Spyderco Sage 2 Lock Stick Repair

[The_KaramVit]

*this post shares my experience of a spyderco sage 2 over time, a sticky lock bar problem, and what i did to fix it. PHOTOS TO FOLLOW


I've owned my Sage 2 for about 1 year and 3 months now. I flick the knife very frequently and perform open/close cycles on it about 100 times everyday. About 2 months ago, the lock started getting sticky. It took some real effort for my thumb to push the lockbar aside, sometimes needing even 2 hands. I tried various things to try to fix/prevent it.

-oiled the locking surfaces with 2 different oils
-perform a full disassembly and cleaning (the sage 2 has a very low part count and is very easy to disassemble and maintain)
-manually open the knife a little slower

All of the above and maybe a few more minor methods not worth mentioning did not work to fix the sticky lock.

2 nights ago, i decided to intentionally and very carefully manually overextend the lockbar outward. I pushed the lockbar out to a point that i could clearly see the titanium locking surface outside of the handle. I pulled it a few times to that distance. I did it to a point which evidently permanently deformed the lockbar a little bit. It is now still able to get into its locked position perfectly. There is now less spring tension on the lockbar due to the permanent deformation i caused.

Since then, the lock did not stick anymore. As additional effects, the friction exerted by the detent ball on the knife as it rotates is much less. The closed/folded position is still secure and the detent does not just let go easily. The knife cannot be shaken out of the handle any easier than it was originally. The knife can still be spyder-flicked out with the middle finger and thumb flick. Lockup has no play, just like before. The blade centering also improved and does not lean away from the lockbar anymore because the lockbar exerts less force on the tang in the closed position.

It is now clear to me that the spring tension on the lockbar, coupled with the deterioration of the titanium lock face's corner, was jamming the lockbar under the tang a little too securely, requiring a lot of force to push it out when unlocking. This ghetto repair has momentarily seemed to fix things and can even help preserve the titanium lock surface by reducing the amount of force on the locking surface which is very critical in a contact surface between two materials of different hardness, specifically in the softer material, in this case, titanium.

Do share your thoughts.

 

[choombak]

I have found graphite lubricant (fine powder that you get in Home Depot to be used on locks and keys) makes the lock a bit less sticky. The best option is to send it in, and let the excellent Spyderco CS deal with it.

 

[BellaBlades]

Also, adding oil to the lock face and bar will often make stick even worse. The good new is you have a membership at one of the most informative sites around.
Best of luck in the future. Graphite or a permanent marker will often take away the stick until it wears in properly. Also when bending lock bars you should always take the knife apart and rig it up on a table or vise to properly remove some bend without doing damage.

 

[SliCed]

Interesting. I have one on the way, and I could use this info. I have noticed this with frame locks that this is way more prevalent compared to something like a liner lock.

 

[The_KaramVit]

Also, adding oil to the lock face and bar will often make stick even worse. The good new is you have a membership at one of the most informative sites around.
Best of luck in the future. Graphite or a permanent marker will often take away the stick until it wears in properly. Also when bending lock bars you should always take the knife apart and rig it up on a table or vise to properly remove some bend without doing damage.

Very interesting point about oil making the lock face stick even worse. Why does that happen? I'll definitely look into graphite lubricant in the future. For now all my worries have been taken care of.

 

[Mark in Oz]

I've read elsewhere on the Oz equivalent of this forum that drawing a little sharpie on the ti lock face does a similar thing to the graphite powder. Just draw it on, and open and close a couple of times. I also recall hearing that some high end custom knife makers do this to all their frame locks before shipping/selling to their customers.

Personally I'd try all the reversible/non damaging methods to fix lock stick before anything else. The Sage2 is my favourite Spyderco ever, and I've had a few.