The advantage of phosphor bronze washers

kidcongo

kidcongo

Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
3,194
Just a short Saturday night musing:

I am glad CRK uses the phosphor washers. A lot of their competitors now use caged bearing systems that have a plastic or nylon bearing cage. With the CRK washers, you are free to experiment with whatever lubricant you think might work, without fear that you are going to melt, harden, or in someway degrade the bearing cage. Hose it down with WD40, dunk it in engine oil, smear it with bacon grease, its your call. Also, you can clean the pivot with whatever solvent or soap you feel like: varsol, soap and water, vodka (my recommendation :D) etc. Furthermore, the pivot is not going to fall apart in 20 years when the plastic turns to slime and the model is discontinued.

If you have a plane Jane 25, 21, or Umnum, you essentially have a 100% metal (and ceramic) knife that is not going to be harmed by any normal environment

That's my thoughts.
 
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my bad, I didn't see the title.....yeah I'm an idiot at times
 
Cody, I totally agree with your points on the plastic bearing cages. I attempted to bring up similar points on another sub-forum and it was blew off, glad I'm not the ONLY one to think about untested long-term durability. These knives have only been using plastic caged bearings for ~5, maybe 10 years now, there is just no telling how it'll hold up in 20-30+ years of random conditions and lubricants and other variables, 25 years from now the met washers in the Sebenza will be just fine.
 
Very good point Cody. I have not tried bacon grease and not sure I will for fear of licking the blade....Ouch! :-) but nice to have the option.
 
Ajack60 said:
my bad, I didn't see the title.....yeah I'm an idiot at times
Click to expand...

Ajack60, maybe you were just cleaning your knives with the recommended method of Cody and accidentally drank some of the cleaning solution...:D
 
I agree Cody, I have seen some plastics become brittle with the contact of different lubricants bases.
 
Chris Reeve has been building these fine tools for what.. 35 years are there about. From what I understand (please correct me if I am wrong as I often am) he invented the Integral Lock© which from what if have seen is used by every major knife company and Custom Knife maker on the planet!! And yes I have occasionally strayed from the path and have owned several of these "other" knifes. But from my experience very few have come even close to the near perfection of a Chis Reeve folding knife.. Don't get me wrong I think many have their place.. Rick Hinderer's XM knifes are awesome, and Spyderco makes some very nice economical folders, several using Chris Reeves Integral lock. And love them or hate them Strider has a huge following for some unknown reason.. also using the CRK Integral lock. Most of these makers do or have used the phosphor washers as well!! So, I guess the point I am trying to make.. or was trying to make before I started taking the long way around the barn.. was that my good friend Cody is right.. again!! And I guess the point of the story or more the reason for the thread and another one of my very long boring posts is just this.. if it isn't broke don't fix it. :thumbup:
And as always,
All the best, Dave
P.S. I did however recently purchase my first custom knife.. but it does use the RIL.. :D
 
Bacon,
These new washers are the bees knees.
I cannot believe the constant smoothness that this knife offers.
OMG I love me sebbie.
 
That's because CRK doesn't go along with the latest BS. His knives outperform my $2k knives and CRK are still my favorite.
 
I saw a youtube video of a person speaking Russian testing a knife that was on ball bearings. With prying, the ball bearings indented the titanium frame (or it might have been the blade, I don't recall). The action became rough at that point. This is another reason to prefer phospher bronze washers to bearings. I tried to find the video but am unable to locate it.
 
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