Off centered blade

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brandog

Joined
Dec 10, 2012
Messages
142
I took my hinderer xm18 apart for the first time for a grease (CRK). After all was said and done im having a problem though. When i tighten the pivot the blade is perfectly centered however is way to tight to flick open now, its extremely stiff. If i loosen the pivot the blade flicks beautifully but the blade is so off-centered that the blade is meeting the right side of the framelock. I tried a few things like loosening the scale bolts then tightening the pivot then re-tightening the scale etc. and vice versa but nothing seems to be working.

Any ideas?
 
brandog said:
I took my hinderer xm18 apart for the first time for a grease (CRK). After all was said and done im having a problem though. When i tighten the pivot the blade is perfectly centered however is way to tight to flick open now, its extremely stiff. If i loosen the pivot the blade flicks beautifully but the blade is so off-centered that the blade is meeting the right side of the framelock. I tried a few things like loosening the scale bolts then tightening the pivot then re-tightening the scale etc. and vice versa but nothing seems to be working.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

A ton of questions rush to mind when this question is asked. For example did you replace the teflon washers exactly as they were oriented before disassembly? And did you use lubricant sparingly?

I suggest tightening snugly where it doesn't flip smoothly, then barely loosen the pivot screw and check the flipping action...continue until it flips as desired...check the centering. If its good to go, good...if you want to better assure it stays...remove the pivot screw and put a miniscule amount of weak thread locker on it and repeat the process.

If that does not help. Or close attention was not paid during the disassembly...you might need to try other "fixes".
 
Best advice would be to message Rob. Just my thinking.
 
I have had this same problem and its quite common when taking apart a Hinderer XM. First, I have used CRK grease and you need barely any if any at all as it just doesnt seem to work well when I used it on my Hinderers. The teflon washers are so slick that you really dont need any lube at all. The XM is a different design than a Sebenza, so different designs call for different things.............As for the off center blade, as I said, this is common when re-assembling an XM. First, put everything together and Do Not tighten the handle scale screws ( 3 of em ). Tighten the pivot very tight. Usually the blade is uncentered at this point. Then push the blade to the opposite side it needs to go and begin tightening the handle screws starting with the one closest to the pivot, then the middle one, then finally the end one, all the while holding the blade to the opposite position. When all is tightened, you should now see the blade centered. If its not, just loosen the 3 handle screws and redo the above. Now, slightly loosen the blade pivot to your desired tension and wala..........your good to go. Rob will tell you the same thing as he is the one who helped me years ago when I asked the same question.
 
Opposite as in, if you want it to move towards, say, the lock side, you'd push toward the scale side? Or am I reading that wrong?
 
RobertK said:
Opposite as in, if you want it to move towards, say, the lock side, you'd push toward the scale side? Or am I reading that wrong?
Click to expand...

That is the way it reads, but it should state:

"With the blade is in the closed position, push the blade towards the side you want the blade to move then tighten the standoff screws." In other words, if you need to move the blade towards the lock side (i.e., it favors the scale side), push the blade towards the lock side while tightening the standoff screws. If you need it to move towards the scale side (i.e., it favors the lock side), push the blade to the lock side while tightening the standoff screws.
 
You certainly do seem to have your problems........

Try these steps:

1. Open blade to 90 degrees and tighten pivot so that it is really tight.

2. Close the blade and loosen frame screws so they aren’t tight, but still holding the frame together.

3. While the blade is still in the closed position, pull blade towards the side you want the blade to move.

4. While pulling blade, tighten the frame screws.

5. Loosen the pivot and adjust it to the desired tension.
 
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RobertK said:
Opposite as in, if you want it to move towards, say, the lock side, you'd push toward the scale side? Or am I reading that wrong?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I was thinking ahead as always and was not entirely clear I guess ......lol. You adjust for the off center blade with the blade closed. If the blade is open or at 90 degrees, how are you going to tell if its off centered and where to push adjust.

So, close the blade. Tighten the pivot screw tightly. If the blade is off center and say rubbing against the scale side, you wanna push the blade towards the lock side ( the opposite way the blade is off, or i guess more clearly, the way you want the blade to go ) and then tighten the three handle screws from the pivot down to the end. If the blade is say rubbing the lock side, then you wanna push towards the scale side and tighten. Do not touch the pivot until you get the blade where you want it. Then you just adjust the pivot to your desired tension.

I hope that made it clearer, sorry for the confusion. I know its a pain in the butt the first few times you do this, as it was for me way back when. I know the first time I took mine apart and it was off center, I was freaking out....lol. I have owned 12 XM's and i dont ever remember taking any of them apart where I did not have to do this, so its just the nature of the XM is all. I will say, that once you get it where you want it, it stays put though heavy use. I never had to adjust any of mine once together and set.

Great knives by the way. I only have one left and its a user and a keeper. Got a deal on it a few years ago as some guy scratched the pivot when assembling it. Its hardly noticeable. But was a steal for $500, especially for the 3.5" that I like and that fits me best.
 
Thanks for the above advice, everyones seemed to help. Im wondering now though if the position of the pivot and the screw that goes in the pivot have any role in this? Im not talking about how tight or loose the two piece are both rather simply rotating them in place. I know my Strider had this issue where the blade would suddenly become really stiff, and all i had to do was rotate the entire pivot (not tighten or loosen), this would then make the blade smooth again.

Strange.
 
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Closed or open about 1/2 way, NOT locked to full-open. You can also place some folds of paper or such as a shim on the side where blade is encroaching the internals, the tighten things, remove the shim.test the flip...and examine for center.
 
brandog said:
Thanks for the above advice, everyones seemed to help. Im wondering now though if the position of the pivot and the screw that goes in the pivot have any role in this? Im not talking about how tight or loose the two piece are both rather simply rotating them in place. I know my Strider had this issue where the blade would suddenly become really stiff, and all i had to do was rotate the entire pivot (not tighten or loosen), this would then make the blade smooth again.

Strange.
Click to expand...

Yes, strange. I don't know why that would happen. I do know that finding my "sweet spot" may be the difference between 0.1 mm turn. It's trial an error for a few minutes. At these tolerances the tiniest change makes a difference...
 
I received my first XM-18 off centered and scoured the forum to get all the advice. From my personal experience, I tried all the suggested fixes and nothing seemed to work. In the end, this worked perfectly for me: knife closed with the frame screws in but not tightened. Then firmly hold the pivot end of the knife together (squeezed) while tightening the pivot - this way the pivot screw is not working to close up the assembly, it's just going into its nut. Tighten all the way and it will be slightly off center. Then VERY slowly with the slightest of adjustments, loosen the pivot screw until you hit the sweet spot - for me, it all came together - nice action and perfect centering. I think this happens when things are manufactured to such tight tolerances as Maprik just stated above. Good luck - I'm sure you will figure it out.
 
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