The7 Taking Apart and Cleaning....

MrPocketsOfSteel said:
That is what I thought also. Till I started reading the horror stories about spinning screws and pivots and snapping off heads. I Would Be Pissed if that happened to me......especially when I have never (knock on wood) stripped a handle or clip screw before.
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Most of the horror stories leave out important details like the quality of the driver, the amount of torque, using a correct driver for the screws, overall take down and assembling technique, and the mental state of the person (bad idea to take down when watching TV, or chatting with family, or when high on anything).

In my experience, take down (and sharpening) of a tool is meditation, with mutual respect, correct lightning condition and correct tools. No earthly distractions.

Only thing I'll mention - don't over tighten the screws. If you feel they may pop out, loctite is the way to go, not over tightening. Stop when the screw is tight enough and isn't rotating, don't force it further. With experience, you'll get this right.
 
choombak said:
Only thing I'll mention - don't over tighten the screws. If you feel they may pop out, loctite is the way to go, not over tightening. Stop when the screw is tight enough and isn't rotating, don't force it further. With experience, you'll get this right.
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Yep. Only way I can see anyone messing up a disassembly of a emerson is by either mixing up the washers, or over tightening the screws. Stripped screws suck.
 
Guys- I am dead serious. My Emersons break in very nicely. Maybe I'm just lucky.
I would field strip a folder if I HAD to. Don't get me wrong.
 
I have never done this with an Emeson, but ocassionally I forget to take my EDC out of my pocket, it goes threw the Wash, and Two Rinse.

Than I discover the knife when I am going from Washer to Dryer. Normally I blow the beast out with Dust Off, or another Canned Air Product.

Leave it on top of the Warm Running Dryer. Lube the moving part with Frog Lube, and it work like new.
 
Got it done. I was going to do it like Boboru does with just taking out the blade. Now that I have done a full take down and know what to expect I'll more than likely do it that way next time.

It just seemed for my first Emerson cleanup I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to clean it properly doing it that way for my first time. Now that I've done it I can picture doing it by just taking out the pivot and pulling the blade and washers.

There was just a *Moment* there when lastly I separated the G10 from the Ti liner....that was the moment Everything was separated and I kind of had a little "mind freak."

But I got everything together fine and the blade stayed centered perfectly and the screws were no problem. That was my main concern. Once all the screws were out I felt pretty good till everything was actually disassembled. Ha!

Thanks guys for the support and helping me through it. It is wayyyy smoother both opening and closing but I won't lie....not as good as John did on the Super7 - - though I think 'some' of what helps the smoothness in the Super in comparison to the regular7 is the weight of the blade or lack of weight depending on how you look at it. I remember reading somewhere about the number of washers. FWIW I had one on each side and overall I guess it wasn't that bad.

Another question. There IS suppose to have some lubricant between the g10 and the liners. Correct? If yes.....then good for me.:-) Sorry for the long post.
 
If you want an ultra-smooth emerson, do what I did a few weeks ago. I took a NIB mini 7 and completely dis-assembled it. Since I had it apart I went from 500 to 1200 gt., and then 2000 grit followed by some flitz metal polish on the edges of the liners, back spacer, and the tang and spine of the blade. That was just for improved appearance though, and it looks great. To smooth the action, I did the same thing to the upper part of the liners, inside where the washers sit. Then I "polished" the washers, as they seemed to come a little rough from the factory. I then did the same to the tang of the blade in an area just a bit larger than the washer. I find that the stonewash finished blades leave the tang a bit rough which contributes to the action being less smooth than it should. I also polish the detent balls with flitz. Though I didn't get a mirror finish on the parts I worked on, I got a very high satin finish, and the action is 10X smoother than from the factory. I'm sure it will smooth out even more with actual use and a few more drops of oil. Didn't take very long at all.
 
brboru7 said:
I have been buying and using Emerson knives since 1998, there is always a Commander in my pocket to go along with the SAK Farmer.

I have never understood why so many people feel the need to completely disassemble there Emerson, then after doing so they are not able to get the blade centered, or the lock up has changed, then they want to complain about the knife itself.

You DO NOT have to completely take your Emerson apart to clean it.

The way I do it is by taking the blade out only, take the pivots out, slide the blade out and your done. I use a Q-Tip to clean the liners, then clean the blade and washers off. Once I am ready to put the blade back in I slide the female pivot back into the liner to where it is barely showing, then put the washer on, push the pivot a little more then put the blade in, after that push the pivot through the blade to where it is barely showing and then put the other washer on, I use a toothpick to get the washer all the way in and centered up with the pivot hole, after that push the female pivot the rest of the way through and put the male portion of the pivot in and tighten it up.

I have done this many times and my lock up has never changed and if the blade was centered to begin with, it will still be that way.

All it takes is a little time and patience.

I did my latest Commander a few days ago like this and tried some Frog Lube CLP for the first time, this stuff is amazing, it's like the blade is sliding on glass when you open and close it.

I hope my long winded post helps you :D
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I followed your instructions and it worked great! my knife felt really gritty prior and it is like glass now. One small thing, the detent is not overly strong now, you can shake out the blade pretty easy, is that typical? I wondered if in the process of re-installing the blade I may have recessed the secondary detent a little more than it was from the factory? If that's what it is called, the bar that is cut out from the liner on the opposite side to the lock bar.
 
