M-48 Medford folder issues

Alright. My last attempt. Go to Amazon and buy 10wt nano oil. $17 and you’ll have it in a week. Drop or two on each side of pivot. Work it in opening and closing blade manually. Keep q tip or cloth handy to wipe away excess. Don’t let oil get between lock and blade as u may get some lock stick. Out of all the knives I’ve bought and owned maybe half of them were perfect out of the box. Everything else needed some sort of adjustment I don’t like sending items in for warranty never have.
 
This should be something you could handle yourself, if you have the right tools. Unless you are entirely uncomfortable with the idea of doing this yourself, your first step should be getting the right bits, particularly the one for the pivot. Looks like a hex bit to me.

Once you have the right tool, just loosen the pivot slightly. By slightly, I mean as small an amount as you can turn it. If the pivot is free-spinning, you will need two bits (one to hold the female end in place, and the other to turn the male end counterclockwise). Flip the knife and if it is still tight, loosen a little more. Take your time. Once it flips like you like it, or you get blade play (wiggle in the blade when open), stop. If you get play, you know it is not a pivot tightness issue.

It that process does not resolve the issue, you can try to clean and lubricate the bearings. Just clean things up with some rubbing alcohol. Apply KPL or similar lubricant to the bearings and reassemble (use the correct torx/hex bits for the body screws). Take your time. Retighten the pivot all the way. If it is still tight, back off the pivot per the last paragraph. Side note: if you get lubricant on the lock face, it may create "stick." This is entirely fixable with a alcohol wipedown, but just be careful.

If neither of these procedures solves the problem. Stop. At that point the knife should be sent to Medford.

If you do solve the problem, don't worry about Loctite right away. If the pivot loosens further with use, you can unscrew the male end all the way, and apply a small amount of blue (NOT RED) loctite to the pivot screws. Reinsert the screw and tighten to the desired tension, then leave the knife alone for at least 24 hours. Not all knives need this, so I typically do not apply it unless the pivot is backing out with use.

If returning to the retailer is an option, you need to make that choice before you start.
 
Yes, I am new to flipknives, and English is not my native language. Lock bar, bearings, pivot, slip joint, re-thread etc are new terms for me.
I did not figure I had to read up on disassembly and terms when i bought this knife.

Some say go ahead and disassemble, others say no. Some say spray it with WD-40 others no. Medford manual even says you cannot spray high preassure air into it.
So sorry if I ask alot, but this is a 550 dollar knife.
Dear friend, no one is telling you not to disassemble the knife. What they say is, if you want, return it instead of dealing with it. As they told you in the e-mail, removing the blade is generally the easiest solution in these cases.There were already people here, including me, who wrote the same things that were said to you in the e-mail. Never be afraid to disassemble your knife as long as you use the right tools. This is a skill you need to learn anyway. WD40 and high pressure air are fast solutions, but they can also be harmful. WD40 is a solvent. It causes dissolution of plastics and corrosion of some metals, especially aluminum. High pressure air can damage ball bearings, causing the balls to dislodge. I'm just guessing, I've never heard of it, but maybe it could cause the detent ball on the frame lock to come off. Using oils made to lubricate blades, such as nano oil, is a necessary investment for a $550 knife. Owning a knife requires knowing it, being able to use it when necessary, and being able to solve its problems. I have never heard of any company terminating the warranty because you took your blade apart. No one will tell you anything unless you make modifications to the knife. Of course, it is natural for there to be differences of opinion here, just like everywhere else. As I said before, I think the problem is something stuck in the ball bearings and an overtightened pivot. I believe you can solve it easily and if it is something more serious, medford is a reputable company and I believe they will definitely help you with this issue.
 
In case the OP is still struggling; I just checked mine, the pivot is a T30.
Thank you for checking, but mine is defenetly not T30. T27 is too big.
I got it in red. It was made in August and the screws are colored. They look like they were blued.
 
Thank you for checking, but mine is defenetly not T30. T27 is too big.
I got it in red. It was made in August and the screws are colored. They look like they were blued.
Well it’s hard to tell anything from your video with no sound filmed like a half inch from the knife. Can you try and film again and this time keep camera fixed and upload volume? Try Imgur
 
Mine flips great but I had to send it back to Medford because I’m a lefty and wanted the clip on the other side and couldn’t get both screws loose to flip the clip, so you might have the same problem getting it apart. I would return or exchange if you can as once you try to open it it’s yours.
 
Well it’s hard to tell anything from your video with no sound filmed like a half inch from the knife. Can you try and film again and this time keep camera fixed and upload volume? Try Imgur
Sure.
Not Imgur, but this should work. The laptop mic is next to the camera so i had to hold it close for the sound. I cannot use my cellphone because it filters out the high pitch scratch sound.

soundcloud.com/squick1842/knife-sound



Edit: Thanks for all the great tips. I will try to ship it back and get a new one. The knife has actually gotten worse after I made these video's. I did about 20 flips to train the technique needed. Now my weight test shows 120-130 grams of force needed to open and close. Now there is more of a scratching sound supposed to brushing sound.
I will do the steps you guys have mentioned. Either on my new knife when the time comes, or on my craptastic current one. I was not able to buy the right bit since the special hardware stores are closed on Saturdays.
 
Last edited:
End to the story:

I returned it. Since Greg Medford himself could not provide correct info on the right screw dimentions. it was import it would cost a total of 700 dollars. Not worth it.
Now I have to do hours work getting refunded for the import tax... Good stuff
 
Back
Top