New Large Voyager, Lock Stick

[Billy The Hungry]

Hey guys.

My first Cold Steel to have Lock Stick. I'm a little irritated because I promised the wife this would be my last knife for a long, long time. So I wanted the knife to be a good specimen.( I am beginning to rebuild my knife collection)

Every Cold Steel I've had before has had awesome action, always very smooth.
Will this Lock Stick go away on its own, or do I need to consider returning the knife and ordering another one?

Side note, the stick did not start to really happen until I oiled the pivot. I would think oil would alleviate the issue, not worsen it?

Thanks all

 

[Dadpool]

I've only owned one CS knife with lock stick (an AK-47), and I couldn't see a way to alleviate it that didn't involve taking it apart and rolling those dice. I exchanged it and the replacement was perfect.

If you have that option, I'd take it.

 

[Billy The Hungry]

I've only owned one CS knife with lock stick (an AK-47), and I couldn't see a way to alleviate it that didn't involve taking it apart and rolling those dice. I exchanged it and the replacement was perfect.

If you have that option, I'd take it.

Thanks for the answer, Dadpool. I think I'll open it 90 degrees and leave it like that for a week. If that does not work, I'll exchange it.
I know this will help loosen up the lock, which I realize is a separate thing from lock stick - but I'm hoping maybe it will help the stick, as a side affect. What do you think?

 

[jbmonkey]

Thanks for the answer, Dadpool. I think I'll open it 90 degrees and leave it like that for a week. If that does not work, I'll exchange it.
I know this will help loosen up the lock, which I realize is a separate thing from lock stick - but I'm hoping maybe it will help the stick, as a side affect. What do you think?

Billy lock stick meaning? hard to unlock?

 

[Billy The Hungry]

Billy lock stick meaning? hard to unlock?

Yes. As in, it is froze up, to some degree. I am strong as a bull and have had several Cold Steels over the years, I am not new to the Tri Ad.
I hope I'm explaining it right. It's not that it is hard to unlock, but that the lock is unwilling to release.

I'm super stupid tired right now so maybe I'm not making the best sense, lol. Thanks for the help

Edit: For clarity, the knife is absolutely usable. Assuming the lock does not worsen, I could honestly keep the knife and be fine. However, I fidget with my knives, and this sticky lock takes all the joy from that. Also, I know how smooth a Trip Ad can be, so this bothers me.

 

[jbmonkey]

Yes. As in, it is froze up, to some degree. I am strong as a bull and have had several Cold Steels over the years, I am not new to the Tri Ad.
I hope I'm explaining it right. It's not that it is hard to unlock, but that the lock is unwilling to release.

I'm super stupid tired right now so maybe I'm not making the best sense, lol. Thanks for the help

I think I gotcha. so depressing the lock is easy but still doesn't unlock? that sound right?

 

[Billy The Hungry]

I think I gotcha. so depressing the lock is easy but still doesn't unlock? that sound right?

Basically, yes sir. I have to give it a little extra "oomph" and maybe shake it a wee bit.

Again, it wasn't this bad before I oiled it. I'm confused as hell by that.

 

[MolokaiRider]

Send it back for an exchange.

The Voyager is an awesome folder.

 

[Man with no name]

Maybe the oil caused some pocket lint or dust to get in the pivot. Try cleaning and see if it makes a difference.

 

[jbmonkey]

Basically, yes sir. I have to give it a little extra "oomph" and maybe shake it a wee bit.

Again, it wasn't this bad before I oiled it. I'm confused as hell by that.

yeah return it. I had a couple Mackinac hunter tri-ads like this. had to use a table edge and dangerous amount of pressure to unlock them. they were discontinued when I got them so couldn't return and get other ones that worked right. so i left them half opened for weeks without exaggerating. it helped a bunch but never really made it the way they should be as in easy. I could unlock without a table edge, but still took a full push almost below the scale to unlock.

voyagers still out there and available, send back to retailer and get one that works right easily.

or try air compressor blow out the oil and such and see if that helps....

 

[killgar]

I don't know if this will apply to your situation, but from my experience when oil gets on the mating lock/blade tang surfaces it can cause a tighter lockup than when those parts are dry. It seems counterintuitive that a lubricant will cause sticking, but basically, being a lubricant, it allows the metal parts to initially jamb more tightly together, and then being tighter together, they stick. That's my experience anyways. Knives can be funny creatures with all their little quirks.

You say it happened after you oiled the pivot. Maybe if you disassembled it and removed the oil the problem would go away.

 

[Billy The Hungry]

I don't know if this will apply to your situation, but from my experience when oil gets on the mating lock/blade tang surfaces it can cause a tighter lockup than when those parts are dry. It seems counterintuitive that a lubricant will cause sticking, but basically, being a lubricant, it allows the metal parts to initially jamb more tightly together, and then being tighter together, they stick. That's my experience anyways. Knives can be funny creatures with all their little quirks.

You say it happened after you oiled the pivot. Maybe if you disassembled it and removed the oil the problem would go away.

yeah return it. I had a couple Mackinac hunter tri-ads like this. had to use a table edge and dangerous amount of pressure to unlock them. they were discontinued when I got them so couldn't return and get other ones that worked right. so i left them half opened for weeks without exaggerating. it helped a bunch but never really made it the way they should be as in easy. I could unlock without a table edge, but still took a full push almost below the scale to unlock.

voyagers still out there and available, send back to retailer and get one that works right easily.

or try air compressor blow out the oil and such and see if that helps....

