Paramilitary 2 side to side blade play

S

stillshot2

Joined
Jun 6, 2014
Messages
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I have a very lightly used PM2 that had no blade play when new but the other day after a little use I noticed some side to side that could be felt. Went to tighten it up a little and all the screws were already pretty tight but I tightened the pivot, lockbar, then handle screw a tad more in that order one at a time then checking after each adjustment without any change with each screw. The blade can also swing back and forth freely when the lockback is out of the way even with the screws all the way tight, like the width of the lockbar or standoffs requires thicker pivot washers to even allow me the possibility of overtightening the pivot? Or do I need to loosen all the screws and retighten them in a certain order? I have no issues with any of my liner locks but don't know if I am overlooking if compression locks require different adjustments?
 
PM2's 'can' be a little fincky to adjust, or simply a dream once fully tuned. There are changes that have been made over the years that have changed how they tune, like the switch from a screwed stop-pin (stop-pin allowed a little action adjustment). Basically, there is a stepped pivot between the two sandwiched liners & bushings. Any debris (including excess LocTite) between G10/Liner, Liner/Blade Tang can cause inconsistency. Additionally, I have found small residual metal beads from the EDM cut-out process of the liners pivot hole that can cause inconsistencies. A full dis-ass inspection with close attention to the pivot area can many times revel various causes for inconsistencies. I have found there is no one answer for all. Additionally, having two functioning pivot screws can also create future issues, if user/maintainer does not consciously choose one screw to be permanent and only one used for adjustment (after initial tuning only use one for any future dis-ass maintenances.

Couple pic's showing the liner cut-out EDM residual referenced above. I have found these on either side of liner (G10 side and blade side), but always on same side of any one liner. Sometimes only the pivot, sometimes every cut-out has one.
If you zoom the full liner pic, you should be able to make out this bump at 6:00 position from the pocket-clip holes. Once you find one, easier to spot in the future. If on the scale side, tends to make a depression in the G10 after a firm tightening of pivot. If on the blade side, can cause pivot tightness inconsistencies as blade is opened and closed.

These pic's are of a Lil Native, but I have seen on various other linered models I have worked on.

Liner EDM Bump Close-720Wide.jpg

Same liner zoomed out (bump at 6:00 from pocket-clip holes):
Liner EDM Bump-720Wide.jpg
 
stillshot2 said:
I have a very lightly used PM2 that had no blade play when new but the other day after a little use I noticed some side to side that could be felt. Went to tighten it up a little and all the screws were already pretty tight but I tightened the pivot, lockbar, then handle screw a tad more in that order one at a time then checking after each adjustment without any change with each screw. The blade can also swing back and forth freely when the lockback is out of the way even with the screws all the way tight, like the width of the lockbar or standoffs requires thicker pivot washers to even allow me the possibility of overtightening the pivot? Or do I need to loosen all the screws and retighten them in a certain order? I have no issues with any of my liner locks but don't know if I am overlooking if compression locks require different adjustments?
Click to expand...

Ajack60 said:
I'd ask this question in the Spyderco sub forum.
Click to expand...

Here you go S stillshot2 , direct link to the Spyderco forum on BladeForums. Go ahead and post your same question there.

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I was told to repost in this subforum, so here it goes:
I have a very lightly used PM2 that had no blade play when new but the other day after a little use I noticed some side to side that could be felt. Went to tighten it up a little and all the screws were already pretty tight but I tightened the pivot, lockbar, then handle screw a tad more in that order one at a time then checking after each adjustment without any change with each screw. The blade can also swing back and forth freely when the lockback is out of the way even with the screws all the way tight, like the width of the lockbar or standoffs requires thicker pivot washers to even allow me the possibility of overtightening the pivot? Or do I need to loosen all the screws and retighten them in a certain order? I have no issues with any of my liner locks but don't know if I am overlooking if compression locks require different adjustments?
 
stillshot,

Ground it flush on that Lil Native as it was creating a couple confusing situations (either slight L/R blade play in open position or the blade did not have that slight closing snap that the owner was looking for/expecting because was too tight).
 
Thanks for the replies, spey.

So I'm hesitant to take it apart or mess with the adjustment at this time since it has drop shut action and the blade play is really a minimal amount but what is weird is that it is intermittent. Sounds like a little bump like that could cause an intermittent issue?
 
Update: I disassembled the knife yesterday, cleaned everything and lubed washers and pivot area with rem oil and put back together. All the surfaces looked pretty smooth and the play seems to be gone. Plus the drop shut action even more glassy smooth. There still isn't any room to tighten the blade up any more so hope it stays good. (Additional thought: There is a possibility by cleaning it there could have been some loctite removed that was not allowing for full tightening of the screws beforehand).
 
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