening causes the lock bar to flex a bit and scoot farther over. I'm betting that this isn't a problem, and that due to the angle of the cut at the base of the blade that engages the lock, it is exponentially harder for the lock to move farther over.

Is the base of the blade, where the lock engages, a flat angle or is it like a hollow grind?

At what point should I send the knife in to be inspected?
 
At that point I would send it in for a tune up and a fresh edge. If you live in the SoCal area you can drop it off and save in shipping.
 
It's a slight hollow grind. It's very shallow. Can you post pictures of what's happening?
 
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gooeytek said:
Pivot & body screws all tightened?
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I checked, and the pivot had loosened up. Got it tightened down so there is no side to side movement, and the lock is now perfect. I'm guessing that when I opened it harder, the blade was shifting to the side enough for the lock to move farther than normal.

Thanks!

EmersonREP said:
It's a slight hollow grind. It's very shallow. Can you post pictures of what's happening?
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Very interesting, I thought so :D
 
EmersonREP said:
Add some Blue Loctite next time ;)
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I did. I usually wait until after a knife is broken in, to give it a good cleaning, before loctiting the pivot.

Just curious, if a lock does wear to the point where it extends past the blade to the liner on the other side, do you have to replace the entire titanium frame piece? Also, do locks really wear out, through normal use, to that point or do they generally "break in" then stay that way for the life of the knife?
 
Well when I first got my Emerson I put a coat of Frog Lube on all the metal parts. I believe Forg Lube penetrates the metal, offering protection from the elements. Also worked the blade from fully closed to full open, about 200 times. Did not take long as I watch TV at night.

After this was done I put another coat of Frog Lube on the knife. Everything works great, knife is smoothe, and it locks up like a vice in the closed position, and very thing works to my satisfaction. I honestly am not saying there is ZERO side to side blade play, but it is tiny amount like most of my other folding knives. This is because there my I assume be some clearing to allow the blade to open and close.

If IMHO you want a folding knife with no blade movement when opened, I do not thing this is possible. But I could be wrong.

Like I have said before. I Love Frog Lube it is a great product, but any good gun lube like Tri-Flow should yield the same results.
 
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Your first question is classified info. :D
Enjooooooooooy your knife and don't worry. You are covered.
rolf
 
MatthewSB said:
I did. I usually wait until after a knife is broken in, to give it a good cleaning, before loctiting the pivot.

Just curious, if a lock does wear to the point where it extends past the blade to the liner on the other side, do you have to replace the entire titanium frame piece? Also, do locks really wear out, through normal use, to that point or do they generally "break in" then stay that way for the life of the knife?
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In my experience the liners do wear pretty fast if you wave the knife open a lot.
Waveless knifes and ones I have strictly used the thumbdisk for last as long as any other liner lock. Keep in mind titanium is softer then hardened steel, so the steel will wear it down.

Like Rolf said dont worry to much. Emerson has the best warranty in the biz, and when this one needs to be sent in it gives you all the more reason to grab another
 
I never locktite my Emerson pivots, I usually use the built-in thumbnail torquewrench on them, which is why I liked the older style thin slot pivot screws.
 
All of my Emersons have settled in, with zero bladeplay. Just have to check your screws if you notice any. I hate bladeplay of any sort.
 
The wider-slotted pivots were designed with the thought of being able to use a coin. Although I like the look of the thinner slot better, I can appreciate the forward thinking involved.

Officer's Match said:
I never locktite my Emerson pivots, I usually use the built-in thumbnail torquewrench on them, which is why I liked the older style thin slot pivot screws.
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gooeytek said:
The wider-slotted pivots were designed with the thought of being able to use a coin. Although I like the look of the thinner slot better, I can appreciate the forward thinking involved.
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And that does in fact work well too; I often use a 45acp rim on the new wideslots.
 
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