Sticky/Rough frame lock - ZT 0560 (FIXED!!!!!!!!)

D

DedRok

Joined
Sep 2, 2011
Messages
491
FIXED: AFTER APPLYING PENCIL LEAD TO THE BLADE TANG AND OPENING AND CLOSING 100 TIMES. THANKS PRY, AND THANKS BLADE FORUMS.


Hey guys, I just got my second ZT knife yesterday. I love the design and quality of this knife, however I am experiencing a very tough lock. I have used the lock at least 200+ times to try to break it in and it hasn't changed.

It's to the point that I flip the knife and then gently use the thumb studs to engage the knife. When I use the flipper at normal to medium speed, the lock will engage so hard that I usually will have to use two hands to disengage this. I am scared to try to flip the knife in a fast speed so I haven't done it.

So, heres my question. Is this normal? Will it break in after a while, do I need to break it in all week? Has anyone else experienced this?

I've included a basic video so you can understand what I am talking about.

The problem I am experiencing, is strickly how tough it is to disengage the lock.

Video notes:
First two opens:
I use flipper to get passed the ball detent and the rest with thumb studs to completely open the knife.
Third open:
The the 3rd open is a normal(low speed) which opens up, but still with quite a bit of effort.
Fourth Open:
Fourth flick is a medium speed open, which becomes way tough to open with one hand and struggle because my other hand is using the camera.
Fifth Open:
The fifth open is another not confident flipper/thumb stud open
Sixth Open:
6th open is a medium to hard flick which got it really stuck, I had to turn off the camera and use both my hands to disengage it.

Also please note, my fingers are NOT putting any pressure on the side of the frame lock.

Video was taken on an iPhone
[video=youtube;SKZ-WBzPQKg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKZ-WBzPQKg[/video]
 
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It's normal, it will get better... Don't oil it or anything it will make it worse... Thomas made a thread about this if you search.
 
chester22 said:
It's normal, it will get better... Don't oil it or anything it will make it worse... Thomas made a thread about this if you search.
Click to expand...

Thank you, this is great news... I found it here... http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/936592-0560-61-Detent-Lock-Weight

I will give it more time, but it definitley seems like it will take a long time to break in.


pry said:
put pencil lead on the blade tang where the lock engages
Click to expand...

I'll do this right now.
 
I'm not saying there is no problem, I just can't see it. You aren't applying enough force to the flipper to overcome gravity. That much is pretty obvious, or should be. You aren't going to touch the flipper and have the blade fly out like an auto. Also, when unlocking the knife, that click you are feeling is the detent being overcome on closing the knife. The detent ball falls in the hole and there is resistance.
 
RevDevil said:
I'm not saying there is no problem, I just can't see it. You aren't applying enough force to the flipper to overcome gravity. That much is pretty obvious, or should be. You aren't going to touch the flipper and have the blade fly out like an auto. Also, when unlocking the knife, that click you are feeling is the detent being overcome on closing the knife. The detent ball falls in the hole and there is resistance.
Click to expand...

This video has nothing to do with blade deployment smoothness or speed, or even ball detent... strickly how tough the lock is to disengage. I know it looks like the sound is from the ball detent because I am using one hand to close it, but its actually the blade tang and lock.

I was trying not to put too much force, because if I do, the lock gets stuck which means I have to take my other hand off of the camera to use two hands to disengage the lock. Which makes for a bad video.

On a side note, I don't know if the pencil lead helped out that much, but it almost instantly feels better now, but still not perfect. I've made progress, so I'll make sure to make an updated video with the unsticky unlocking if I ever get there.
 
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Skip the pencil and use a sharpie instead.
 
It's the nature of the beast when you pair titanium with steel. Keep cleaning it out with q-tips and some gun oil. It'll get better. I have been compulsively flipping mine, however I now understand that with these ti frame locks, constant deployment is going to wear out the lock. I was gonna get another ZT hinderer, but now probably won't. All of this reading about the ti frame locks has me worried that I might be deploying my knife too much and prematurely wearing out the lock. That's no way to enjoy a user.
 
Guys, the pencil trick seems to be doing very well, getting easier and easier to disengage the lock.

I'm also not as scared to open it up as fast anymore... I'll make a video to show the progress.

*edit*

As you can see in this video, the knife no longer makes a loud click when disengaging the blade tang from the lock. What I did was completely close the knife so I could see the blade tang the easiest. I took my mechanical pencil and just covered the entire blade tang. I opened it 20 times and didn't notice anything, so I put more lead on the blade tang... I started to see a difference, and after another 30 opens I put more lead on and after that it seems that the stiffness and even the audiable sound of the lock bar sticking is gone. The knife is now in 100% working order!!!!

Video taken with an iPhone
[video=youtube;SpWSVgfL7Lc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpWSVgfL7Lc&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
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How long does this fix last though? I've tried a few times and it seems to just run the pencil lead off and starts sticking again.
 
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