Lockup problem with Zaan

Mick_1KRR said:
Honestly, the ceramic ball is the only thing that's ever kept me away from the Zaan. I think it's one of the best looking folders i've ever seen, but i stick with my large 21's, as innovative and nice as the ceramic ball lock face is, it simply doesn't have the contact surface are of the 21's normal lock bar. Don't feel like i could trust it as much as i do the standard lockup. Such a nice knife tho.
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This video is hard to watch because it's in Russian, but it should put your skepticism to rest.

https://youtu.be/iI5k2J73LAs
 
New o-rings arrived and while it is slightly improved, I can still get the lock to fail if I open it very softly. Looks like a mothership trip. :grumpy:

On the plus side, I did order a ti-lock and it's awesome!
 
Just got off the phone with Kayla at CRK. I explained the issue and then she put me on hold for a few minutes, presumably to talk to someone about it. I'm a bit befuddled by the response. First, she said not to operate the knife without the o-rings as this can cause the blade to crack at the stop pin/ thumbstud area. She then told me that I just needed to make sure that I opened the blade hard enough to fully engage the lock. When I expressed concern that I have to make sure I open the blade hard enough she said that they don't view this as a problem and restated that I just need to make sure the lock is fully engaged.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Can anyone else get their zaan to do this?
 
Hi Bilbo, I'm finally getting around to posting some pics. As per prior, I'm using #60 Buna-n (nitrile) O-rings from a hardware store.

I kept my thumb in contact with the pins the whole way out for the pics (not a thumb flick).

"Light" opening:
070c51bfb0a534aff29a897aa6a0dd98.jpg


"Heavy" opening:
d153442dc0edda7135e87dbe6dfec2ba.jpg


Pressure on the blade after opening to full end lockup:
1bcc1ad3ea7c6d9db737c697bd21ed9f.jpg


So, if you were to ask me, I would say that my 'Zaan lock up varies between 30-70% depending on force applied. If I do a naughty-naughty thumb flick, it stops like the second pic, around 50%.

I will say that even with lock up as per my first pic, everything feels solid and I have no fear of unintended disengagement. If I were to use the knife in its "early" position, pressure on the blade would just cause the lock bar to set a little deeper, somewhere between 50-70%, which is perfect! And by the way, I never get any lock stick.

I absolutely love this knife! I wish they made one a wee bit smaller to make it more practical for my EDC needs.

Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, I kind of like the way my 'Zaan is behaving. I occasionally spend some time just farting around with my knife (open, close, giggle, drool, repeat) so I figure a little extra buffering/shock absorption from the non standard O-rings offers little extra protection from wear. [emoji6]

YMMV, of course.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Thanks man. I took some similar pictures when I got home tonight. No thumb flicking here either. I'm really disappointed in CRKs response. If I open it without thinking about it, then there is the potential for lock failure. Maybe it will improve as the o-rings compress a bit?

Light opening...lock will fail here.


nwGfv2M.jpg



Harder opening...no danger here. Solid as a rock.


IAQ8zZp.jpg


"Strong" opening. Still using normal motion, but almost slamming it home with my thumb.


RIEO3Iu.jpg
 
Hello BB. Will the knife really fail at that point you indicate, and what are you doing to get it to fail? I'm curious because i gave my Dad a bench made MPR that has a similar lockup. I pried with it like the devil and experienced no play. I would hope to have less of a possibility with CRKs.

Thanks for your input.
 
BilboBaggins said:
Just got off the phone with Kayla at CRK. I explained the issue and then she put me on hold for a few minutes, presumably to talk to someone about it. I'm a bit befuddled by the response. First, she said not to operate the knife without the o-rings as this can cause the blade to crack at the stop pin/ thumbstud area. She then told me that I just needed to make sure that I opened the blade hard enough to fully engage the lock. When I expressed concern that I have to make sure I open the blade hard enough she said that they don't view this as a problem and restated that I just need to make sure the lock is fully engaged.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Can anyone else get their zaan to do this?
Click to expand...

I would not like this response either.

I've never owned a zaan.....but my inkosi has the ceramic ball interface and the lock opens to the same position. I matter what I do.

My only guess is that the o-rings have to be the problem here. I get that they are for a softer/silent opening, but they have to effect the lockup. Every other knife I have owned that had tbumbstuds for the blade stop, always met the handle extremely tight and firm. And I would imagine that an o-ring on any of them would do the same thing you are dealing with. .

Maybe this is indicative to the Zaans design. I have no idea. The only reason I have yet to try one is because of the o-rings.

Please someone enlighten me on this.
 
Hey BB,

I poked Tim on facebook. I know he doesn't visit this forum much anymore, but I asked him if he could take a look and possibly comment on this thread. I would give it a couple of days and see if you can get an answer from him. Seems like a super cool dude who is always willing to help out.

Out of curiosity, can you please explain exactly how you are getting the lock to fail, like step by step, exact hand placement....etc.
 
Amoo said:
Hey BB,

I poked Tim on facebook. I know he doesn't visit this forum much anymore, but I asked him if he could take a look and possibly comment on this thread. I would give it a couple of days and see if you can get an answer from him. Seems like a super cool dude who is always willing to help out.

Out of curiosity, can you please explain exactly how you are getting the lock to fail, like step by step, exact hand placement....etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks Amoo. Not much to it really. Open as usual, change the orientation of the knife in my hand and then push on the spine of the knife where the jimping is with my thumb and the lock will fail. I'm trying to figure out how to get a video uploaded to vimeo so I can demonstrate. Hopefully tonight.
 
yeah that's not good. Unless you have the thumb strength of a World CClas Thumb wrestling Champion, I'm pretty sure this one will get fixed. If it were me, I would send the video to CRK CS via email with an explanation of everything that has happened up to this point. I'd be super surprised to hear they don't take care of you after that. Especially considering you just dropped some money thinking washers may be your problem.
 
My guess is a new blade. With the ceramic lockup, the blade becomes the wear 'n tear part (something has to give).
 
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