Skyline connoisseurs help please.

H

Harry

Joined
Aug 8, 2014
Messages
209
Received my Black Carbon Fiber S30V from BladeHQ yesterday and what a beautify knife! While I do not plan on carrying it I still enjoy playing around with opening and closing as I guess many of us do with various knifes that we do not carry. Just part of the pleasure of ownership!

I have handled one other Skyline and it opened very easy with just a flick of the flipper, while this one is very stiff. I have read the various post on the opening technique and am able to accomplish it most of the time.

I know the blade moves freely because when it is open and I push the liner lock against the frame, the blade moves freely and would swing close on its own if my finger was not in the way holding the liner lock against the frame.

The lock up is 100% engaged and it looks to me like the liner lock rubbing against the blade is putting too much pressure on the blade to allow it to move freely. Is this something to just live with or is there that much variance in the spring tension of the liner locks?

I plan on contacting BladeHQ about this and just wanted to get some feedback before I do that to see if I’m in the ball park on this one.

Thanks in advance,
Harry
 
It will get smoother as it wears in. Also, coated blades seem to take a little bit longer, in my experience.

You could also try adjusting the tightness of the pivot. Make very small adjustments at a time (maybe 1/8th of a turn, or less). I would hold off on doing this until after you've given the knife some wear-in time though. While adjusting the pivot won't hurt anything (since you can always adjust back), it sometimes isn't necessary.
 
How long have you had the knife? My Blackwashed Skyline was a bit stiff when I first received it too. I just carried and used it on and off for a week and flipped it open and closed a bunch, and now it is very smooth. The same is true for just about every knife I have gotten new from a number of different manufacturers.
 
when you say the liner is 100% engaged do you mean it's all the way across the blade? If so that is not normal.
 
Yes one small drop of 3-in-one oil.
The frame lock lines up.with the left hand side of the blade.

The blade moves freely when I push the liner lock against the frame. So it looks to
me like the liner is puttong too much pressure on the blade.
I have other liner lock knives and the liner spring tension does not seem to be as stron
as on this knife.
 
Both Skylines I've had were stiff and took a long time to break in. Even after break in good technique is required, they certainly aren't the easiest flipper to open imo.
 
When you say the blade moves freely when the lock is disengaged, do you mean that if you hold it out and close the lock, the blade swings down without you touching it? Because if so, it's not a matter of it being stiff and needing to be broken it. It sounds like you have a lock that's over-bent; I would send it back.
 
Black blades take time to wear in. Just put a drop of oil on the detent ball and keep working the flipper. It'll get there.
 
I was thinking that the lock was too sriff and salehonasi comment on it being
overbent sounds like that would put too much preasure/resistance on the blade.
Will.tale a pic tonight.
 
Take the knife apart and bend the liner lock back in increments. You won't damage it unless you go crazy with the bending.
 
^^^ Do NOT do that. Messing with the lockup if you don't know what you're doing is a BAD idea. If the liner is aligned with the left side of the blade (I assume you mean the left side when you hold the knife, edge side up, in your hand to disengage the liner lock), this is COMPLETELY normal and is not at all a problem. Your knife just needs time to break in! Lubricate a little if you want but it will, like all knives, get smoother as the pivot breaks in.

EDIT: If the liner lock, however, is locking up on the other side of the blade (near to or touching the all carbon-fiber scale on the right side), this is not normal and would be covered under kershaw's warranty. A picture would be helpful!
 
Yes to everything hammerhill just said. He said it better than I was trying to earlier today.
 
It just takes time to break in, and a little 3 in 1 oil, like many of the others said. I wouldn't go bending anything. That's just me. After some time it should be smooth as silk
 
Hey HamerHill,
Yes the the left side of the liner lock lines up with the left side of the blade when open. So it sounds like this is normal for a skyline and it will just take some time to break in. Sounds like the Skyline just needs a little more pre-load when opening. I know my Buck 0277RWS1 Folding Alpha Hunter took a little while to loosen up.
Again thanks for all of the input!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top