PM2 Bladeplay

[jalcon]

All of my Para2 knives do that, to some extent. I'd say there might be something not aligned if you have to wrist flick the knife. It's not exactly supposed to fall like a guillotine.





I still say that (based on what I see in my knives) the pivot should be able to be tightened all the way down, and the knife should operate notmally. Tightening the pivot shouldn't make the blade immovable. Again, just my experience. There could also be some variances between the stepped pivots from one run to the next. Who knows.

I think this is all a difference of people's opinions on what blade play really is. I mean, sure I can have my Para 2 also just drop shot as soon as I disengage the lock, but you best believe if I hold the tip of the knife with one hand and the handle with the other, I can get alittle bit of "play" or "pivot flex".

 

[jalcon]

All but one of my P2s (about a dozen and a half) have pivots that can be tightened enought to clamp the blade. The exception is one that can't be tightened enough to eliminate lateral play. I think it's all a question of normal tolerances.

You mean when you tighten it the WHOLE way down, the blade does not swing freely AT ALL? That's how mine is.

 

[JNewell]

You mean when you tighten it the WHOLE way down, the blade does not swing freely AT ALL? That's how mine is.

Yes - that's why I said "clamps." Absolutely frozen. That's fine - I'm happy adjusting pivots. :thumbup: The other end of the tolerance range is not so great - in my opinion - even if it's not a real functional problem.

 

[bobjam]

This is all making me feel better about my PM2 bladeplay, so thanks for responding.

I basically now will think of the para2 as a relatively light-duty piercer and slicer.

If you have a manix 2 XL to play with (maybe manix 2 as well, presuming they're similar enough... I never got one cus of the hollow grind) you can see what I was comparing it to and expecting the para2 to be. The manix 2 XL has steel liners all the way through, whereas in the para 2 they are set into the G10 liners. My manix 2 XL flicks open with ease and locks super tight with only the slightest of pivot-flex even when I grab it at the tip of the blade and jerk it back and forth. I can then one-handed release the CBBL and the blade will swing all the way closed without any extra effort from me. Its weight definitely helps give it a bit of extra angular acceleration to go the needed distance.

I really hope they come out with a para2 with full steel liners to help minimize the flex, as well as add in the CBBL, which I honestly find easier to manipulate than the compression lock. The compression lock, great as it is, is a major cause of para2 blade centering issues. The other reasons for the centering issues are simply due to unfortunately "wide" tolerances in drilling out the scales. If the scales were drilled out perfectly, when all the nuts were tightened and the lanyard hole inset, the blade would be very well centered. As it is, I can achieve better centering on my blade by jerking the lanyard hole metal pieces so that they are slightly offset, but this tends to correct itself over time and the blade remains off-center.

There are two solutions I see to this issue:

1. The problem is not a big deal. If you use the knife as a light/moderate piercer/slicer, you'll be fine. The blade flex and centering issues do not have an impact on the function of the blade as most people will use it. Solution #1 is just to live with it as everyone has the past few years.

2. Custom scales. If you get high quality custom scales that do not flex like G10 does and are drilled out so well that the centering is precise, you will be golden. I'm not versed in what materials have more or less flex that G10... I assume any kind of wood would suit the bill. There may also be some synthetics that compete with G10 but are harder... these would be worth a shot.

 

[JNewell]

This is all making me feel better about my PM2 bladeplay, so thanks for responding.

I basically now will think of the para2 as a relatively light-duty piercer and slicer.

If you have a manix 2 XL to play with (maybe manix 2 as well, presuming they're similar enough... I never got one cus of the hollow grind) you can see what I was comparing it to and expecting the para2 to be. The manix 2 XL has steel liners all the way through, whereas in the para 2 they are set into the G10 liners. My manix 2 XL flicks open with ease and locks super tight with only the slightest of pivot-flex even when I grab it at the tip of the blade and jerk it back and forth. I can then one-handed release the CBBL and the blade will swing all the way closed without any extra effort from me. Its weight definitely helps give it a bit of extra angular acceleration to go the needed distance.

I really hope they come out with a para2 with full steel liners to help minimize the flex, as well as add in the CBBL, which I honestly find easier to manipulate than the compression lock. The compression lock, great as it is, is a major cause of para2 blade centering issues. The other reasons for the centering issues are simply due to unfortunately "wide" tolerances in drilling out the scales. If the scales were drilled out perfectly, when all the nuts were tightened and the lanyard hole inset, the blade would be very well centered. As it is, I can achieve better centering on my blade by jerking the lanyard hole metal pieces so that they are slightly offset, but this tends to correct itself over time and the blade remains off-center.

There are two solutions I see to this issue:

1. The problem is not a big deal. If you use the knife as a light/moderate piercer/slicer, you'll be fine. The blade flex and centering issues do not have an impact on the function of the blade as most people will use it. Solution #1 is just to live with it as everyone has the past few years.

2. Custom scales. If you get high quality custom scales that do not flex like G10 does and are drilled out so well that the centering is precise, you will be golden. I'm not versed in what materials have more or less flex that G10... I assume any kind of wood would suit the bill. There may also be some synthetics that compete with G10 but are harder... these would be worth a shot.

The Para2 does have what are essentially full steel liners - they're recessed into the scales so they're not visually obvious unless you look into the knife. As far as fit and finish go, although they're not perfect, the ones I've got (and I've got about a dozen and a half) are all very good, especially for a knife that has a normal dealer street price in the $100-110 range. I've never noticed any flex with a Para2, for what it's worth. I wonder if the knife you've got is defective.

 

[Surfingringo]

I'm going to have to side with Jnewell on this one. My pm2 is very solid for a folder. I also own a Gayle Bradley which in theory is my hard use knife, but so far I have to say that if I'm only going to use my pm2 for "light duty" tasks, then apparently pretty much all my tasks are light duty. (Actually I have a sneaky suspicion my knives get used harder than most) Anyway, I find the tip of the pm2 WAY more useful than the GB as long as I'm not lifting manhole covers with it. . But as always, it depends on ones intended use.

 

[Stark Knives]

Does anyone have any other ideas for breaking the loctite bond without something like a soldering iron?

 

[jbmonkey]

Does anyone have any other ideas for breaking the loctite bond without something like a soldering iron?

the hair dryer works pretty good, it takes more time than you'd like but it will get hot enough. i use a hair dryer to remove cosmoline on c&r rifles. it will eventually turn the stuff into liquid and make it run off. that requires around 130-150 or so degree f or so......so a hair dryer can get plenty hot over time.

the other method, so your wife doesn't complain about using her hair dryer, is the coffee mug and microwave. i had to take apart a zt 0550, cause of a poorly engaged lock bar. i used the hot water in the microwave for about 2 minutes. it worked on half of the locktited screws and the other ones took a second does of sitting in the hot water, and then allot of force to break them loose but they all eventually gave loose.

 

[jalcon]

+1 on the hair dryer method. Worked for me.

 

[senorsquare]

Does anyone have any other ideas for breaking the loctite bond without something like a soldering iron?

I've clamped vise grips onto the handle of the Torx driver to get enough extra leverage to break the loctite bond. Some folks may not be comfortable using this brute force method, but it has worked for me. YMMV.