Questions on my CUDA 154CM EDC

The General · May 10, 2001

Just got two of these. They seem very nice blades, however...

1. One blade is centred perfectly, but seems rather reluctant to lock closed, you need to be quite positve opening the knife to get the frame bar to snap into place. Once it does, it is rock solid. Will this break in?

2. The other blade is of centre towards the lock bar, the blade will rub the frame if pressed fairly hard when opening. Is there a simple edjustment to bring it back to the centre? The lock bar barely covers the tang of the blade, in fact it is very very easy to unlock with the slightest pressure on the lock bar. Is this normal and can it be adjusted?

[Hang on! I have just adjusted the pivot and pressed the blade away from the direction it was favouring and after tightening the pivot and adjusting it so it was not over tight, it seems to have fixed the problem! I will leave the above in just in case someone else has the same problem.] This with regards to question 2

3. Are any of the screws Loc tighted? Only I tried to take the clip of to make it a bit more positive and I noticed the middle screw does not want to come off. I don't think I have stripped it, but it is VERY stiff. How about the other screws?

4. If Loc-tite is used, why is this? I find it very annoying and have never had the need for using this product.

Great little knife otherwise! Love the oversized recurve and quality. I would 100% be in favour of a larger model in said steel or BG-42. Thank you for the chance to own this knife (my first Camillus as well)

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Wayne.
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!

The General · May 10, 2001

I have just had another look at the one that was off center.

I now have a little bit of blade play, when I tighten the pivot enough to remove the blade blay, but still make for a smooth opening, the blade is off centre to the lock bar side of the handle, The other knife is perfectly centred, and has no blade play.

Is there another adjustment to fix this? I know I am being a git over such a small thing, but as one is near enough perfect, is a lock bar side off centering normal? Or within tolerances? Cheers!

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Wayne.
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!

Will Fennell · May 10, 2001

General,
As you have found out, the relative "tightness" of your pivot screw is of great importance to the function of your knife. To loose, the blade can be pushed off center a bit by the pressure from the lock bar, too tight, and its not comfortable to open. Throw in with that the fact that EVERYBODY has a different idea of what is the CORRECT level of tightness, and you have why most of these type knives have adjustable pivots. Some customers could care less if the blade is off center in the closed position, they want to be able to flick the blade open very easily. Others want everything to line up perfectly, but don't care as much about slinging their blade open. Some folks want both [ they are usually rather frustrated

]. Its usually a matter of trail and error, and of course personal preference. If you still have a problem, or more questions with regard to this, drop me an email.

As far as the lock bar engagement w/ the tang of the blade. The bar should engage the tang of the blade when opened "normally", if the nife is new, and tight, snap it open a few times, and it should quickly settle in. Keep in mind, that adjusting the pivot can change these things also, so get the pivot where you want first. Then, take a look at the lock engagement. If yours is just engaging on the first part of the tang of the blade, it means that you have maximum wear to go. Now this being a hardened steel frame lock, don't worry about it wearing real fast, you have years of service. Once again, play with it, and if you still have questions, drop me an email, we will make sure you are a happy customer.

We DO locktite all of the screws except the pivot, becuase it is intended to be adjustable. We consider this a plus, and it is something that marketing has revealed that is considered a "good thing" by our customers. Keep in mind that we use "blue locktite" which is just a removable "thread locker", not a permanent thing. It is removealb with hand pressure....if it feels really stubborn, just a little heat will break it loose, but I have not found that it is needed on the EDC. The RED locktite is the tough stuff, and is only used on things you want to stay togehter forever. Blue locktite just keeps screws from loosening from vibration,....like people flicking knives open all day

Thanks for trying our knives!

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Stay Sharp!
Will Fennell
Camillus Cutlery
www.camillusknives.com

[This message has been edited by Will Fennell (edited 05-10-2001).]

The General · May 10, 2001

Thank you Will! I have loosened the pivot a tad on the one that was not engaging properly and it seems fine now, I think the pivot was so tight it was a bit much!

On the other knife, which is now my EDC in front right pocket! I loosened the pivot, pulled the blade the opposite way while open and tightened to the point where is was just tight enough to avoid blade play. Result? Blade perfectly centred, smooth to open, but not flickable lockup at tight as I would wish for! The lock bar covers about half the tang and has plenty of wear left in it. All in all it has worked a treat.

This is a very very very nice little knife, I am a bit disapointed over the loc titeing the screws, but understand the desire to offer a genuine service to the normal ELU. We knifeknuts are far from the standard user! We do moan a bit... Sorry!

All in all I am very pleased with these knives and as the first Camillus knives I have bought am confident I will be buying more in the future.

I tried to open the screws and managed the outer clip screws no problem, the middle one however is so tight, I has slightly stripped the thread on the screw

, not enough to stop me opening it without the loc tite, but with it there is no chance. Do you think the heat from a hairdrier is enough to let me access the screw or shall I buy a soldering iron?

Again, many thanks for the great product and giving me the chance to own such a great little knife. It means a lot to me.

------------------
Wayne.
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!

Will Fennell · May 10, 2001

General,
You stripped the "thread" of the slip screw, or the "head" of the clip screw? If you think you need to loosen the threadlocker locktite, I would just heat the head of your Torx T6 drives with a lighter, and while the driver is still hot, loosen the screw. I have removed all the screws on several EDC's, and not had to resort to this to loosen any of the screws. Is there a problem that is requiring your to remove the clip? IF so, we want to help!

Glad you like the knives!

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Stay Sharp!
Will Fennell
Camillus Cutlery
www.camillusknives.com

Buzzbait · May 11, 2001

It is defintely true that EDCs loosen up over time. Mine were a very tight open when I first got them, and the engagement and disengagement of the lock was a little too tight. I oiled the pivot and snapped the knife open repeatedly to loosen things up. Snapping the knife mashed down any rough areas on the edge of the blade and lock bar.

My EDC is smooth as silk now, and the lock aligns perfectly with the blade. It just takes a little time to break the knife in.

The General · May 11, 2001

Sorry Will, it is the head of the screw that feels like is is half stripped. I wanted to remove the clip and bend it to give a bit more 'bite' in my pocket. I sat down the other day, and while leaning back in a chair, the knife fell out of my pocket onto the floor. The clip is in need of a little bend thats all. I will try the lighter on my T6 driver and see if that helps at all. Otherwise the knife is perfect, well not quite near the tip of the blade there is a 1mm part of the blade that is not quite properly sharpened

. This knife is just SOOO well thought out! Thank you!

Is is possible to order some spare screws for the clip and handle? Dunces like me find spare screws quite handy

!

Thanks for listening!

------------------
Wayne.
"To strive to seek to find and not to yield"
Tennyson
Ranger motto

A few useful details on UK laws and some nice reviews!
http://members.aol.com/knivesuk/
Certified steel snob!

cutty · May 11, 2001

Will I think the knife is great. I had the same problem . It will be all right.