Opinions on adjusting lock strength?

K

kkim0229

Joined
Dec 6, 2006
Messages
130
Hi,

I'm an owner of a small classic Sebenza.

I'd like to hear people's take on tweaking the lock bar bend. You folks prabably know what I mean by this, but for those who don't know, it's overbending the lock bar "out" or to the left to relieve the lock strength. The excessive lock bend to the right, for sure, makes the lock stronger. On the other hand, it causes marring between the lock face and the blade tang, hence the soar thumb and fast wearing of your knife, and also makes the action less than smooth.

I've seen posts where a number of senior members passionately discourage the tweaking, however. In fact, just to prevent overbending, a device called lock stop has been invented. On the other hand, upon some more search, I've come across posts where several reputable members and a couple of revered framelock expert makers "hinting" that when the bending out is done with discretion and care, it may help the action of your Sebenza, or all framelock folders in general which suffer from stiffness.

Here is a summary of a post I read, which I wholeheartedly agree with:

Despite the popular belief that smoothening the washers/pivot makes the action smoother, the most of the friction comes from the detent ball pressing down on the blade tang. To test this, push on the lock bar hard enough so the detent ball is not touching the blade tang. You'll find that then the blade is suddenly very free to rotate, and will fall only with gravitational force. All those times you spent on polishing the washers and lubing gone to nothing! Normal Sebenzas have so consistently smooth pivots from the factory, yes, thanks the bushing system, that they have not needed the polishing after all.

The only way to relieve the friction is to somehow lubricate the detent ball, which certainly won't stay for long on such a small area, or to ever slightly reduce the very strong bend to the right that CRK puts into the lock bar. The less rightward "spring" pressure the lockbar has, the less friction you'll feel in the action. But if you don't know what youre doing, you could easily reduce the tension too much, which may rid the self-correcting ability of the lock and eventually develop a blade play. The good news is, though if you went too far, you can fix it by bending it back to the right until you find the sweet spot between tight lockup and smooth action.

I, myself, am certainly not under impression that to bend the bar back and forth multiple times is OK. Titanium is a flexible metal, however over stretching back and forth like that most definitely will reduce its durability, as a paperclip bent 10 times would snap. However, I think CRK might be producing Sebenzas with just a tad too strong lock bars, which is definitely a plus on the safety and the reliability side, but maybe too much for the casual users like me who enjoys opening and closing the knife occasionally.

So upon close inspection and some experimentation, I tweaked the lock strength just right for my taste, no more "way too sticky" lock for me, and I'm a happy one. Well, thanks for reading, and please give your feedbacks!

Q
 
I am a big believer in tweaking the lock bars on folders I feel do not have enough resistance. I've done this on my ZT0200, my Strider AR, and a few others. The only two I have not had to tweak, because they were stiff enough to my prefrence, were the Sebenza's I've had, and the Blade-Tech Rijback. The Hinderer Lock Stabilzer isa device that prevents overtravl to the lockbar. This could happen in a situation that has your adrealine flowing and a person could unlock the framelock and unknowlingly bend it to far out so that the lockbar no longer functions as a lockbar.

I also agree that ths bending must be done ith caution as you can get ittoo tight and then have to reverse the process and I'm just not sure if bending then rebending is good for the liners. So far I've had no trouble with the tweaking I've done.

I think that this tweaking makes for a more secure lockup as it really takes a concious thought to unlock the lockbar. It is not going to slide over itself until you push it over, or some twisting pushes it over for you, always a ra possibility in liner lcks ad also framelocks to some extent.
 
I polished the area where it has contact with the washer. And my sebs are just as smooth as butter.
 
Concerning smoothness, it depends on the knife, yes the detent can drag, but I always test smoothness holding the lock away, so I am actually testing the smoothness of the washers. In my cases polishing the washers has been effective.

On bending the lock, most of my experience is that the pocket clip is putting too much pressure on the lock bar. So the first thing I do is check and fix that. If that doesn't fix it a little judicious outbending is tried.
 
The pocket clip adds to the pressure on the lockbar. Take the clip off and notice the difference. Tweeking the clip is a better idea, considering the price of a new clip vs. new handle slab if you mess stuff up.

-jeff
 
Was having a heck of a time pushing the lock over to close my Small Sebenza. Arrived yesterday and within an hour there was a butterfly bandage on my right thumb knuckle. Had to add a splint to keep from bending the joint. Sucks but usually get a nick of two with every new knife.

Just got done adjusting the lock. Was a little loose after the adjustment but when the pocket clip was reinstalled it is perfect. No more sore thumb from the tight lock. Sure glad this thread was posted.

Thanks:thumbup:
 
DaveH said:
On bending the lock, most of my experience is that the pocket clip is putting too much pressure on the lock bar. So the first thing I do is check and fix that. If that doesn't fix it a little judicious outbending is tried.
Click to expand...

Excellent point, check the clip tension before tinkering with the lock bar.

I'm happy with the stiff action of my stock Sebbie but this methodology would reduce the pressure on the lock.
 
My question is who has ever bent any knife that far that you've busted your framelock? If you're using any knife that hard, you might as well have a fixed blade.
 
I might be sidetracking, but I have another interesting point to bring over to the table.

I observed that if I open and close my Sebbie multiple times (let's say 50) back to back in very short period of time, the initially smooth action suddenly gets rough as if there is sand in the pivot. Then if I leave it alone for an hour or so, it becomes ever so smooth again. This phenomenon has been oberved by me and several other forum members, and applies to many if not all frame/liner locks.

My theory is that the detent ball gains heat from rubbing against the blade tang and expands. Accordingly the force which the ball presses against the tang increases. When the blade is left alone, the ball cools down and everything is back to normal.

This, in my opinion, is an inherent characteristic of frame/liner locks. However, this cannot be considered a defect of the design, because these locks are designed to lock securely and reliably when in use, not to be opened and closed several hundred times while you watch TV. However, if you're like me and like to cycle your folders, I recommend Benchmade Axis lock folders. Since the spring tension of the locking parts in an Axis lock folder is much weaker than the lock bar in a Sebenza, there is less friction and it's really fun to just flick them.
 
razr_usn said:
My question is who has ever bent any knife that far that you've busted your framelock? If you're using any knife that hard, you might as well have a fixed blade.
Click to expand...

I think you're missing the point of this post. We're talking about weakening the lock bar strength to save the locking surface and make disengaging the lock easy, not bending the other way to bust it.
 
My theory is that the detent ball gains heat from rubbing against the blade tang and expands.
Click to expand...

My theory is that you wear through the film of lubrication on the surface of the detent and tang. Leaving it alone for a while in you pocket lets the film reform.

You could test this by opening until it get stiff, then apply some lube. (Hot lube to remove the variable of heat)
 
Leave that @#@**@# locking bar ALONE. I would direct all my questions to CRK.
 
DaveH said:
My theory is that you wear through the film of lubrication on the surface of the detent and tang. Leaving it alone for a while in you pocket lets the film reform.

You could test this by opening until it get stiff, then apply some lube. (Hot lube to remove the variable of heat)
Click to expand...

Actually I buy your theory. Good point.
 
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