Strider pivot / smoothness question

sting7777

sting7777

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Jan 26, 2004
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So I love my SnG DGG, but compared to other similarly overbuilt knives (Gen 3 zt0550 for example) or even a PM2, its just not smooth at all.

I have polished the washers and cleaned and re-assembled and if the pivot is tight enough to not have any horizontal blade play when wiggling the tip in the locked open position, its hard to thumb flick and is not very smooth.

Is this just how Striders are? I love the knife and its certainly usable, just takes a lot more effort to open one handed.

I have a new SnG Tanto inbound so I will be able to compare, but before I think about sending this one back for "bladeplay" issues, I figured I would check in and see if anyone out there has some feedback on where the knife "should" be.

Again, if I loosen the pivot to be able to easily flick, the blade is loose and wiggles easily. When its solid, its very tight. Seems like maybe a tolerance issue to me (washers or backspacer).

If I could source new washers I would just swap them out and see if there is a difference but can't seem to locate anything that would work.

thanks!
 
There are some glass smooth striders out there.

What blade finish does your strider have?

The stone wash is smoother usually quicker than a coated finish which has to break in more before it's as smooth.
 
I think it just needs to break in. Do you oil the pivot? I've noticed that oil causes causes knives to not be as smooth as they should be, because it allows small particles to get stuck in the pivot area (Dust, lint, hair, Etc).
 
Stonewashed 3/4 s30v. Its broken in (I am not the first owner.) Its a user and has been opened and closed countless times.

The blade has the washer circle worn in. The lock up is fairly late and old style lock face. Washers are polished.

Its much tighter without any lube (I use militec 1). I only use a drop on each side and then I can actually open it one handed. I am leaning towards something not being right tolerance wise and the blade is binding because if the pivot is even slightly loosened it has noticeable blade play. No bladeplay = super tight pivot.

I'll compare to the other tanto sng I have inbound and report back.
 
I am excited at the prospect of a glass smooth version of this guy - perfect knife IMO. If that is the case with the new tanto I have inbound then I will send this guy in to Strider for a refresh - I just don't want to be without a Strider in the meantime. Thanks for the replies!
 
I would refrain from polishing washers. Smooth is relative and some feel smoothness is how effortless it is for a blade to start to swing while others seem to focus only on the smoothness once the blade has all ready started moving. I have found that for me its how much effort it takes to get the blade moving initially followed by how little resistance there is once the blade starts to move. The reason i say polishing washers should probably be avoided is because depending on how you perceive smoothness it can actually hurt your perception of things. Think about the finish of a washer. Usually they have a brushd finish with their own grind lines much like a record. Those little channels carry lubricant as well as reducing friction because there is less surface to surface contact and lubrication can be carried to those points of contact. If you polish both sides of the washers (and some even go as far as polishing the blade and frame portions they touch) and now you have glass like surfaces that when paired with lubricant will actually stick to each other.

Anyone who has ever had two flat pieces of glass stuck together with water between them knows how hard it can be to separate them and that is the kind of resistance you can feel in a knife with polished pivot surfaces. I also find that polished pivot surfaces on washer equipped knives are more sensitive to pivot adjustments and have a much smaller sweet spot. I also cant tell you how many times I have seen guys hand polish washers starting with some pretty heavy grit sandpaper. This causes its own problems because there is no control to hand pressure. You can easily sand and polish a washer out of flat and make one half lopsided. IMHO the best way to smooth out a pivot is to use the knife often and let the parts mate themselves.
 
PurpleEDC - I appreciate your take. Given how bad the knife was when I got it - it must be a tolerance issue then. Polishing and lubricating has only improved the situation, and I agree that I haven't needed to do this on other folders. I polished with a micromesh blue pad so very very fine grit to make the washers shiny and clean again.

Again - I'll post back when I can compare to a second sng in hand.
 
All the ones I have had have been easily flickable and smooth as glass. I would also recommend letting it break in a bit and if its still not how you like it, send it back to be looked at.
 
