stiff kershaw ram lock

[nitronovice]

hi everyone. new here and i have a rather small collection of knives. i've had my kershaw ram for a few months now, and in that time i've taken it apart, cleaned out the grease, and replaced the grease with oil. well now the lock is very hard to disengage-to the point where i have to really get my thumb nail on the button. would switching back to grease solve this?

 

[FlaMtnBkr]

I would guess something didn't go back together correctly. It is a fairly simple device and a change in lube shouldn't make it that hard to move. I would take it apart and try to see why it is so stiff.

 

[nitronovice]

sorry, i should've made it clearer.
after switching to oil, the lock functioned smoothly for a while, probably 2 months or so. it is only recently that i noticed it is hard to disengage at times.

 

[senoBDEC]

sorry, i should've made it clearer.
after switching to oil, the lock functioned smoothly for a while, probably 2 months or so. it is only recently that i noticed it is hard to disengage at times.

Couple possible reasons, sometime gunk or something gets into the mechanism. I'd suggest switching to a simple "marine" lubricant grease. I've done that and a year later the R.A.M. (since sold) had no issues during EDC (avg about 2-3 days a week).
Though unlikely, perhaps the pins in the blade (that function with the locking mechanism) are somehow bent or damaged? No way to tell without taking it apart.

 

[spoonrobot]

Take it apart and look.

Oil attracts and holds lint/dust. Over time the oil can "dry out," when combined with lint/dust this can create a drag-inducing sludge.

The RAM looks well sealed but it will accumulate dust and lint. I don't run any oil on the lock, just a little in the pivot and a touch on the springs.

While we're talking about the RAM, here are some fun pics from a little take down cleaning I did today. My RAM was feeling just the faintest bit draggy so I popped off the scales and found this:

A big ol' piece of lint worked it's way into the pivot. How did that happen! Interestingly enough it didn't have any noticeable effect on the lock. I've carried this knife down in my trouser pocket or clipped to my shirt pocket for a little bit more than 6-7 months.

Also found a perfect little ball of lint when I took the handle scale off on the other side.