That detent...

Boattale

Boattale

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OK. So I've got this more or less PJ inkosi/insingo that I'm trying to like - as in => my BM folders, back locks and various slip joint knives. The knife is a bad mamma jamma, no doubt about it. Great knife. Superior design and build. But why is it so hard to open?

I totally understand how it's built and how that hard ball on the lock fills two roles. For mine, getting the blade to open past the detent takes real force. The fleshy part of the thumb can get it done, but it hurts.

To open the knife without pain, I have to put the thumbnail between the blade thumb stud and the frame and push towards the frame and upwards in the opening motion. That does break the detent retention and the blade is heading towards open- maybe 15 degrees or so. After that it's easy to put the thumb on the stud and sweep the blade open. Are they all closed that tight and reluctant to open?

If it's a break in thing, then well OK. Red Wing boots take a little breaking in too, but well worth it. Hoping to hear encouraging words..

Does it break in on opening?

Thanks for any and all replies

redwings.jpg
 
It absolutely takes a break in period. As JJ_Colt45 JJ_Colt45 hinted at, you might want to hasten the process by constantly opening and closing until it smooths out. This will break in the knife, while simultaneously training you on the best thumb placement, etc. to open it.

The other thing to do is take it apart, clean out the old grease (often the grease dries up if it has sat on shelves for a long time), regrease and reassemble. When putting it back together, experiment with not fully tightening the pivot screw. Backing it off a bit from full tight can make all the difference. Make sure to both use the Loctite that was included and that you are not so loose that there is blade movement.

Here is Tim Reeve describing how to do it:


Also, try to get as much finger on the blade as possible, so you are pushing from the bottom of the stud. Follow the curve of the finger cut-out using the chamfer angle as your guide. Your thumb will hit the stud about half way between the middle and the side. This pushes the stud out and up at the same time.

Hope this helps. I just broke in an Inkosi a few weeks ago. It was REALLY hard at first, but now it is a joy. Here is a video of my opening it, if it helps. (Note the frayed thumb skin is from a healing cut that had glue instead of stitches. It is not from breaking in the Inkosi. ;-)

Good luck,

Craig
 
Sharp & Fiery said:
Also, I know this has been said a million times before, but make sure you arent squeezing the lockbar with your fingers. :)
That will push the detent ball against the hole, making it harder to open.
Click to expand...

What I’ve found helped for breaking in is when I’m sitting around opening and closing the knife a thousand times, I actually put pressure on the lockbar and keep working the blade so the detent ball is popping in and out of the detent hole. Over a short time it will take that “sharp” detent feel away and smooth it out.

It made a noticeable difference in both my 31 and Inkosi, helped in my small 21 as well.

But of course, during normal use like you said, gotta watch those other fingers resting on the lockbar :thumbsup:

Craig Martell Craig Martell glad you got it working smooth now! They’re great knives.
 
Mine took a solid 2 weeks to break in.. and now its perfect.
 
My oldest and first Inkosi (2016 or 17 bday maybe?) still requires a little bit of effort to get past the detent ball. Once it passes it tho it’s good to go. Closing is effortless. Other inkosi’s I have do not have as strong of a detent as that particular one and are extremely smooth.
 
Jsega51 said:
What I’ve found helped for breaking in is when I’m sitting around opening and closing the knife a thousand times, I actually put pressure on the lockbar and keep working the blade so the detent ball is popping in and out of the detent hole. Over a short time it will take that “sharp” detent feel away and smooth it out.

It made a noticeable difference in both my 31 and Inkosi, helped in my small 21 as well.

But of course, during normal use like you said, gotta watch those other fingers resting on the lockbar :thumbsup:

Craig Martell Craig Martell glad you got it working smooth now! They’re great knives.
Click to expand...
Good idea, I'll do that a few hundred times today.
 
I've got a small Inkosi and a small Sebenza, and have found with both that wedging my thumb between the scale and the thumb stud with the fingernail on the thumb stud works best for both. Then again, with your large, you may have more room for putting the meat against the side of the spike-shaped thumb stud, but I'd guess you'd need some beast-mode callouses or dead nerves for it to not hurt after repeated opens. It was Sebenza thumb that forced me to turn the nail-on-stud approach into one fluid blade deploy; I'll probably never go back to any other way.

But mine are new, so maybe I'm just yet to understand what a truly broken-in CRK's detent disengagement feels like.
 
It definitely gets easier after the knife is broken in, but all my ceramic lock/detent knives have a nice strong detent even after years of use. (Which I much prefer...)
 
Boattale said:
Large.
Click to expand...

I’ve got 4 Inkosi’s, all have micarta inlays, don’t know if that makes a difference, but all of mine were smooth out of the box and the one I got from Dcdavis Dcdavis is really smooth.
Have you put fresh grease on it?, adjusted the pivot tension?, or maybe the lock bar needs adjusting. I have a Viper Orso that I had to adjust the liner lock before in order for it to be enjoyable.
 
Ajack60 said:
I’ve got 4 Inkosi’s, all have micarta inlays, don’t know if that makes a difference, but all of mine were smooth out of the box and the one I got from Dcdavis Dcdavis is really smooth.
Have you put fresh grease on it?, adjusted the pivot tension?, or maybe the lock bar needs adjusting. I have a Viper Orso that I had to adjust the liner lock before in order for it to be enjoyable.
Click to expand...
How do you adjust lockbar? Fresh grease. Pivot tension after detent release seems fine. TY for reply.
 
knoob said:
I've got a small Inkosi and a small Sebenza, and have found with both that wedging my thumb between the scale and the thumb stud with the fingernail on the thumb stud works best for both. Then again, with your large, you may have more room for putting the meat against the side of the spike-shaped thumb stud, but I'd guess you'd need some beast-mode callouses or dead nerves for it to not hurt after repeated opens. It was Sebenza thumb that forced me to turn the nail-on-stud approach into one fluid blade deploy; I'll probably never go back to any other way.

But mine are new, so maybe I'm just yet to understand what a truly broken-in CRK's detent disengagement feels like.
Click to expand...
The only way to even semi comfortably open this knife is to put thumbnail against the thumbstud and press a bit towards the frame and upwards in the opening direction. Once the detent is broken, it's a breeze to open.
 
Boattale said:
How do you adjust lockbar? Fresh grease. Pivot tension after detent release seems fine. TY for reply.
Click to expand...

‘I’ve never adjusted a CRK, others have. It’s better to send it in, with it apart, measure the distance of the lock bar to the slab if that makes sense. Then adjust outward until it moves closer to the slab a bit.
 
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