Southard/Domino bearing cleaning???

joeyza

joeyza

Joined
Feb 27, 2013
Messages
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My southard is becoming increasingly less smooth when flipping, I have a feeling its the bearings and maybe some of the lube I used attracted some dirt or something and is causing the to stick. How do I clean these cages bearings, is there a solution of something I can just put them in or what should i do?
 
I would use some CLP on them. When I first got my Southard, my wife wanted me to trim down some large diameter (4") candles that she had. They were well used and the wicks had burn down so far inside the candle that they no longer threw any light. Anyway, I thought it would be fun to wittle away on some thick wax with the Southard. Turns out my fun came at a price. Wax shavings packed into the bearings and around the pivot. To say that the action was sluggish would be and understatement. I took the knife apart, soaked the bearings and washers in CLP, and then rolled them in a cotton shop cloth between my fingers. I did this about 3-4 times, took no more than 5 minutes and now the knife is as good as new.
 
My first bet would be to flood it with a CLP-type product and then blow it out with 100psi or so of compressed air if you have access to an air compressor.
 
It's not the detent ball causing problems? I've pushed the lock bar so the detent ball doesn't contact the blade and then moved the blade around to check if it swings smoothly (do with caution of course). Every time for me, it has been the detent ball needing some lube.
 
I agree that simply washing things out should be the first step before taking it down. Most of the time taking it apart just isn't needed. Paul ( the deacon) is correct with the first step. Dishwashing detergents have the ability to get rid of grease plus accumulated gunk. Grease can trap stuff. That's why I typically use non wet, non wax products that are dry. Keeping things clean stops the bearing surfaces from getting damaged from grit. I have lockbacks from the early 90's that have worn in like glass merely from keeping things clean of grit.

My FRN lockbacks get a trip through the washing machine in jeans pockets then a clean & relube every year or so.

There is nothing wrong with allowing bearing surfaces to break in a bit. They aren't in high RPM, wear & heat producing environments. Keeping them clean is more important than keeping them lubed to be honest. The detent ball doesn't need much looking after either. Keep things pretty simple. Dry teflon lube is fine for the wear most knives get. I have hundred year old slippies that have never seen any lube outside of what they came with. Just cleaned and dryed off was all they got in a hundred years. Some were sharpened so much there is notable changed to the blade size and shape yet nothing more than cleanings was their advantage in some cases.

Firearms I clean with a different view to needs. Combustion or high speed bearing type things as well.
 
thanks guys! I used some dishwashing liquid and cleaned the bearings out an its a lot smoother now, like it was when I got it!
 
joeyza said:
how is it easy to eff up???
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The winking emoticon may be indicative of a little tongue in cheek.
q09h.gif
 
Glad the knife bath helped you out!
The southard isn't really difficult to tear down and reassemble. Just like with any other knife, be careful and gentle, and make sure everything goes back exactly the way it was when it was together. The ball bearings are not loose so it's not like they'll roll everywhere when you take it apart.

If you're not confident in your abilities then don't do it. As The Mastiff said, it's rarely necessary to take a knife apart. It sure is fun and interesting though if you ask me!
 
spketch said:
If you're not confident in your abilities then don't do it. As The Mastiff said, it's rarely necessary to take a knife apart. It sure is fun and interesting though if you ask me!
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Not to mention that disassembling any Spyderco knife voids the warranty. That's no big deal as long as you have the talent to do it right, or the backbone to accept responsibility for your own ineptitude if you screw things up.
 
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