Maybe the oil caused some pocket lint or dust to get in the pivot. Try cleaning and see if it makes a difference.

Send it back for an exchange.

The Voyager is an awesome folder.

Thanks guys.

So the plan is this: I'm going to leave it half open for a week. I am also going to blow out and dry the locking mechanism. If the issue persists, I'll exchange the knife.

Yall have a safe Memorial weekend

 

[rycen]

Just flush it out with some isopropyl alcohol and see if the problem goes away. If it does you have your answer.

 

[marthinus]

the oil most likely caused the lock to seat deeper. Use some graphite on the locking arm. You should see a bright spot where it is engaging. Rub it with a pencil.

 

[jdk1]

Hey guys.

My first Cold Steel to have Lock Stick. I'm a little irritated because I promised the wife this would be my last knife for a long, long time. So I wanted the knife to be a good specimen.( I am beginning to rebuild my knife collection)

Every Cold Steel I've had before has had awesome action, always very smooth.
Will this Lock Stick go away on its own, or do I need to consider returning the knife and ordering another one?

Side note, the stick did not start to really happen until I oiled the pivot. I would think oil would alleviate the issue, not worsen it?

Thanks all

Why is no one addressing the elephant in the room? This guy lies to his wife

 

[Billy The Hungry]

Why is no one addressing the elephant in the room? This guy lies to his wife

Father's day  is coming up..

 

[paul brown]

You didn't say if you have to pay to ship it back, but it doesn't matter, you did say you wanted a good specimen. If the rest of the knife meets your standards all you need are torx bits and two hours to get the knifes action better than any voyager you'd ever get from the factory. The choice is do you want rebuild your collection with a "assembly line knife" which might be good enough or a excellent knife that you can take pride in?. The grind lines on the front face of the lock bar "tooth" is causing the issue you noted, any voyager will have them to one extent or the other.

 

[DocJD]

Will this Lock Stick go away on its own

Yes , but only two ways to make it happen (other than sending back to dealer ) .

The lock sticks because at least some part of the lock face is too tight a fit , so needs to be worn-in from use (repeated opening and closing) or by disassembly and polishing the lock surfaces .

Storing the knife partially opened can help relax the spring and make opening easier , but does nothing to help with lock stick .

I've had way too many of these and some really bad ones that I could only close with tools or using a table edge to help release the lock .

They all do eventually smooth up just fine but you may not want to bother . And why should you need to ? Just bad QC on properly finishing the lock surfaces .

Dirt and debris don't help , so cleaning may help some but is not the core problem .

I've never had this problem on a Voyager model . They are usually pretty smooth outta the box .

Usually , the harder you open the knife , the worse the lock will stick . But if you try to baby it , the problem will only be prolonged

I suggest hard/fast opening and closing with tool or table .

I'd just return as defective, unless you got lots of free time .

 

[DocJD]

I oiled it.

Lubing just helps the lock seat more deeply so it sticks worse . So does hard/fast opening .

But my theory is that it may help wear / polish off the excess lock surfaces faster ?

You can't make the basic problem worse by using the knife or lubing .

 

[Billy The Hungry]

You didn't say if you have to pay to ship it back, but it doesn't matter, you did say you wanted a good specimen. If the rest of the knife meets your standards all you need are torx bits and two hours to get the knifes action better than any voyager you'd ever get from the factory. The choice is do you want rebuild your collection with a "assembly line knife" which might be good enough or a excellent knife that you can take pride in?. The grind lines on the front face of the lock bar "tooth" is causing the issue you noted, any voyager will have them to one extent or the other.

I'm leaving it open at 90 this weekend, but after that, I will consider taking the knife down and doing some polishing. A strop with green compound should work, yes?

Yes , but only two ways to make it happen (other than sending back to dealer ) .

The lock sticks because at least some part of the lock face is too tight a fit , so needs to be worn-in from use (repeated opening and closing) or by disassembly and polishing the lock surfaces .

Storing the knife partially opened can help relax the spring and make opening easier , but does nothing to help with lock stick .

I've had way too many of these and some really bad ones that I could only close with tools or using a table edge to help release the lock .

They all do eventually smooth up just fine but you may not want to bother . And why should you need to ? Just bad QC on properly finishing the lock surfaces .

Dirt and debris don't help , so cleaning may help some but is not the core problem .

I've never had this problem on a Voyager model . They are usually pretty smooth outta the box .

Usually , the harder you open the knife , the worse the lock will stick . But if you try to baby it , the problem will only be prolonged

I suggest hard/fast opening and closing with tool or table .

I'd just return as defective, unless you got lots of free time .

It can't be dirt. Maybe some crud from the factory? Once I begin working on the knife again, I am going to clean it thoroughly and go from there.
It's nice to know that it will eventually smooth out on its own though. Man my Cold Steels were always ridiculously smooth.
And no, I have almost no free time haha

Lubing just helps the lock seat more deeply so it sticks worse . So does hard/fast opening .

But my theory is that it may help wear / polish off the excess lock surfaces faster ?

You can't make the basic problem worse by using the knife or lubing .

I think I'll play with it for a couple days while it's oiled. Then, I'll clean it out and get the oil out of it and see how it feels.

You know guys, I can definitely tell Cold Steel's qc is going down. I never had a Cold Steel knife that didn't come light-saber sharp, but this knife and my Counter Point 1 required stropping to shave my leg hair. And my Voyager still has about 1/4 of the tip that isn't sharp. Not a huge deal to me, but mildly disappointing. I hate that Lynn sold the company!