New Neutron a lemon?

I had a similar issue - Neutron didn’t open or close very easily.

After disassembling, oiling, and trying some experiments I determined the liner lock was putting too much pressure ( and therefore friction ) on the side of the blade.

While disassembled, I applied modest pressure to bend it back closer to the liner a very small amount. Now the lockup remains the same, but it opens and closes MUCH more smoothly.
 
This isn't going to be a popular opinion but after owning 2 neutrons and an Atom for me they are hyped. They have weak detents 3/3 I could shake open. (try it) The pivots are finicky you get it where it freely flicks and they are off center if you tighten just hair more they are stiff to open very very small window. More so than most knives I've owned. They are also super flimsy feeling. On the plus side they carry well and are light. Also the last atom I got was the sharpest knife I've ever had from a manufacturer bar none it was ridiculously sharp. In this humble knife collectors opinion they are highly overrated knives.
 
I received one of the Neutrons from the latest batch before Christmas and I'm absolutely satisfied with it. Arrived perfectly centered, well-sharpened, and has no issues I can find. I disassembled the knife after using it a few days (because I can't help leaving well enough alone and I like checking the internals) and everything went back together without issue (blade still perfectly centered and opening/closing smoothly). I did note that the disassembly seemed unnecessary since they applied an appropriate amount of oil on the washers and blue loctite on the pivot from the factory. I would personally have liked the detent to be just a touch stronger. I can shake open the blade with a deliberate gesture, but I think it's adequate enough that it won't accidentally pop open and allows for easy opening by "flicking" the thumbstud.

Overall well-made knife for the size. It's become my defacto replacement for my Bugout and is making it very tough to want to carry any other knife in a similar size.

lfoYkoL.jpg
 
BTGuy said:
I received one of the Neutrons from the latest batch before Christmas and I'm absolutely satisfied with it. Arrived perfectly centered, well-sharpened, and has no issues I can find. I disassembled the knife after using it a few days (because I can't help leaving well enough alone and I like checking the internals) and everything went back together without issue (blade still perfectly centered and opening/closing smoothly). I did note that the disassembly seemed unnecessary since they applied an appropriate amount of oil on the washers and blue loctite on the pivot from the factory. I would personally have liked the detent to be just a touch stronger. I can shake open the blade with a deliberate gesture, but I think it's adequate enough that it won't accidentally pop open and allows for easy opening by "flicking" the thumbstud.

Overall well-made knife for the size. It's become my defacto replacement for my Bugout and is making it very tough to want to carry any other knife in a similar size.

lfoYkoL.jpg
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I’m really glad you’re happy with your Neutron. There’s lots to love about it.

Clarifying one thing just for others. As I’ve been debugging why the action of mine wasn’t all I expected I learned directly from TRM that they don’t apply oil to the washers during assembly. And indeed I saw no sign of it in mine.

So for those wishing better action disassembly and oil may help.

For me, changing the pressure applied to the side of the blade by the liner lock was the major improvement.
 
All the geometries on my Neutron are great, detent, lock-up, blade centering, etc. I disassembled cleaned and lightly oiled the washers and pivot upon arrival as it wasn't real smooth outa the box. It went back together as I would expect, blade centering and pivot adjustment seems pretty normal. W/the blade centered it fires nicely but doesn't drop shut which I wouldn't expect from such a light blade on washers. The Atom will though. Weird thing on the Neutron is when I release the lock-bar the blade will drop onto my thumbnail, sometimes, sometimes it won't even move until I give it some wrist action. Once it's on the lock-bar/detent it feels the same all the way to closed it's just inconsistent about dropping from fully open. It doesn't bother me at all, like I mentioned it's such a minimalist knife that's fit together really well whether it falls or not is neither here nor there. The lock-up on mine is really good, not a bit of play in any direction.

If I couldn't get the blade centered and still have decent 'action' I would return it. Maybe try flipping the pivot around 1st and see if that does anything, never know.
 
First off . I have two neutrons , an atom and and a atlas. All were centered, sharp and well finished.
Its sound like to me the final assembly might have a bad day . Or they got adjusted along the way . Mine all came in the bag sealed . At least trm stepped up to the plate . On the blade lock up . There is a small ball that drops into a detent on the blade . Super strong ,but its possible that a tiny piece of dirt got in hole on the blade .
Any how on mine ,there is no way you could disengage the blade by tapping on it .
Also the blade pivot screws were locked tightened. And one side started would spin as you turned other ..


Jake
 
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