springs really tight , tips and tricks

[rawpaak]

Just got a GEC # 74 and it's really hard to open and close , springs are Tight ! I've oiled and have let it sit 3/4 open what else can I do ? Beautiful knife . Thanks , Ron .

 

[singin50]

You just have to hope that over time the springs will losen a bit.

 

[Railsplitter]

I've never tried this but I saw a post on here somewhere about it and it produced great results according to the member that started the thread.

Part of the reason that the blade(s) are so hard to open is because the knife has half stops. The tang has square edges on it as opposed to the rounded or "cam" type tang of a knife without half stops. Those square edges of the tang make it more difficult to open. You could try filing those square edges down to make them a little more rounded but it must be done with great care.

Whomever it was that tried this had great results. Perhaps they will drop by with some advice.

 

[Cory Hess]

Here's a link to a thread from this summer on this exact problem. I had good results with one of the methods described, though it was mentioned that it would void the warranty on a GEC. Your best bet would probably be to email the company and they'll have you send it in and they'll lighten the pull for you.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1200582-Solution-for-fixing-overly-strong-spring

 

[Railsplitter]

I found the thread I was referring to:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...Tight-or-Rough-Springs?highlight=masking+tape

 

[Dean51]

I've never tried this but I saw a post on here somewhere about it and it produced great results according to the member that started the thread.

Part of the reason that the blade(s) are so hard to open is because the knife has half stops. The tang has square edges on it as opposed to the rounded or "cam" type tang of a knife without half stops. Those square edges of the tang make it more difficult to open. You could try filing those square edges down to make them a little more rounded but it must be done with great care.

Whomever it was that tried this had great results. Perhaps they will drop by with some advice.

You really have 3 options.
Live with it.
Send it back under warranty. Easiest and best way.
Fix it.
I have used this method before and it does work very well if square tangs are the problem. It even smoothed up a Queen dogleg that had half stops. It takes a couple tools that not everyone will have but better than trying to force it.

Really the easiest way is to send it back, GEC will take care of it.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1207994-Fix-For-Tight-or-Rough-Springs

 

[Easyrider]

The spring on my GEC model 73 is very strong so I understand where you are coming from.

I just enjoy that strong spring and am very grateful that it is a good stiff spring.

 

[Rockon75]

I found the link below very interesting. This would be from an overly tight pin. The link below shows how Mr. Bose loosens them up during the building process.
[video=youtube;7t-kQtfGTOg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7t-kQtfGTOg[/video]

 

[stezann]

the only right way is taking it apart and slim the spring from below, acting at the portion between the kick point and the center pin. Rounding the tang may affect the spring 3 positions.

 

[rma100]

My advice would be to return to the Factory for Warranty Service. Any Tinkering at home will void the warranty and very possibly ruin the knife.

 

[davek14]

I have numerous times relieved too strong springs with the old "opening and closing a lot and flushing" trick to round the tang. You need to be sure to round the right corner. It's likely too tight on first opening that matters. While this does work, I would probably never do it to a GEC.