That'll show 'em!

[Signalprick]

So I got another post on here on my Lone Wolf Harsey T2 not locking up properly and defeating the lock with mild spine rap. Well against another posters advice I went ahead and did some light filing on the lock bar and all seems well now. Only thing is this has left doubt in my mind as to whether or not this knife is going to be a reliable EDC and take the beating a good knife should. Using a good 'ol wooden spoon I couldn't defeat the lock by rapping the spine anymore after my tinkering but like I said....I have doubts now. So I just said screw it and ordered myself a new ZT 350. Hey, since I bought this T2 I've been bitten by the knife bug and there is no substitute for a premium steel blade....those cheap Gerbers and Leathermen won't do as backup blades anymore. I was actually planning to get the Bradley Alias II as my next EDC with the Harsey T2 as a backup/defensive knife. Well hopefully the ZT 350 will cover me on the defensive end and be a reliable EDC until I get the Bradley? By then maybe the T2 will prove to be a reliable knife and I can rotate it with the 350 from time to time? So any of you carry a ZT 350 and care to comment on my new purchase to get me all pumped up 'till it shows up? Also if anyone would be interested on how I fixed my T2 I can create another post, I took some pics to kinda show what was wrong and what I had to fix. Happy Easter and Cheers!

-Jason

 

[cutter17]

I asked this in the other post where you ordered the 350, but, did you do any bending on the liner spring?

 

[Signalprick]

I asked this in the other post where you ordered the 350, but, did you do any bending on the liner spring?

The short answer to your question is; Yes I did. But here was the problem....and bear with me cause I am by no means an expert. Just a little mechanically inclined.....well at least I like to think so. So what I found was that even though I had bent the liner lock bar some after I fitted the knife back together the lock still would only ride to about the same spot as before I bent it. Obviously what was happening was that the fit between the lock and the Beveled portion on the blade was so tight there was no way that bending the lock bar was gonna solve anything. (Picture of what I'm talking about)

So as you can see with the blade sitting in it's natural opened position and the lock bar positioned about midway on the blade bevel the axis holes don't merry up. That is why when locked the knife looked like this no matter how much I bent the lock bar.;

Now what I did was I took the knife apart and at first I tried to file the bevel on the blade.....Doh! S30V + Bastard file = no progress!! So after my common sense kicked in I started filing the end of the lock bar very little bits at a time. I'd run the file over the lock bar maybe 2 strokes at a time and keep checking for fitment. I had to do this in all maybe a dozen times. Like I said I am no expert in this field....YET! After every try I would give the knife the spine rap test to see if she could be defeated yet. After all was said and done I ended up with the lock bar in this position before I could not defeat the lock by rapping on the spine.;

And yes, I gave it all I had within reason to try and make it fail but it finally didn't. at first to me it seemed as though that the lock bar was too far over on the blade bevel but what the hell, I can still unlock the blade one handed no problem? The knife seems to be fixed as far as defeating the lock goes, everything is still beaver hair tight as far as side to side and up and down movement goes with the blade. SO...Meh. All in all I hope I solved the problem 'cause I really enjoy the knife. I love the nearly 4" S30V blade, opens like a dream, and the handle fits my mitts perfectly. Anyway sorry for the long winded explanation of my surgical procedure but I guess if someone can get a little use out of what I said It's worth it cause the T2 really seems to be a great knife.....as long as it stays locked!!!

 

[Jason B.]

Hate to tell you this but you just ruined the lock. A liner lock should not go over that far, just before center is about perfect. The only part of a liner that should touch the lock face is the upper right corner of the liner.

Like this.

 

[Signalprick]

Hate to tell you this but you just ruined the lock. A liner lock should not go over that far, just before center is about perfect. The only part of a liner that should touch the lock face is the upper right corner of the liner.

Well like I said, it seems to be doing it's job now. It's not any harder to unlock and everything is as tight as it was brand new so just because it doesn't look like it should doesn't necessarily mean it ain't right? In other words...it's working as intended!

 

[Maikutis]

knifenut, I'm not doubting you, just need to know, but why is the lock ruined? If it didn't lock up before, and it's locking up now, why was it okay before but now it's ruined? Logically, that doesn't make since. I probably don't understand the mechanics of lock.

My Kershaw OD-1 framelock naturally moves to about the halfway position (just like your photo) when flicked open. When I really start to use the knife and grip it hard, the lock moves to full contact (farther to the right). Is this bad? It just seems to me that it's more stable. Maybe i"m not understanding the angles and stress?

mike

 

[Lock1454]

Find a liner lock knife that has been used hard for a number of years. Now find a brand new duplicate of that same knife. The old knife that has been used will travel further over when the lock is engaged. It's a sign of aging, wear and tear on the lock up.

