Pivot Screw Snugness

the925life

the925life

Joined
Mar 2, 2012
Messages
36
How many of you have experienced a Sebenza that has or had a pivot screw that could be tightened enough to restrict the blade from opening? I've owned three of various flavors and every one could be tightened enough to make the blade impossible to open.

I thought one of the benefits of a pivot bushing was to eliminate this. Thoughts? A "pinched washer" isn't the problem. What else?
 
The pivot screw is supposed to be "snug". There is no need to wrench the thing down.
 
The amount of snugness I'm talking about is not enough to create any amount of bowing in the Allen wrench. It's less than finger tight.
 
Interesting. How much grease are you using?

It only requires a thin film as too much could act like it is adding thickness to the blade/pivot assembly.
 
the925life said:
How many of you have experienced a Sebenza that has or had a pivot screw that could be tightened enough to restrict the blade from opening? I've owned three of various flavors and every one could be tightened enough to make the blade impossible to open.

I thought one of the benefits of a pivot bushing was to eliminate this. Thoughts? A "pinched washer" isn't the problem. What else?
Click to expand...

I have purchased two brand-new 21s that were like this to start. In both cases pivot bushing was slightly narrower than the overall thickness of the two washers and the blade, so when you tightened it down (nothing crazy tight) the knife was locked. In the first case I just used loctite and adjusted the pivot until enough wear on the washers took place and the knife became normal. In the second case I said "screw this" to myself, and just polished the washers down on a loaded strop until the thickness was perfect. The yadda yadda yadda that every CRK leaves the factory 100% perfect is largely hype. I love the brand and designs, but for sure the odd one needs a little tweak to be 100%. The good news is the fix is easy, and the knife will be perfect, and it's better to have the knife start tight, and end up perfect, than start ok, and end up loose.

That's my two bits.
 
A couple more thoughts...

Make sure you are assembling the CRK recommended way. Scales first and slide blade, etc in.

Are the washers bent or not perfectly flat?

Upon assembly, are you giving it a couple of good wrist flicks to let everything settle in?

Also, after assembly and doing the wrist flick, you may want to try to put sideways pressure on the blade and exercise it open and closed for a bit. This trick works.
 
I've yet to have a new CRK have these issues, I've had a few users that felt gritty and were sluggish to open. I wound up honing the washers on a big slab of Arkansas stone. What I noticed that sometimes the washers are not flat, they actually had high spots on them. Once the high spots were honed, the knife was smooth and the pivot could be cranked down without it being difficult to open.
Maybe the washers are a little warped and needs to be resurfaced.
 
I haven't had one, but hearing (reading) a lot more about it lately. They're production knives so it's possible not every single one is perfect.
 
Ive had this happen and its extremely dissapointing, but as Kidcongo stated, it is an easy fix.....for CRK that is lol. Ive always been scared to mess with the washers/pivot etc..I sent mine in and it came back perfect. Most all CRKs need some time to break in/and or slight adjustments to work like theyre supposed to.
 
Unlucky people.

I've not had one that way yet, but then again I've only had 15 or so Sebenzas.
 
The washers are perfectly flat as far as I can tell. I can get them adjusted to have absolute perfect action and a smooth, controlled drop when I take lock bar pressure off the blade tang, but it requires very precise pivot screw tension. To me a Sebenza shouldn't require much adjusting. Maybe I'll call CRK and send one in to see what they can do with it.
 
Tripton said:
Unlucky people.

I've not had one that way yet, but then again I've only had 15 or so Sebenzas.
Click to expand...

I only have one and I had to run pivot screw loose so I sent it in hopefully it won't be there to long I already miss it!!!!!!!
 
the925life said:
The washers are perfectly flat as far as I can tell. I can get them adjusted to have absolute perfect action and a smooth, controlled drop when I take lock bar pressure off the blade tang, but it requires very precise pivot screw tension. To me a Sebenza shouldn't require much adjusting. Maybe I'll call CRK and send one in to see what they can do with it.
Click to expand...

People like to 'blame the victim' sometimes on these forums, so don't feel you are either doing something wrong, or are unjustified in your concern. Its not rocket science, and yes it should be right. If the thickness of the two washers, added to the thickness of the blade, is greater than the thickness of the bushing, a 21 will be tight or seized when you snug the pivot screw, simple as that. After several years on this forum I can attest this is not a common/daily complaint, but crops up often enough to remind me I am not crazy for having had a couple CRKs with this same issue. It doesn't take much of a difference in thickness to make a big difference in action (if the pivot bushing is even 1/1000th" too narrow, the knife won't be right). You could send it to CRK, or if you have access to a mild strop, you could slowly polish a minute and equal amount off the washers until the fit is right. Likely that is was CRK is going to do when you send it in. You can see them doing this step in the BHQ videos, albeit at a faster pace than I would recommend for your own knife.
 
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