Question about Kershaw Camber

[filedog]

Haven't had a new knife in a while, this one caught my eye. I like the design, size, AO, etc. A couple of issues. The blade grind was uneven, ie, sharp in some areas, not in others. Sharpened up nice, so that one's taken care of. The lock bar and blade don't fit so well. It locks up early, with only half the bar contacting the blade, and the two pieces don't mate well. On all my other liner locks, the back of the blade is slightly angled, and the lock bar matches this. On the Camber the end of the lock bar is square, not angled like the back of the blade, so they meet at a much smaller contact point. Any other Camber owners notice this? I gotta think that isn't right. Also, the blade rubs the lock bar when closed. It's only a small rub, doesn't affect the action, and is not really noticeable due to the stonewash, BUT, I have never seen this before either. If I hadn't sharpened it, I would probably exchange it, but too late for that now. I did some research on KAI's CS, and some were happy, but others had tales of woe - literally MONTHS gone by, and the problem remains. I am spoiled by Great Eastern's CS, had my knife back in a week, PERFECT, no questions asked. What do you think?

 

[flarp]

I've only dealt with KAI warranty twice, and both times, turnaround was about 2 weeks from the day I sent it off.

 

[NorthernSouthpaw]

Call customer service. they should do right by you. Kai has great CS. Don't bother with email. I found that if you speak to an actual human at Kai CS the turnaround is much faster.

For example, when the torsion bar broke on my Burst I initially did the e-request through the Kai/Kershaw website. After waiting 2-3 weeks with no real response I called and made a request for them to send 2 bars So I can have a backup. About 2 weeks later I got a 2 pack of bars along with some screws. 2 weeks after that I got the single bar from my e-request.

It never hurts to call.

 

[RamZar]

Send it in to KAI for service if you're not happy. They have great CS, warranty and repair.

I like the Camber a lot and have two of them with one being used fairly regularly. It's a lot of knife for $70 with S30V well-built in the U.S.

 

[filedog]

Send it in to KAI for service if you're not happy. They have great CS, warranty and repair.

I like the Camber a lot and have two of them with one being used fairly regularly. It's a lot of knife for $70 with S30V well-built in the U.S.

How does your lock bar and blade fit? Is it similar to what I described? Is your lockup early?

 

[kornphlake]

If I understand your description of the lock bar correctly, it is normal. Only the inside edge of the lock bar should contact the angled lock face on the blade. It is done that way so the pressure on the lock is concentrated on one point and the lock bar bites into the blade, if the two faces mated at the same angle the force would be spread over a larger area and the lock would be more likely to slip.

The lock bar should not rub on the blade except on the detent ball, if the lock bar is touching the blade in any other way something is wrong, the knife should be sent back.

 

[filedog]

If I understand your description of the lock bar correctly, it is normal. Only the inside edge of the lock bar should contact the angled lock face on the blade. It is done that way so the pressure on the lock is concentrated on one point and the lock bar bites into the blade, if the two faces mated at the same angle the force would be spread over a larger area and the lock would be more likely to slip.

The lock bar should not rub on the blade except on the detent ball, if the lock bar is touching the blade in any other way something is wrong, the knife should be sent back.

Well, my Spyderco lockbacks DO have the tow faces mated at the same angle, but thanks for the info.