Military lock not engaging beyond 5%?

J

jjspec4

Joined
Jan 19, 2010
Messages
61
I've got a factory second G10 Military that's been perfect for years. Unfortunately, over the weekend the lock bar started to either not engage or only engage 5% or less unless I really snap it out. Obviously I can't send it back to Golden since it's a second, but I'd still like my millie fixed...any ideas folks?

in case it's needed, I haven't taken it apart but have cleaned it, oiled it and checked all the screws...blade is still totally centered and flies open...just doesn't lock...:confused:

also, it was in my pack when it fell on some ice but it worked immediately after that...
 
the lock used to engage properly ? usualy when a lock wears it tends to engage more and more.

how hold is your milie ? is it one of the earlier version with the eccentric pivot? (or stop pin don't remember) if so that's your problem, when touching the pivot srew something may have moved here. the eccentric pivot is used to compensate wear but if you move it when there is nothing to compensate this may happen (happened to me with my atr)

if not you probably have something between your blade tang and stop pin ...


hope this helps
 
Yeah, she used to lock between 30-40% like a vault...I'll check out the stop pin.

It's a 2003 I think, I've never checked the tang.
 
Adjust your pivot screw, make sure there is no blade play side to side. Make sure the handle screws are on their hand tight. This will usually have some effect on lockbar tightness/engagement.
 
I would be surprised if Spyderco will tell you they refuse to look at it because it was a second.

That said, they may CHARGE you for the service, but I think I would gladly pay some bucks to have a pro tell me if my knife can be made to be safe or not...I do not like doubt when we are talking about sharpened steel an my fingers.

If you are not 100% sure you can remedy the problem yourself, I would give them a call...
 
As mentioned, factory seconds don't have any kind of warranty but Spyderco will still repair them but not as a warranty claim. Depending on the type of repair, you may pay for the repair or sometimes they won't charge you at all. I'd give customer service a call.
 
Check for foreign matter on the stop pin and the portion of the blade tang that contacts it. Doesn't take a lot there to prevent the blade of a Walker type liner lock or RIL knife from opening far enough for the lock to engage well and, if it's something which can be compressed a bit, the lock may still function properly if the knife is opened forcefully. If it's more than seven or eight years old, it might have the eccentric pivot and that may have gotten out of whack. In which case it might be worth finding out from Spyderco if they'd look at it and adjust it for a fee.

Paul
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The tough fix is a lock spring that engages too far. The easier fix is a spring that does not engage far enough. The process involves removing some material from the end of the leaf spring with a file. Try to maintain face shape and angle of the spring end. Do a little bit at a time. You don't want remove so much material that the lock spring travels too far. Check for crud and play with the screws before you do the file option. It doesn't make sense that a spring would "grow" in length.
 
Since it's a second and there's no warranty to void, I'd take the knife apart for a good cleaning and reassembly to see if that helps.
It most likely will.
 
Thanks for all of the replies. I got home & stripped it, cleaned it out, lubed it up and I'm still barely getting positive lock up...I'm going to snap it open a few hundred times tonight and try to wear it in. SO WEIRD. This is at least a 5 year old blade acting like a little punk.:mad: If it didn't cut like a laser it'd be one of the kit blades...
 
tiguy7 said:
The tough fix is a lock spring that engages too far. The easier fix is a spring that does not engage far enough. The process involves removing some material from the end of the leaf spring with a file. Try to maintain face shape and angle of the spring end. Do a little bit at a time. You don't want remove so much material that the lock spring travels too far. Check for crud and play with the screws before you do the file option. It doesn't make sense that a spring would "grow" in length.
Click to expand...

the bold sentence is very true, that's why i would not attempt to file anything as it's very probable that sooner or later what moved now, moves again and if you filed your lockbar, there are alot of chances that it travels all the way to the opposite liner.

disassemble it again, double check the stop pin, check if it's not flattened somewhere, check if the pivot head doesn't have an hexagonal (or octogonal ???) shape where it blocks into the liner with the actual pivot offset. if so you have an older model, just tinker with the pivot. if not .... dunno, i'm kinda puzzled here. hard to explain this in english, i hope someone can clarify my thoughts ... i'm supposed to speak french ...

this kind of adjustable devices are pretty annoying to set properly, the worst was my bench 760, i didn't even know that the hex. stop pin served this purpose until i noticed that one side was marked ... now it functions wonderfully.
 
frontline29 said:
Since it's a second and there's no warranty to void, I'd take the knife apart for a good cleaning and reassembly to see if that helps.
It most likely will.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:

jjspec4 said:
Thanks for all of the replies. I got home & stripped it, cleaned it out, lubed it up and I'm still barely getting positive lock up...I'm going to snap it open a few hundred times tonight and try to wear it in. SO WEIRD. This is at least a 5 year old blade acting like a little punk.:mad: If it didn't cut like a laser it'd be one of the kit blades...
Click to expand...

Have you tried to bend the lock in such a way to increase the tension? The reason I ask is I had the same issue with a custom and talked to the maker. He explained that since a liner is essentially a spring. When I bent the liner a bit in order to increase the tension the lockup increased and solved my problem.
 
i doubt, if the lock wasnt strong enough to go further 5% a hard flick wouldn't push it further.

i've just tried something that may show you how important the stop pin to blade tang interface is in the lockup. i just cut a strip of std letter paper and cut it to fit between the liners of my G10 milie. the knife locks at approx 40% wich i consider perfect. with this strip of paper wedged between the stop pin and blade tang, the lock barely locks, maybe less than 5%.

check this once again.
 
The metal didn't expand - taking anything at all off any metal surface in this case would probably ruin the knife or at least significantly shorten its service life, since the knife locked up perfectly and safely before. It likely needs either a cleaning and/or pivot adjustment, but almost certainly nothing more, since it was locked up fine for years and now is too shallow, rather than too deep.

tiguy7 said:
The tough fix is a lock spring that engages too far. The easier fix is a spring that does not engage far enough. The process involves removing some material from the end of the leaf spring with a file. Try to maintain face shape and angle of the spring end. Do a little bit at a time. You don't want remove so much material that the lock spring travels too far. Check for crud and play with the screws before you do the file option. It doesn't make sense that a spring would "grow" in length.
Click to expand...
 
Gunk on my millie's stop pin caused a similar issue to me. Had to scrape it away. Kinda like it is debris and oil which dried up and hardened.

I second the "don't file it" action. It is easy to take off but a bugger to put back stuff again. Just enjoy urself and try to wear it out by opening and closing repeatedly :)
 
no filing done...I've been flicking her open all night (3 hours!) after a VERY thorough 2nd cleaning and it's now locking at about the width of the lockbar if I flick it. Otherwise it's hardly the entire lockbar engaging very bizarre, I honestly have no clue what could have caused this!?

I was thinking that the steel liners could have shifted on a hard drop or something but everything looks to be 100% there and the G10 is fine. I spent a few minutes rotating the stop pin to see if that'd make a difference but no joy...it's honestly like some aliens came in and swapped my well worn millie for some stranger...INVASION OF THE MILLIE SNATCHERS!
 
i would say take it apart and add tension to the lock bar(bend it towardsthe non-lock bar side slightly)

flicking it open must be releasing the "spring" fast enough for its momentum to cause it to travel across the face farther

if this doesn't fix it the only other possible solution would be the sleeve of the stop bar is offcenter, so spinning it could help(unlikely)
 
I would loosen all the screws on the knife, open the knife, and hopefully it will engage more with things being a bit loose. And while it's still open, tighten everything down.
 
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