Speed Safe: Long Term Storage

R

rxq

Joined
May 19, 2009
Messages
19
When storing a Speed Safe knife away for a extended period of time, should the blade be in the closed position or the open position to relieve torsion on the torsion bar?
 
HI rxq -

This will be an interesting thread I predict.

MY thought - the box it came in only allows for closed storage. Hmmmmmmm.

best

mqqn
 
 
I actually went directly to kershaw customer service when I had this question. They told me it was best to store them open so the torsion bar had no pressure on it, otherwise you might pull a knife out of storage and have to replace the torsion bar. That being said, they informed me that I was welcome to store it closed if I preferred and should I ever have a problem with the torsion bar at any time they would replace it under the lifetime warranty.
 
I have an early Leek which has been stored exclusively with the blade closed for about a decade. It still opens with authority.
 
Yeah I had an early Boa that was stored closed for more than a decade and still snapped open like a rocket. Having to store it open makes no sense to me. Otherwise they would lose their "spring" in your pocket just as much as in the safe.

Good design and manuifacture should give a spring that doesn't fail to function whether its stored in an partially compressed state or not. I beleive the torsion bars in the Speedsafe knives are properly designed and manufactured based on what I've seen.
 
Springs fail from environmental conditions (corrosion etc) or from repeated use, not so much from a constant load in either direction.

Lots of real, scientific information available for people who really want to know, but the fact is, it won't hurt the spring to keep the knife stored closed.

http://www.mechrel.com/articles/Mechanical-Spring-Failure-Modes/

best

mqqn
 
I didn't say it always happened I said it was a possibility and my info came straight from kershaw. For real world experience there was a guy on here a month or two ago who talked about buying a box of some model kershaw off of a guy who thought they were all defective for a really good price. Upon inspecting the knives he discovered that all of the torsion bars had become weak and conformed to the U shape they are bent into while the knife is closed, he contacted kershaw and replaced all the bars and had perfectly functional knives. I am not saying this will happen to everyone just like some torsion bars break after 100 flips and others will last 10000, there is no knowing and kershaw is great about replacing them, but don't rule out the possibility.
 
100 flips seem way too little until a torsion bar breaks. Its never happened to me at least and I've had a centofante since 2009. Of course my Kershaw empire has massively grown since then, but nonetheless a torsion bar has yet to fail on me and besides Kershaw CS will ship free torsion bars to you.

Storing your knives closed shouldn't be a problem. I have a 25-30 knife collection with most coming from Kershaw, most of them stay boxed in and I use some after about a 3 month rotation and never encountered any problems.

However, if you dont plan on using them for a long time, logically you have to store them opened. If you open the knife you will see the torsion bar is bent so when you press the flipper the knife bursts out. However, I highly doubt anything would happen to them.
 
Regarding springs stored under compression, I have here a quote from Jeff Cooper's Commentaries Vol. 13, No. 2 (Available at http://www.molonlabe.net/Commentaries/) which he posted in February 2005.

Jeff Cooper said:
Our distinguished family member J.P. Denis of Belgium reports that he discovered an abandoned MP40, together with several magazines, in a building that was being torn down. This piece had been left unattended for 50 years with all magazines in full compression, and they all worked perfectly. I think this is marvelous. When you think of the degree to which our culture depends upon springs, it is good to know that spring construction is so well understood.
Click to expand...
 
I just boxed up a bunch of my knives today for storage in the safe, couldnt do it with them open too easily. I like them in the plastic and box from Kershaw, nice and safe... in the safe.
 
true redfeenix 100 is very few but I have had one person tell me it happened to them, honestly no two springs are created equal and anything mass produced is bound to have a bad egg here or there. Regardless of how well the the torsion bars hold up when stored closed... isn't it more important how helpful and willing kershaw is when it comes to customer service and replacing them if necessary.
 
BrentD86 said:
true redfeenix 100 is very few but I have had one person tell me it happened to them, honestly no two springs are created equal and anything mass produced is bound to have a bad egg here or there. Regardless of how well the the torsion bars hold up when stored closed... isn't it more important how helpful and willing kershaw is when it comes to customer service and replacing them if necessary.
Click to expand...

Yeah I guess since they're mass produced its possible a few bad ones could sneak through.

I agree Kershaw/ZT CS is pretty amazing you pay nothing for shipping when it comes to torsion bars =).

Then again, the well known knife production companies in the US do have pretty good CS. I truly feel blessed to live in this country when it comes to knives :D
 
I called Zero Tolerance about this yesterday and they said any speed safe knife should be stored open! But they also said the torsion bar is replaceable with the factory warranty! I will store my open!
 
HOTCHKIS said:
I called Zero Tolerance about this yesterday and they said any speed safe knife should be stored open! But they also said the torsion bar is replaceable with the factory warranty! I will store my open!
Click to expand...

Dust, moisture and evil gnomes are gonna be your annoying foes. Oil and wax your badboy if you're gonna give him a birthday suit :D
 
redfeenix said:
Dust, moisture and evil gnomes are gonna be your annoying foes. Oil and wax your badboy if you're gonna give him a birthday suit :D
Click to expand...
U have a point! Gonna by a cheap foam lined handgun case and line with newspaper for all my speed safe ones! Don't want them rusting laying against the foam!
 
Isn't the torsion bar basically a spring? A spring doesn't wear by being under compression. Using the torsion bar should be the only act that puts wear on the spring.
 
tokerblue said:
Isn't the torsion bar basically a spring? A spring doesn't wear by being under compression. Using the torsion bar should be the only act that puts wear on the spring.
Click to expand...

It demonstrates the behavior of a spring but not its physical characteristics.... in the sense that its not a coil but a bar. The bar is stable when it is not under compression or tension (open blade) if I'm not mistaken. However when the knife is closed it is in a perpetual state of compression and is not stable. If a knife is not opened for a while it is likely the bar will have developed stability in the bent state, hence when the flipper is pushed say after 8 months or whatever time...the sudden change from compression to tension can cause it to break..,,...I could be wrong my statics knowledge is rusty, so I'm just going through the basics of what I remember in my engineering courses :)
 
I definitely need to call Kershaw. I've got a Leek from 2004 & a ZT0301 from 2006 that both could use replacement torsion bars. Neither opens nearly as easily as my newer ones. I think even a few of my newer ones could use new bars.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top