Sebenza lock up question

catmath 1911

catmath 1911

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I have a question regarding the lock-up on a Large Sebenza. When I thumb my large classic open, it engages @ 1/3 of the tang. When I apply heavy presure to cut something, it migrates over to cover about 90-95% of the tang. Is this a normal expected response with a Sebenza?

I was using the blade to press cut through a 1/16 wooden dowel when the event occured. I was able to reproduce by doing some more cuts. The lock never "jammed" after migrating. I am not to concerned about it, just curious is all.

Thanks,
Andy
 
Andy,

No expert by any stretch but my large regular sebbie engages at 50% and stays at 50% during and after use. A more experienced knife pro will chime in soon and explain how or why your lock may creep. I would guess (and it's nothing more, not even educated!) that because of some minimal blade play the lock is allowed to shift (and move) under stress. My sebbie has absolutely zero blade play in any direction.

Dan
 
Dan,

Thanks for the reply. I believe it is probably within expected tolerances. I was just curious if someone else had a similar experience. The wood 1x4 i was using as a cutting surface, had dents from the pressure of the dowel. It is probably fine.

Andy
 
where you gripping it hard? Maybe your grip was shifting the lock.

Try picking it up and sueezing it like you where cutting without actually cutting. See if it behaves the same.
 
I may have been giving it a little squeeze. I can still get it to move to about 50% by applying presure on the tip.

I also gave it the militec/hairdryer treatment while I had it apart earlier. It is smooth as snot now. On a side note, can you ruin the Heatreat with a hairdryer. Metal got hot, but not to hot too handle.

Andy
 
Hmm… I just tried pressing the edge of my large, regular Sebenza into a wood cutting board. The lock bar didn’t seem to move at all; it stayed in position about halfway across the tang.

I have seen that happen pretty frequently with liner-locks though: if you put a lot of pressure on the edge (especially near the point), then the lock bar can move over a bit.

If there’s no perceptible blade play and the lock isn’t jamming, then I probably wouldn’t worry about it. You might want to get in touch with CRK’s warranty and repair though to get their opinion.
 
catmath 1911 said:
can you ruin the Heatreat with a hairdryer. Metal got hot, but not to hot too handle.

Andy
Click to expand...
a hair dryer wont get it that hot. so long as you can handle it then it's well below the temp needed to affect the HT
 
read the FAQ ;)

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128855

My problem is that the lock travels and hits the opposing liner when a firm grip is applied. I disassembled it and cleaned it thoroughly but the problem persists.

There is nothing to fix!! The lock will move over toward the back of the front handle slab if you press hard on it. After all, it is a spring that has a natural position and can move further if pushed. The spec position for the lock is to cover 75% of the blade. If it falls naturally further than that, we will adjust it.
A difference between the Sebenza and other liner locks is that you can get in behind the lock of a Sebenza and push it over. With the others, you can only push from the top of the liner which is a less effective movement.

We know that a lot of owners of Sebenzas like to adjust the lock and the pivot etc. but we DO discourage this. When we ship the knives, they work the way they are intended and modifications usually end up with something not working right!

- Anne Reeve, 11/03/98
Click to expand...
 
A little over a month ago I picked up a large classic with ivory inlays, took it camping and had a similar experiance. After witteling and making fuzz sticks for a fire, I noticed that the lock had moved about 85%-90%. It was kind of hard to get the lock to disengage. Once I closed and reopened the blade, the lock went back to it's normal 45%-50% position. Guessing that my grip was pretty firm when hacking on the wood. I was at it for over an hour.
Conclusion: Excess pressure on the lock side will cause it move over quite a bit more, but not a concern as the knife was built to do this normally. After time and time again of doing this, it may only cause excess lock ware, but not to the point of defect.
:cool:
170429.jpg
 
Yermom said it all. You should check out other framelocks by other manufacturers. Some of them have just a slight area that meets the blade tang and the lock doesn't migrate at all. Bladeplay sets it pretty quickly with framelocks built this way (or so I have found).
 
Eric J said:
Yermom said it all. You should check out other framelocks by other manufacturers. Some of them have just a slight area that meets the blade tang and the lock doesn't migrate at all. Bladeplay sets it pretty quickly with framelocks built this way (or so I have found).
Click to expand...

The FAQ only refers to excessive hand pressure in firm grips. His lock is migrating when he cuts with the knife. Different problem entirely.
 
Thanks for the replies. I assumed it was normal, just curious if it was something to be worried about.

Andy
 
Django606 said:
The FAQ only refers to excessive hand pressure in firm grips. His lock is migrating when he cuts with the knife. Different problem entirely.
Click to expand...

while i guess it's possible that they aren't explicitly related, you can't really cut hard without gripping hard, can you?
 
Doesn't seem like you would need to grip the knife very hard to cut a 1/16" dowel.
 
It is not so much the gripping, as it is the downward force on the handle.

Try this out to see if your Sebbie passes:

Get a Qtip. Place on a safe cutting surface. Attempt to cut the Qtip by applying pressure only on the handle and rocking the blade up and down. Please post if your lock migrates or doesn't.

For the record, mine does. I don't think this is a flaw in the knife, as it is a lot of pressure applied to the cutting edge. I doubt any framelock wouldn't budge some.

Also, let's be civilized on this thread. It was not started to arouse hostility or start arguements.

Andy
 
My 10 year old lg seb does the same thing !
Not to worry. Imust have opened and closed that knife 1000's of times and the lock up is still strong. Just make sure that when you strip it you follow the directions outlined here in the forum, especially when you reassemble.
 
Here are some pics to show the various lockups my sebenza has:

1. Thumbing blade open.
2. Moderate cutting pressure (whittling on dry hardwood, etc.)
3. Heavy pressure on handle to cut. This pressure makes my hand hurt to apply this much force to material being cut.

Let me know what you all think.
 
I think that framelocks are going to do that to some extent, but for what it's worth, I tried your test with the Q-tip, and the lock up didn't change. It was, before and after the test, almost identical to the lock up in your picture #2. I wouldn't worry about it too much.
 
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