Solutions?

A

Andy W

Joined
Feb 10, 1999
Messages
38
Mr. Turber,
AND THIS IS PRECISELY WHY I DIDN'T WANT TO GET INVOLVED, WHY CAN'T WE HAVE A UNBIASED, INTELLEGENT DISCUSSION ABOUT REKAT KNIVES?! GEEZUS. I thought that the discussion was heading in a better direction, but I guess we won't know. I saw no mention of lawyers in the thread, but whatever. I wasn't trying to cause problems, I thought that most parties were satisfied with me willing to send in my knives. But now I guess we'll never know...maybe you won't lock this thread & allow Mr. Taylor to publicly accept my knives back, maybe that would solve some problems and/or concerns with REKAT products & customer service.

Andy
kilat@atlantic.net
 
I'm not exactly sure why the thread was locked myself, as I had a reply I wanted to make. I guess I'll just say it here -

Andy, I suggest that you call Bob today and discuss how you've used the knives, what problem's you've encountered, and arrange for their return for repair and examination. User feedback is vital in any business.

Now take the following hypothesis with a grain of salt; I'm not a mechanical engineer, and I can't see the knives in their current state, and I'm not as intimate with the Rolling Lock design as Bob Taylor or Bob Brothers.

It's my belief that the problem here is pretty simple - just like anything else mechanical, parts that are subject to repeated collision with each other will wear out faster. Part of the nature of "kinetic opening" is that it's a lot tougher on the parts involved - and I'm willing to bet that no matter what lock is involved, every knife that uses this principle will get torn apart faster than normal.

Again, this is a wild ass guess, but from looking at the Carnivore and Sifu that I own, and opening and closing them a few time to watch what hit's where, I'm thinking that when the knives get back to REKAT there will be signs of deformation of the stop pin - *not* from a fault with the Rolling Lock itself. If that's the case, the deformation of the pin could put the blade out of proper alignment with the rolling lock, causing the failures that you experienced.

If that's the case, there are two solutions -
1. Make the stop pin bigger and tougher (or alternatively make it solid and geometrically shaped so it doesn't deform as readily). I'm not an engineer...

2. Make the Rolling Lock turn more when it engages the blade. If the lock itself hasn't sheared (which I doubt), then the only reason it could be failing is that it's not fully engaging the blade - eg it's catching the blade by it's edge instead of by it's (the lock's) belly. Fix for this? Change the mechanism so the lock turns more.

Again, I'm not a engineer, designer, etc, this is just a wild ass guess.

Of course, all of this is moot for the Escalator since the design is no longer being produced by REKAT... but if they do produce another design using similar principles then this will probably be used.

But, all that being said, the Rolling Lock design is solid. If it wasn't, Spyderco, Cold Steel, Gerber and a few other companies wouldn't have been trying so hard to buy it.
Both Bob's are extemely dedicated to putting out the best product they can, and they are not above doing a complete redesign if they have to in their goal for constant improvement. We've already seen the lock lever move from the front to the side, and I'm willing to bet that some other small changes would make it even tougher.

Spark

------------------
Kevin Jon Schlossberg
SysOp and Administrator for BladeForums.com

Insert witty quip here
 
Just from the point of view as another customer, the forums are much easier to use than a phone and much more informative as other people can use the experiences as a guide. Sal Glesser even said this to a forum member who critised someone for asking about a repair in the forums instead of on the phone or in email. I was impressed with Sal's open policy as were many others I am sure.

As another example of how to deal with the situation correctly, awhile back on one of the Hoodlums forums there was a post about a Battle Mistress denting on a bone. Jerry Busse promptly responded prompty saying that this was not the expected behavior and to send the blade in.

-Cliff
 
Andy,

The thread was not closed for any reason involving you or your knives. The lawyers are mentioned in an email to me and it was best that I close it. Sometimes I must make decisions that from the outside will appear unfair but I do have my reasons, they are sound and they are just.

Feel free to discuss any problems you may have.



------------------
Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
Show Your Support -Visit Our Sponsors - Click On The Banners!
Visit www.onestopknifeshop.com
All sales from 1 Stop Knife Shop help support this site!
 
Nobody is arguing if the forums are more informative, Cliff - but REKAT is going to need the knife in house before they can do anything other than speculate. Bob's policy has always been that if it breaks, send it back and they will fix or replace it - and that's not exactly too much to ask. After they have it back, then they'd be better able to give a more informed answer as to what failed and why.

Spark

------------------
Kevin Jon Schlossberg
SysOp and Administrator for BladeForums.com

Insert witty quip here
 
Andy
From what I understand you have one of the front lock knives? That’s with the lever in front. If that is so then how did you get one of those they are rare less than 20 made. The spring is part of the problem and part of the reason we went to the side bar with a compression spring. As far as publicly accepting them so be it. I am sorry you didn’t contact us sooner we are far from perfect but try to service our product as best we can. Nowhere can you find a negative post on us refusing to repair any product even dinosaurs. Since making your particular knife we have changed to CnC machining different liner materials and the slide bar.
If you need a shipping address for UPS 515 Spades Rd. Sagle ID. 83860 us postal is P.O. Box 818 Sagle ID 83860

Bob Taylor

------------------
Some days it's not worth chewing through the restraints and escaping.
 
Bob,
I will send the knives out to you sometime this week, hopefully tomorrow.
Now, to clarify a few things, the live blade version lock is still functional, just beginning to act as the trainer's lock before it "broke". I belive that the spring is what broke, which allows the lock to engage/disengage at will.
Both knives do have problems with the grip screws staying in place, not a major problem, but if I'm going to send them in, I might as well have it all checked out.
As far as rarity of these knives, I know they are fairly rare (didn't know it was around 20 though), so I would like to keep them functional, and not replace them. That is another reason, I didn't send them in before. I didn't want to get a replacement & lose a possible collectors piece. I understand that the new ones are probably better, but I still also like the original lock location. At any rate, I don't want to lose them. As for where I got them, I got them back in late '98 from Bram.
I'll be happy to answer any other questions, and will send them out this week.

Andy
kilat@atlantic.net
 
Well I'm glad part of it's cleared up - we now know that the knives in question have the prototype run front lock, instead of the side lock of the production models... Bob, would you like to detail the other changes that the production models had, if any? Different steels, construction, etc?

Spark

------------------
Kevin Jon Schlossberg
SysOp and Administrator for BladeForums.com

Insert witty quip here
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top