Slow opening?

CPP

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Sep 8, 2014
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I have a CQC 7 without a wave and with a flat grind and it's a great knife. It opens very slowly almost as if there resistence. I took it apart and lubed the pivot and it opened more smoothly for a little while before returning to how it had been. I adjusted the pivot but at the point where there is no blade play it opens slowly. Is this normal for an Emerson? After more use will it get smoother? Is there something I can do to make it smoother? I have no interest in flicking the knife open, I just want it easier to open.
 
With these you gotta find a happy medium. Which is usually perfect after they break in. Have you read the stickies ?

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The CQC-7s have a double detent. That may be what you're feeling and describing. Most knives have one detent to hold the blade closed. This does give more of a "hydraulic" feel to the opening something like the way a Sebenza feels. Not all Emersons have this but the 7s do. They aren't flickers. You'd need one of the new flipper 7s for that.

The standard 7 like yours will smooth out after they break in but they won't get to the point where the blade moves freely when it's unlocked. The liners and washers have to mate to become really smooth and that just takes activity. Opening and closing... opening and closing... opening and closing... opening and... well... you get the picture.

As JB mentioned... Silvanus' sticky at the top of the Emerson board is a really good read for new Emerson owners.
 
Run it dry for a little bit . Allow a little more friction. How important is a strong detent to you ? As in would you rather have a smooth knife with little to no detent or a not smooth knife with a detent . I know a trick but you kill your detent for smoothness . When I say kill I don't mean ruin it's just tinkering .
 
Run it dry for a little bit . Allow a little more friction. How important is a strong detent to you ? As in would you rather have a smooth knife with little to no detent or a not smooth knife with a detent . I know a trick but you kill your detent for smoothness . When I say kill I don't mean ruin it's just tinkering .

I know where you're going, I think. I've taken a flathead and pushed the detent arm in just a bit. Takes care to find a happy medium, as I've overdone it as well, but it can be done. Tough spot is when it's on the lock side detent. Had a roadhouse that had so much pressure from the lock that it was causing major centering issues. Wore a groove very deep and was still too much, so polished the detent ball a bit and got it centered through other measures.

Yes it always gets better. Might be sacrilege but I always disassemble, qtip the factory grease out, and dab WD40 on the washers on new ones.

Emerson's are the 1911 of knives in my opinion. If you like to tinker they can be made as good as you'd like. If not they are still great, just some take more time than others.
 
Yea I was gonna say the screw driver and the detent . Also on the lock side if you have any grease but some grease in the detent hole in the blade as well as in the detent ball. On some of mine the grease will decrease the detent some it doesn't work worth a shot though
 
Thanks for your responses. Although I read through all of the posts in the Emerson forum I missed the sticky post right at the top. It's ironic that I haven't been using it much because of how it opens and it continues to open that way because I haven't been using it much. I appreciate a strong detent and find the double detent well-thought-out so I'm hesitant to fiddle with that but I think I'll adjust the pivot again and actually use it more.
 
Thanks for your responses. Although I read through all of the posts in the Emerson forum I missed the sticky post right at the top. It's ironic that I haven't been using it much because of how it opens and it continues to open that way because I haven't been using it much. I appreciate a strong detent and find the double detent well-thought-out so I'm hesitant to fiddle with that but I think I'll adjust the pivot again and actually use it more.

Too bad you disassembled it and did all of that, but, provided you got everything back together correctly, you will find that if you just use the knife and let a little time go by it will be fine.
 
I like to keep the pivot pretty tight. It can be slow as it wants as long as it has a smooth hydraulic feel to it.

Emersons of this design are of 1990's tech. Not mean to be whipped open with your thumb.
 
It does pay off to be patient.
I listened to you guys and my new CQC-7, after nearly 4 weeks of breaking in, has smoothened out with that hydraulic feel.
As mentioned by petah.
 
I got some use out it and cleaned it up without even lubing the pivot and it not opens perfectly. I could probably even flick flick it open if I was so inclined. It's now one of my favorites. I've only stropped it so far but when it comes time to sharpen it should I use my Sharpmaker? This sounds like a bad idea but I'm assuming the secondary bevel is 40˚ and I would have to hold the knife at a 20˚ angle? Sounds like a lot of room for me to screw it up.
 
Sharpmaker works great for me use the 40 degree and just clean burr with a swipe or two on the non bevel side. Strop the same and you should be good to go. I have the ultra fine rods and really can get a razor edge on my CQC-14. If your not sure on the angle just use a sharpie and look at where the ink come off of the edge when sharpening. Hope this helps some?
 
Thanks, it does help. So the secondary bevel is 20˚ like most other flat ground knives? I don't know why I assumed otherwise...
 
Thanks, it does help. So the secondary bevel is 20˚ like most other flat ground knives? I don't know why I assumed otherwise...

IIRC, Mr. Emerson has said on the Emerson web site that he doesn't know what the angle is. They sharpen by hand and they don't aim for a specific angle. He guesses that it's more like 25 deg, which is why skypilot suggested using the 20 deg SM setting and then using the Sharpie to match your angle to the angle needed to sharpen the whole bevel.

It sounds more complicated than it is. I also use a SM on my Emersons when stropping isn't enough. I just mark the edge and do a few light strokes until I come to the angle that removes the ink all the way to the edge. That's the angle I hold to sharpen. Then I finish it off with a stropping. Don't have to do it often and it doesn't take long because Emersons are so quick to sharpen with SM ceramics.
 
The CQC-7s have a double detent. That may be what you're feeling and describing. Most knives have one detent to hold the blade closed. This does give more of a "hydraulic" feel to the opening something like the way a Sebenza feels. Not all Emersons have this but the 7s do. They aren't flickers. You'd need one of the new flipper 7s for that.

The standard 7 like yours will smooth out after they break in but they won't get to the point where the blade moves freely when it's unlocked. The liners and washers have to mate to become really smooth and that just takes activity. Opening and closing... opening and closing... opening and closing... opening and... well... you get the picture.

As JB mentioned... Silvanus' sticky at the top of the Emerson board is a really good read for new Emerson owners.

So I ran it dry then disassembled today to add my new Emerson ti blue pivot. Upon lifting the scale and top liner off the detent ball just fell right out into the abyss of my carpet. I cleaned and added florinated grease to the pivot. Reassembled and its centered, solid and smooth as heck. Zero play versus the stock pivot. I really love it now. As for the lack of detent from the right side I understand because the ball fell out for some reason. Second thing is I wasn't sure why the primary detent on the lock side wasn't engaging when closed. I noticed that there is only one detent hole drilled into the tang for the right side. There isn't a lower hole drilled for the left side detent ball to seat into. I'm confused
 
Ah. A buddy just told me even though there are two detent balls only the one on the right acts as a detent. The left side if just to center the blade. Isn't supposed to keep it closed. So actually I just need go find the size of the right detent ball so I can press one back in. Easy fix...if anyone knows where and what size id really appreciate it! Thanks
 
My waveless 7 has the same slow action, maybe little faster after use some oil - without blade play.

When I change edc in rotation, everything after 7 is so fast, like on IKBS.:D
 
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