Picked up a 55! I like it!

S

sharkattacksw

Joined
Aug 4, 2008
Messages
626
I picked up a 55 the other day and I’m impressed. The knife seems to be a fantastic pocketknife; a great alternative to my trusty 503.

I noticed that upon opening and closing the blade, it feels a little “gritty” about the mid-way point. Will that go away with use (opening and closing it a lot)? I put a dab of WD-40 in the pivot area and worked it a bit, but that didn’t help.

Any ideas on how to smooth this out?
 
hot water and soap and a brush will get that polishing compound out if thats it. then wd40 to remove water on pivot and good drying.

although....seems while back there was a run of 55s that had a nonfunctional issue similar to what you describe. someone posted about it year or more ago and Jeff responded what it was etc. worth a search here to maybe see if its the same thing for yours. course that was when they were still walnut scales....thats been solved long since ebony started.
 
I’ve had a few that were a little gritty and stiff. Like jb I wash them in soapy water working the action under water. A rinse with plain water and blow it dry with compressed air. Then a drop of oil on the pivot and back spring and that has always made it smooth and sure. Some might take some cycling to get the action broken in and smoother.
 
Thanks for the info, guys. I have to admit, I’m a little hesitant to put my knife under the running water of my faucet and scrub it with soap and water. I guess it won’t hurt or cause any rust issues?
 
sharkattacksw said:
Thanks for the info, guys. I have to admit, I’m a little hesitant to put my knife under the running water of my faucet and scrub it with soap and water. I guess it won’t hurt or cause any rust issues?
Click to expand...

Hot water and soap, followed by a thorough drying, and some lite oil worked into the joints, won't hurt a knife, Even one made from carbon steel. Your 55 and most Bucks are made from stainless steel.

O.B.
 
sharkattacksw said:
Thanks for the info, guys. I have to admit, I’m a little hesitant to put my knife under the running water of my faucet and scrub it with soap and water. I guess it won’t hurt or cause any rust issues?
Click to expand...
The 55 is made with stainless and brass and some limited editions are nickel silver. They won’t rust in the short amount of time it takes to wash, rinse, dry and oil. If you let them soak for several hours the wood might swell and the blade might have some lite surface rust but not in a few or several minutes. The ones with carbon steel like 5160 and 52100 will rust as well as other non stainless/ non coated blades.
 
To the OP,
We have heard this issue hundreds of times, we answer it with same answer. Open knife with gritty blade turn on hot water let it get as hot as it will get. Then put some Dawn dish soap in it and work blade under the running water. If you think its fixed. Then blow dry the knife with hair dryer, spray it with WD-40 to displace any remaining water, wipe it down and let the WD disappear. Then very lightly oil pivot. Works 99% of the time.
 
Forgot I used superglue and pressed together. It did split the wood tho when pressed flat 20201001_161715.jpg 20201001_161656.jpg 20201001_161612.jpg
 
Makael said:
Ill send a pic of a 55 that the scales warped bad on the one i cleaned with hot water.
Click to expand...
Hope that don't happen a hundred times.:rolleyes:

I can believe that could happen to the thin walnut scales on a 55.
It probably wouldn't happen to a dymondwood scale. (And I've complained about those in the past, but they obviously have some advantages...)
I'm not sure how hydrophobic ebony is. Tho I would guess the thicker the scale the safer.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: plb
If you want to avoid water, try using an air compressor only, with a blow gun. I've had plenty of success smoothing out the action of lockbacks and slipjoints by using a lot of high pressure (120 psi) air. Not only will it penetrate and remove debris from the pivot, it will help remove polishing compound and other grit causing friction between the lock bar and the frame or liners.

The last thing I like to do is put a drop of Victorinox Multi Tool Oil (which is actually more like a thin clear grease) on the blade tang where it rides on the lock bar, making for a buttery smooth open and close.
 
jbmonkey said:
is that the walnut version?.....I ask as I had one i left in my truck for summer or two...forgot about it and the very thin scales warped upwards from the pins due to super high humidity and massive heat here. still functional, but i never used it so i gifted it to a coworker without a knife.
Click to expand...
Yes, walnut.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I use mineral oil on a gritty knife including my 55 when I got it, just put a liberal amount in the pivot and operate it to get the grit flushed out.
Click to expand...
That's what I did with a brand new 110 that had a lot of black gunk in the pivot. It was stiff as ole' hell and wouldn't shut properly without manually pushing it into the blade well.

I have several containers of machine oil (not sure why) and grabbed one to give the pivot a little oil. Apparently, the applicator hole was bigger than I thought and a lot more oil came out than I was suspecting and gave the 110 a good drenching. Smooth as glass now and the ebony covers are well oiled too.
 
colin.p said:
That's what I did with a brand new 110 that had a lot of black gunk in the pivot. It was stiff as ole' hell and wouldn't shut properly without manually pushing it into the blade well.

I have several containers of machine oil (not sure why) and grabbed one to give the pivot a little oil. Apparently, the applicator hole was bigger than I thought and a lot more oil came out than I was suspecting and gave the 110 a good drenching. Smooth as glass now and the ebony covers are well oiled too.
Click to expand...
careful certain oils will swell wood and others can make it soft. id wipe it all off til dry again if it were mine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top