Sage I. rough action opening and closing

[Kenix]

My Sage I has been like this since day one. I didn't notice it at first because it's not obvious when opening the knife quickly. But if you swing the blade out slowly, it's very different from the silky smooth action I've come to expect from Spyderco's liner locks. It isn't gritty like there is sand in the pivot, but rough like the pivot is too tight. However, I have backed the pivot up to the point of introducing blade play and it feels the same. I think the issue may be caused by friction between the detent ball and the blade tang.

The feeling is hard to describe, but if you imagine swinging the blade out slowly, the action isn't one smooth sweeping motion but a series of small motions as friction grabs and gives. Don't think this is normal. I've tried washing the knife and then lubing with mineral oil after drying. That seems to improve the action for a day or two. Haven't tried taking the knife apart as the scale screws are all loctited.

 

[Daniel]

You could try a dab of grease on the ball detent. The ball could have flat spot on it. Sometimes, you can rotate the ball detent in the hole to move the spot.

If the grease doesn't work, you might consider sending it in. My Sage I is probably one of the smoothest knives that I have owned.

 

[brownshoe]

Grease on the ball will attact lint and dust and may lead to later failure to hold the knife closed. Been there done that.

 

[hoopster]

What about a spray lube with teflon like tri-flow or something similar? I didn't think mineral oil was much of a lubricant.

 

[Cisco Kid]

Yes, use a dry lube for the pivot. Either a teflon or silicone based lube will work well. I use a teflon product sold for bikes and have used silicone lube sold for garage doors. The teflon lube seems to last longer, but either will work well.

 

[brownshoe]

Triflow worked wonders on a few rough spyders for me. I've also used Tuff glide on a Harpy that wouldn't smooth out with triflow. It worked.

 

[Kenix]

I will get my hands on some Tuff glide and try it out. Can I apply the lubricant without taking the knife apart? One of the scale screws is already stripped from my discovery of the loctite.

 

[hoopster]

I will get my hands on some Tuff glide and try it out. Can I apply the lubricant without taking the knife apart? One of the scale screws is already stripped from my discovery of the loctite.

I don't know about tuff glide but Triflow shouldn't need any parts removal. They don't put the word "flow" in the name for nothing.

 

[cgmblade]

I learned from experience that it is possible to damage the pivot washers if you try to assemble the knife incorrectly. If this is your problem then it should get a little better with time as you use it. However, if it continues to bother you contact Spyderco and see if they will send you replacement washers.

If you do decide to disassemble your knife let me suggest you do it in this order. Assuming the knife is set for tip-up, right hand carry then remove the pivot screw on the clip/RIL side. Do not attempt to turn the pivot screw on the other side as it is D shaped and isn't suppose to turn. Remove the other two screws from the opposite side from the clip/RIL.

That's the pivot screw from the clip side and the other screws from the other side. Don't mess with the any other screws. This will help in reassembly and in centering the blade.

I don't know if this is the official Spyderco way of doing this, but it's what I found seems to work best.

 

[dsmegst]

Any updates on this? I love my Sages and I would love to hear about the end result.

 

[wally@ferguson]

Leafstorms are like that. Rough grinding noise is from detent ball rubbing against grind marks on blade tang. Goes away after a while.

 

[Kenix]

Sorry guys, haven't had a chance to go shopping for new lube yet. Will try the hobby store this weekend and update on the results.