The dirt on SOG

J

jquinlan

Joined
Feb 15, 2006
Messages
22
I love my SOG Blink, first of all. So much so that I carry it everywhere. But when the mechanism got dirty to the point that the knife was difficult to deploy, and attempting to clean it with dental floss, stripes of paper, etc., was to no avail, I made a terrible mistake---I took it apart thinking the mechanism was simple. It wasn't, at least not for me. That thing is put together like a fine Swiss watch.

I'm assuming I voided the warranty and cannot simply ship back my Zip-Lock bag of parts and ask them to reassemble it.

Any thoughts or suggestions anyone?
 
See if there are any vids on you tube to put it back together. I've taken apart a flash, aegis and a few others and it wasn't too difficult to put back together once you figure out how it works.

If I had a Blink I'd try to help you but I don't have one.
 
You can send it back to us to put together. However that is definitely not covered under warranty and we will have to charge. Not sure of the exact amount but if you email warranty@sogknives.com they can help you out.
 
Excellent suggestion, Blueblur, and I thank you for the lead.

Chris, is it a common problem to have these knives get dirty over the years, to the point that they sound "gritty" when deployed or folded? Have you found any lubricants that discourage this attraction to pocket dirt? I try to clean it every now and then with pipe cleaners, thin strips of paper, and floss.

Amazing knife, BTW, I'm really impressed with the intricacy of the mechanism and the precise machining.
 
^Its a fine line you need to balance. The best thing is to just keep it clean. Any time you oil or grease something your going to attact dirt. For a pocket knife you don't want that because you're constantly getting lint in the knife. When I do take my knives apart (about once a year for a EDC) I thoroughly clean them, oil them, then wipe off all the oil.

If you just oil them they'll get dirty twice as fast. Because there is not a high level of stress on a pocket knife (say, compared to a pistol) you'll most likely have more problems if you lube it then if you clean it and don't lube it at all. For this reason I only lube knives if they'll be stored for a while. I just try to keep my EDC knives clean and dry.
 
Yup, that sounds like great advice. On a similar note, I examined my Kershaw Barrage from a different perspective, and though I don't particularly care for the knife, I noticed it had fewer parts, which perhaps makes it more tolerant of dust and dirt.

Maybe it's true what my high school teacher told me: Im a dirty guy.
 
Most knives can be cleaned by blasting them with compressed air or WD-40 or even hot soapy water. I found that lubing with Tuf-Glide is good as it doesn't leave a lot of grease around he pivot, and the needle applicator puts just a tiny drop where you need it. CRK Fluorinated Grease works real well, too, also putting a drop right on the spot.
 
I took my Blink apart ages ago after the spring snapped on me. Unfortunately, when I took it apart (to remove the broken spring so I could continue using the knife) I lost the little ball bearing and secondary lock. Haven't even thought to ask if SOG would repair it for me (warranty would definitely be void). I have thought of buying a new one, though. I loved that little knife...
 
I took apart my twitch II a while back trying to get sand out of it. It went kaboom and there were parts everywhere, and I broke the spring attempting to put it back together. I bought a new one, when the pivot screw came loose the spring popped out of place, I didn't even think about trying to fix it. I sent it in for warranty repair and they fixed it up for me, sharpened it too.
 
Dirt is the biggest enemy of assisted knives. It get in there and as jquinlan experienced it can gum up the operation. We use a wax based lube here, actually we have been using White Lighting (http://www.whitelightningco.com/products/index.htm) which is a bike chain lube. We found that it offers good resistance to dirt and keeps the blade moving quickly. Using oil will tend to attract more dirt and eventually cause the blade to stick.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top