Taking Apart Gerber Gator II

T

The Mighty Ginsu

Joined
Aug 11, 2016
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I picked up a Gerber Gator because I thought it was a good deal for 154CM in a sturdy handle. I have a couple of Gator II's, and I love them except for the soft steel. I thought 154CM would give me the good points of the Gator II, which is a great cheap knife, without the 420HC.

The knife arrived, and there is an issue. The hinge is too tight. I want to be able to flick it open, but it's not cooperating very well. I would like to take it apart and fix it so it's slightly looser.

The hinge has a Torx socket on each side. I tried putting a Torx wrench in each socket, but so far, it will not budge, and I'm afraid I'll strip the sockets.

Does anyone know if it's possible to open this knife up? I'm also wondering if the hinge has left-hand threads.
 
The screws are probablly glued in with Loctite. Some say you can loosen them with heat. I've never needed to do it. Many knives loosen up with use.
 
Like Brownshoe, my first thought was Loctite or similar thread locker. I'd be wary of heating a Kraton handle, instead I'd oil it up, and see if I could wear it in.
 
I guess I can wait. This thing might be a real bargain. You don't always want to use a $200 knife to hack and scrape on things on a farm, but I don't want to sharpen 420HC every day.
 
As mentioned, most likely thread locker on the screws.

You can use a soldering iron directly on the head of the screws. That will melt the thread locker and break the bond and the screws should be easy to remove.
 
I use a Hot-Air Rework Station to heat the fasteners without leaving a mark on them. You can buy them pretty cheap nowadays. If you plan to use it a lot or just want a very good one then I would recommend an Atten ST-862D or a Quick 861DW. I haven't researched Rework Stations in a while so there may be some other real good ones out now.
 
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