Opening a 550

Razor

Razor

Gold Member
Joined
Dec 8, 1999
Messages
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I really like how this knife fits my hand, the blade length, the steel, the weight. It seems about perfect to me. I just wonder if I will ever get on to opening it? Sometimes it will open, and then it won't and I get thinking I will have to open it like a slip joint. I know you need to keep your fingers off the lock bar and to push the opening stud straight up instead of out. I sure hate to sell this knife because I can't open it.
 
Give it about a week or so to break in. If it still does the same thing, take it apart and clean and lube the washers. Mine it easily one of the smoothest manual opening knives I own.
 
I just flick my wrist just a little and it flys open. Or I just use my thumb to open it the whole way.Its not like I need a knife to open lightening fast to cut a box or cut paper
 
My 700 is stiff too, was A little disappointed until i cleaned and lubed the joints. Really needs to worked in
 
Are the screws lock tighted? Is it very hard to put back together. I have took the sebenza apart before and did not have any trouble.
 
I had the same problem with my 0550BLK. What I did may not be conventional, but it worked for me. I removed the Lock Bar Stabilizer, VERY slightly tweaked the lock bar outward to relieve some pressure and worked the action. Then I reinstalled the LBS. That solved about 60% of the issues. After that, I loosened the pivot screw and then tightened it a "smidge" at a time until I found the right balance of smooth opening and no movement. Now, it is one of the smoother knives that I have. I know that over time as it breaks in more, I will have to tighten up the pivot, but that is a worthwhile tradeoff.
 
In addition to the other suggestions, I have found that mine opens the smoothest when I push the studs at a 30-45° angle as opposed to straight up or straight out. If it is a gen 1, moving the clip to tip down or bending it up slightly can also help take pressure off the lock bar.
 
Is this your first framelock?

Best thing to do when opening it is to rest your pointer finger under the lock bar and then rest your middle finger on the lock bar stabilizer. That will make sure your hands stay off.
 
Is this the same one you sent back to the factory because it was hard open?
 
My submission is that similarly to the manual flipper on the Skyline, your technique is what needs improving. I used to not be able to flick open my 0550 at all. I cut myself several times trying. After much experience with thumbstuds, I can flick open any knife with studs or a hole. Any.
 
Just give it some time and flip it when you are bored. This will break in the knife and improve your technique. I am currently flipping mine as I watch some tv and I can use my thumb and no wrist and get it to flip open just fine.

Also, this one I am flipping now is the harder to open of the two I had (I traded the other b/c I didnt need two)
 
No, this is not first frame lock. This is not the one I sent back to the factory. I sold it and this is a new one. It is the first generation.
 
For me, once I got my finger off the lockbar, it was pretty easy to open. I don't push on the thumb stud parallel to the handle, but rather more like a 30 degree angle. Once it's broken in a little, it is very smooth. No wrist movement needed, just a moderate push on the thumbstud.
 
AFTER WATCHING TV FOR AND HOUR AND OPENING AND CLOSING IT, IT OPENS SMOOTH AS SILK! WHAT A KNIFE! I would trade a LNIB 560 for a NIB 550. The 560 has opened a card board box that had a knife in it, thats all. The blade is centered, opens smooth as slik, and lock does not stick. Never has been sharpened. I would like to try the second generation 550.
 
I just did some thumb lifts and once my thumbs got stronger I was able to make mine open real smooth
 
wobly said:
I had the same problem with my 0550BLK. What I did may not be conventional, but it worked for me. I removed the Lock Bar Stabilizer, VERY slightly tweaked the lock bar outward to relieve some pressure and worked the action. Then I reinstalled the LBS. That solved about 60% of the issues. After that, I loosened the pivot screw and then tightened it a "smidge" at a time until I found the right balance of smooth opening and no movement. Now, it is one of the smoother knives that I have. I know that over time as it breaks in more, I will have to tighten up the pivot, but that is a worthwhile tradeoff.
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I wound up doing the same to 2 of my 0551's tonight. Worked great. The blade fly's out now.

I also found did the same to my 0560. The 0560 had a sticky lock. By reducing engagement from 60% to 30% it no longer sticks. This knife just went from being good to frigin awesome. I had a big grin after flippin it. :-).

It was a good day for working on knives.

The thing to watch out for in doing this is that I think it reduces engagement during locking. If the engagement starts out too small try taking a diamond file to the detent ball. A regular file doesn't do much (I tried this first).

Dan
 
Sometimes just breaking it in is all it takes (and a little practice). KAI makes some great knives.
 
Razor said:
AFTER WATCHING TV FOR AND HOUR AND OPENING AND CLOSING IT, IT OPENS SMOOTH AS SILK! WHAT A KNIFE! I would trade a LNIB 560 for a NIB 550. The 560 has opened a card board box that had a knife in it, thats all. The blade is centered, opens smooth as slik, and lock does not stick. Never has been sharpened. I would like to try the second generation 550.
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Glad to hear it bud! It's all downhill now.:)
 
Razor said:
I really like how this knife fits my hand, the blade length, the steel, the weight. It seems about perfect to me. I just wonder if I will ever get on to opening it? Sometimes it will open, and then it won't and I get thinking I will have to open it like a slip joint. I know you need to keep your fingers off the lock bar and to push the opening stud straight up instead of out. I sure hate to sell this knife because I can't open it.
Click to expand...

Instead of pushing straight up, I usually push out at an angle. Something like 45 degrees from the knife handle. Always works for me. Good luck.
 
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