While OP was trying to fix his broken knife, he just made matters worse. The knife was obviously a lemon, but now that he's filed things down, he likely won't be able to exchange / utilize any warranty he may have had with the manufacturer.

 

[elkins45]

I think you must have given it more than a few light strokes. I understand that a lock that can be easily defeated isn't worth having, but I think you might have been better served if you had filed it just a bit less. Your second picture looks like a knife that has seen years of service and wear on the lock. There's no reason the lock needs to extend past the center of the blade to be reliable.

I understand the desire to tinker with stuff (boy, do I!) but in this case sending it back to the factory might have been a better first option.

 

[Jason B.]

knifenut, I'm not doubting you, just need to know, but why is the lock ruined? If it didn't lock up before, and it's locking up now, why was it okay before but now it's ruined? Logically, that doesn't make since. I probably don't understand the mechanics of lock.

My Kershaw OD-1 framelock naturally moves to about the halfway position (just like your photo) when flicked open. When I really start to use the knife and grip it hard, the lock moves to full contact (farther to the right). Is this bad? It just seems to me that it's more stable. Maybe i"m not understanding the angles and stress?

mike

Like others have said, The lock needs room to wear. It didn't lock before because it was a bad from the factory, it locks up now and the OP may have done a good job but it is a improper fit. The lock may feel solid but even after slight wear you will get vertical play and that could create a larger chance for failure.

Its natural for the lock to move over under hard use and on Ti locks it will sometimes stick and be hard to release. If it has been overly stressful use then the lock may travel over just a bit more than before but most of the time it should return to its original position.

 

[serratededge]

Oh`my.
If it works for you and thats how you want it, thats cool. But I fear later down the road you`ll wish you had left it like it was.

 

[wally@ferguson]

Didn't take the advice from the other thread. No room left for wear. I suspect you may have trouble with warranty now.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Due to modification the warranty is basically shot, but that's the risk you accept when you play the mod. game. :shrug:

But as has been previously mentioned, taking it a bit easier on the filing would have left more room for wear. Remember: It's easy to take metal off not so simple to put it back on.

 

[Signalprick]

Due to modification the warranty is basically shot, but that's the risk you accept when you play the mod. game. :shrug:

But as has been previously mentioned, taking it a bit easier on the filing would have left more room for wear. Remember: It's easy to take metal off not so simple to put it back on.

Thank you! Look people I realized what kind of decision I was making with this procedure. Please don't lecture me like I'm somehow not aware that the warranty is now probably void. If the knife works perfect for a month or ten years I don't really care. That was the risk I was willing to take because that is what I wanted to do. If some of you would actually go back and read what I wrote to go along with the pictures you'd see that when I said I did 2 swipes with the bastard file. I did the 2 swipes. Reassembled the knife. Checked to see if lock could be defeated. If it could, then repeat. Where the lock bar is now is where the locking finally could not be defeated. Please don't just look at the pictures and not read what I wrote or only read 2 words from the sentence then hand me out a lecture. Read what I put out there, check the pictures out if it don't make sense, so be it I apologize for not being more concise. Other than that have a great day and Happy Easter!

 

[wally@ferguson]

I guess it was your thread title "That'll show them" and the fact that you seemed quite proud that you went against another posters advice. Myself and others offered advice that did not include filing or grinding the lock bar.


I don't read that others are lecturing you, just pointing out you made a mistake.

 

[Reeek]

The way it was before the mod was done is called early lock up and what happens when it wears to the point of hitting the opposite liner is blade play in almost all instances. The knife's best years are over at that point.

What it was before was how most knife enthusiasts expect a good liner lock to look like out of the box.

Here are a few pictures of some knives I own that shows a good early lockup:

My BM 630 Skirmish:

One of my Ice Storms:

My ZT 0200KW:

 

[Signalprick]

I guess it was your thread title "That'll show them" and the fact that you seemed quite proud that you went against another posters advice. Myself and others offered advice that did not include filing or grinding the lock bar.


I don't read that others are lecturing you, just pointing out you made a mistake.

Wally I apologize! I used a poor choice of words for my title. My intention in the title was more so because if my experiment with the T2 didn't work out I didn't care because I had just bought a ZT 0350. I went back and reread what I initially wrote and I can see how maybe that could have been interpreted as a kind of "screw you" type title. I assure you it was not and again I apologize if it came off that way. I was just happy because for the time being the T2 is working correctly and I now have a new ZT 0350 (which is a wicked knife BTW). Hope there's no worries! And thanks for your advice.