Sebenza pivot tightness?

[lemmuhj]

Thanks for all the replys I'm prob going to send it in for a look, and to fix/replace whatever.

It was "normal" when i got it...took it apart for a cleaning, then put it back together. This is when i noticed the blade tightness after normal(to me) tightening of the pivot screws

 

[Matthewd]

Thanks for all the replys I'm prob going to send it in for a look, and to fix/replace whatever.

It was "normal" when i got it...took it apart for a cleaning, then put it back together. This is when i noticed the blade tightness after normal(to me) tightening of the pivot screws

Oh - if it was normal when you got it, then you did something. take it apart, check the washers for flatness, lube it and re-assemble it. Do this per the crk instructions where the only screw removed is the pivot - do not loosen the frame screws. If it is still funky, call them before you send it back. They might be able to troubleshoot it with you.
There are not many parts, so not many possible problems exist.

 

[kreole]

Here's what I do to put it together on the off chance it helps:

1) Put the female ends of the screws through the non-locking side (so that the lock bar isn't pushing everything out of position the whole way).
2) Put in the pivot bushing and spacers.
3) Put one washer in. Don't pick it up again, or you do, remove and replace the washer. This makes sure it doesn't get pinched.
4) Lube the blade and slide it on the pivot bushing.
5) Put the other washer on. The bushing will be taller than the blade; you should be able to push sideways on the washer without it moving.
6) Screw it together! I do the back screw first, then rotate the handle in place and screw the other two. This minimizes movement around the pivot to make sure the top washer isn't dislodged by the locking bar side, since pressing down against the spring is left until the last possible moment.

The biggest thing is switching the female ends to the non-locking side. It makes it so much easier to put together.

 

[para_cord]

I had the EXACT same problems you describe with my brand new large 21.

There is, fortunately, an easy fix. The problem is that the pivot bushing seems to be slightly too short, causing the pivot screw to put tension on the blade when it is snugged up. You need to remove a very small amount of material from the PB washers.

to do this, put a dab of flitz onto a leather strop and use light finger pressure to polish each side of both washers. Don't over-do it. You want to remove just a tiny amount of metal so that each side is smooth and shiny.

Take care to remove all of the abrasive by running them under water and then shooting some Rem-Oil or the like to blow off the gunk. Then re-wash them so they are clean and dry. I assembled with STOS grease (great stuff made by Ponsness-Warren, the company that makes shotshell reloading equipment).

Put it all back together and you should have a VERY smooth action regardless of how tight you make the pivot screw. Mine still won't free-fall if I remove the lockbar tension on the blade, but it's really close.

Let me know if that helps.

 

[brownshoe]

No offense para_cord, but CRK has specifically stated that the washers should not be polished. From the sticky up above:

"There is no need to put lube between the washers and the handle, nor is it necessary to do any super special polishing of the washers. Just make sure they are clean (rub them flat on a piece of paper towel to remove existing lube and any dirt that may be sticking to them) – you don’t want to get into a situation where you have altered the thickness of the washer because you are going to get problems with side play."

 

[para_cord]

I hear ya and I wish I didn't have to do it but mine was totally unusable until I did that. That suggestion, I think, was assuming that everything was correct as it came from the factory.

Mine definitely didn't go through QC before it left the factory. The tolerances between the pivot bushing, washers, and handle slabs were off slightly. Now they are perfect after removing a half a thousandth or so.

I suspect that if I sent it in they would have done the exact same thing. I doubt they would have installed a new, slightly longer pivot.

 

[Haze]

That is the sort of advice that caused the problems with the knife I had (for a short while). Someone that didn't know any better went on to a forum and was told to sand bits down with out any one even seeing the knife or knowing what they were doing. I know it's a pain in the arse to send things back. Believe me, I know all too well living on the other side of the world, but it's best not to try a fix things on the fly. A quick fix can easily turn into a long break.

 

[para_cord]

Meh...maybe. But if you're even remotely handy and have a basic concept of how mechanical things work, I think you should be fine.

We're talking about shaving a TINY TINY bit of metal off a bronze washer. heck if you screw up, just order a couple more.

Folks, some things can be handled by one's self. Have confidence!

 

[Haze]

Indeed, but you may or may not be surprised at how cack handed some people can be. I think the guy I bought the knife off was told to do the same but ended up sanding everything down to try and fix something that was not needing fixed and that he was just making worse.

An example if you will.....

[video=youtube;1IL22sLF25s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IL22sLF25s[/video]

Meh...maybe. But if you're even remotely handy and have a basic concept of how mechanical things work, I think you should be fine.

We're talking about shaving a TINY TINY bit of metal off a bronze washer. heck if you screw up, just order a couple more.

Folks, some things can be handled by one's self. Have confidence!