M-48 Medford folder issues

A

Andreas84

Joined
Sep 20, 2023
Messages
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Hi

I am new in the world of knives.
I recently got a brand new M-48. It was made 1 month ago with serial number 305-118. It is my second flip knife. The issue is that I am having a hard time being able to flip it entirely open.
I have no issues flipping open my 10 dollar budget flip knife.

I got a sore finger from say 20 flips. Only way i can successfully flip it is either by swinging my arm/wrist outwards for extra momentum, or snapping my finger (Not a pull but a snap).
I got a weight and pushed the blade towards it to see how much preassure it takes to fold and unfold the blade. it measured 50-60 grams of force to fold and open.
Sometimes I have to re-ajust my grip to be able to flip it, as I am baffeled by the resistance i meet.

I can make a youtube video if my explenation is hard to understand :P

Thanks
 
Welcome.

The first thing to check would be when you’re holding the knife to make sure your fingers on the back side are not putting pressure on the lock bar. Next,is there a lot of resistance when moving the blade while closing? If no to those it may just need to break in some. A slight pivot adjustment may be necessary.
 
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Also some flippers just require different techniques. Some are like a light switch as in you put your finger on top and pull down. Others you place your finger on the point of the flipper tab and push strait through.
 
Thanks for the reply :)

I entirely removed my fingers from the lock bar and tried a few flips. Not much difference.

Based on my feel on the knife and the weight test (50-60 grams) i did, there is no difference on the resistance of the blade and mechanism in the opening or closing action. It might be about 5 grams more preassure to open it than close.

Also i forgot to mention that it is not a coated blade.
 
Mine, the way it is, is defenetly best to use the "push straight through" like snapping your fingers technique.

The youtube video's I watched seemed like the knife should open easly with the straight inwards light switch technique.


I just watched another Youtube video. This knife is coated, but explains my issue. It would be nice to hear what other M-48 owners say. With or without the coating. Because this is the only video i have seen that adress this issue.

 
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You might get better results by experimenting with your flipper technique, but Medford is kind of notorious for having terrible action. I vaguely remember there being an incident where someone confronted Greg about this and his response was that his knives are meant to be opened with two hands lmao
 
Andreas84 said:
Mine, the way it is, is defenetly best to use the "push straight through" like snapping your fingers technique.

The youtube video's I watched seemed like the knife should open easly with the straight inwards light switch technique.


I just watched another Youtube video. This knife is coated, but explains my issue. It would be nice to hear what other M-48 owners say. With or without the coating. Because this is the only video i have seen that adress this issue.

Click to expand...
Wow for the cost of one of those I would expect a much better action. It could be that the pivot is too tight, or that the lockbar is putting too much pressure on the blade. You could try disassembling it, cleaning it, and maybe tuning the lock bar if that doesn't help.
 
Is it an easy fix? Is there a good video explaining how I am going to do that?

Right now it seems tempting to ship it back. The problem is that I live in Norway, i ordered it from Finland...
550 dollar blade and I am having these issues....
 
Mine flips well enough using the light switch or push button methods, but the detent is softer than other flippers in my collection allowing me to intentionally fail to fire open if I don't use enough force. The action is still respectable and wasn't a deal breaker.
 
if you take the tension from the lock bar away from the blade, does it move freely?
 
Andreas84 said:
Is it an easy fix? Is there a good video explaining how I am going to do that?

Right now it seems tempting to ship it back. The problem is that I live in Norway, i ordered it from Finland...
550 dollar blade and I am having these issues....
Click to expand...

$550? I'd return it and get a Biryukov or Cheburkov...
 
K.O.D. K.O.D. gave you the best advice anyone could give. Disassemble the blade, clean it well, and in the meantime check its mechanism. I don't know if M48 has washers or ball bearings. If there are washers, see if there is anything wrong with them. If it's ball bearings, check the balls to see if you can clean them or see if there is anything stuck in between. Check the detend ball on the frame. If there is no problem at the end, lubricate it well and assemble the blade without tightening the pivot too much.
 
The M48 rides on bearings and mine flips like a dream, perfect detent and quite near drop shot.

Sounds like a slight adjustment to the pivot and a little lube to the bearings are in order.

I would do as rycen rycen suggested and take the tension off of the lock bar and see if it is moving freely; at which point we might be able to help you further.
 
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