You know.. It has been my experience that each and every knife has it's own personality. Just like a dog. Most knives will follow their breed type, but will indeed have a personality all it's own.

Dad's Sebenza is a German Shepherd:
I bought my recently injured father a Left Hand Lg Sebenza, as he used to be right handed. That thing was hard to flick. I actually flicked the shit out of it for a week just to break it in for him. I flicked and flicked until 2 of the screws actually backed out. I put thread lock in the pivot screw at a very light tension. It did ease up, but it really made you "earn" the flick. I grew to love that knife in the week that I had it before I gifted it.

My Sebenza is a Golden Retriever:
I liked it so much, I bought myself the Lg Sebenza you see in my avatar pic. That thing flicks far too easy! I bore down hard on the tension in the pivot, but it didn't matter.

My Sebenza was a "Golden Retriever", it just happily flicked with super ease. But I missed my Dad's Sebenza that made you earn the flick. And when you got it just right, it rewarded you with an awesome snap sound.

My only advice for you would be to continue to flick the snot out of it to ease it up. My own Strider SMF flicked like butta right out of the box and has a magic kur-thunk.
It "should" ease up. If it drives you nuts, send it in to Strider and they can put it through obedience school. :)
 
I don't understand the need for people to be able to flick open knives. There was a recent thread where some guy complained he couldn't
flick his medford open, and then medford owners chimed in and said that the knife is meant to be opened with two hands...

Some knives are built to be strong some are meant to be pretty some are meant to be flippers some are meant to be affordable etc.
Every knife can't be good at all things.
Best of luck.
 
Thanks everyone - sent it in to Strider today. I did the tape trick on the ti side stop pin and the lock up was earlier and no lateral play so I think a larger stop pin will do the trick. This guy didn't need to be broken in - it was just a bit worn down :)

And to each their own on one handed opening. I buy one hand opening knives so that I can open them while my other hand is doing something else. I'll post back when I get it back from strider.

[emoji106]🏼[emoji106]🏼
 
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I agree with lefty on this. To me...again...TO ME....a Strider SMF isn't necessarily a flipper. Yea it can be flipped but I don't personally feel the need to do that "cool" thing. It's a tool...and if you have blade play it should be looked at. If it's tight when properly put together then just leave it alone. Not sure how Strider handles warranty repairs with a knife that has been taken apart either. I also don't oil or add lube because of what was previously stated.
 
I like my Striders to be smooth, and after break in I polish the wahers on everyone of them...
You would be surprised at how un-even a small PB washer can be.

The point is not to remove a ton of material, but to make a nice even and smooth washer.

For most of my Striders it does magic, however, there are a few that see a very small increase in smoothness.
This follows the pattern of how well they broke in, so there will always be some with tolerances that don't ever let the knife get much smoother than what you get after break-in....

This is just me personal preference, and in no way am I trying to say that this is, or should be, right for anyone else.
 
Striders are like a woman, damn I love them, but each one has its own distinct personality. I genuinely like them, and have had several, and still do, but I'm to the point that I won't buy one sight unseen. I hope Strider takes care of you, they are typically good folks to deal with. This is just my opinion, and NOT a slide on the knives. They are just finicky.
 
Ok - got my new tanto SnG today in the mail.

Smooth as silk. No lock rock. Solid lockup with the new lock face / geometry. No need to adjust or tweak or lube or anything.

Exactly what I wanted in a Strider.

So hopefully when they take a look at my other SnG they will fix her up and it will be as smooth as this one.
 
sting7777 said:
Ok - got my new tanto SnG today in the mail.

Smooth as silk. No lock rock. Solid lockup with the new lock face / geometry. No need to adjust or tweak or lube or anything.

Exactly what I wanted in a Strider.

So hopefully when they take a look at my other SnG they will fix her up and it will be as smooth as this one.
Click to expand...


If you can, post a pic of that Tanto SNG in the Strider Picture Thread. I'd like to see it. :)

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1289600-Let-s-see-your-Striders!!!!!!
 
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