DRK said:
I followed your instructions and it worked great! my knife felt really gritty prior and it is like glass now. One small thing, the detent is not overly strong now, you can shake out the blade pretty easy, is that typical? I wondered if in the process of re-installing the blade I may have recessed the secondary detent a little more than it was from the factory? If that's what it is called, the bar that is cut out from the liner on the opposite side to the lock bar.
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Glad my instructions helped :)

I highly doubt that you changed the detent pressure when you slid the blade back in, it's going to take more than that to bend that tab with the detent. Next time tilt the blade ever so slightly when you get to the detent, it should slide right in.

My guess on your detent pressure would be that it was already like that when you got your Emerson but because of the grease already in there causing the gritty action and I'm sure the pivot being extremely tight you were not able to tell. Once all of that was cleaned out and your pivot was adjusted your actual detent pressure was revealed.
 
brboru7 said:
Glad my instructions helped :)

I highly doubt that you changed the detent pressure when you slid the blade back in, it's going to take more than that to bend that tab with the detent. Next time tilt the blade ever so slightly when you get to the detent, it should slide right in.

My guess on your detent pressure would be that it was already like that when you got your Emerson but because of the grease already in there causing the gritty action and I'm sure the pivot being extremely tight you were not able to tell. Once all of that was cleaned out and your pivot was adjusted your actual detent pressure was revealed.
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Thanks again it was a huge help and I will use that tip next time for sliding the blade under the detent. Is there a detent ball on the lock side that can drop out on Emerson's? I wasn't sure but I was careful just in case. The trickiest part I found was trying to slowly insert the female side of the pivot. I lined up the flat spot but it was still quite tight, the first washer and blade were easy but I was a little concerned that if I didn't have the washer lined up just perfectly on the second one that I would damage it with the pivot, as I needed to put a fair amount of force on the pivot to move it. That said it all went fine in the end and I can't believe the difference.
 
Is it me or are you guys over complicting this? To break this thing down entirely is simple and takes less than two minutes. Putting it back together is simple too.

Just do it a couple of times. You're not going to break the damn thing or do anything that's going to alter it forever. You can take it apart. Take your time and do it a few times.

As far as that detent on the right not engaging enough to hold the blade closed. You really should dismantle it again and clean everything with alchohol. Check that detent spring to be sure there are no burs around it too.

Now apply a bit of whatever lube you're using around the pivot. Note, I never took the female portion of the pivot out of the liner. I just didn't see a need to.

Take the liner lock side of the knife and lput the standoffs in to attach the liner to the scale. Lay it down with the liner side up. Put the first washer on the pivot and be sure it's seated correctly. Put the stop pin in its hole.

Now take the blade in one hand and push the liner lock down with the other. Slide the blade on the pivot and turn it till it hits the stop pin. Release the liner lock gently and let it hold the blade against the stop pin. Put your second washer on the pivot.

Take your opposite side liner and place it on top to loosely line everything up. Press down the liner lock spring with one hand and pivot your blade to release pressure off the stop pin while holding down the liner lock. Keep the pressure on it. Line up the liner with youropposite hand by assuring the pivot and stop pin go in there holes. Keep pressure on the liner lock.

Lay your scale on and be sure the pivot goes through and that your stop pin is lined up. Pivot your blade against the stop pin. Press down on your scale with one hand and release your liner lock
gently. Squeeze both together and start your pivot screw. Tighten it down enough that the head is in its counter bore or the circular area that accommodates the head of the screw. Don't tighten it anymore leave it loose.

Using your hand that your squeezing together the both sides with, use your thumb to depress the liner lock while still sqeezing the two sides together. let your blade move off the stop pin.

Line up your stand off screws and start them, don't tighten them down. Begin bringing everything together by tightening one standoff screw a little at a time. If there is resistence at all stop and be sure the pivot screw head is inside its recess. If its not, move the scales around with the hand your holding them with and line that up. Bring the head of that pivot down into its recess and stop.

Go back to your standoff screws and loosen and retighten slowly. They should go easily with no resistence. Scoot your scale around in your fingers to relocate any lash that's left till you can bring those standoff screws down all the way but not tight.

Now bring your pivot all the way down but not tight. Tighten one standoff screw at a time. Tight but not super strenght tight. They are only 2-56 small screws and tight is all they need to be. You don't need to wrench them down.

Bring your blade against its stop and release your liner lock gently. Close your blade. Off center? Loose as a goose? Blade play? hold your liner lock closed and tighten your pivot a bit. Let your blade fall against the stop pin and release the liner lock gently. Close your blade.

Do this till there is a slight resistence in your blade pivoting. Meaning you can feel it a little bit and the blade is not able to fall around by gravity alone. With the blade closed, center you blade with the pivot screw. All done.

That whole thing is really quick to do. Just practice slowly. Sorry about this lengthy post I didn't realize I was rambling.
 
DRK said:
Thanks again it was a huge help and I will use that tip next time for sliding the blade under the detent. Is there a detent ball on the lock side that can drop out on Emerson's? I wasn't sure but I was careful just in case. The trickiest part I found was trying to slowly insert the female side of the pivot. I lined up the flat spot but it was still quite tight, the first washer and blade were easy but I was a little concerned that if I didn't have the washer lined up just perfectly on the second one that I would damage it with the pivot, as I needed to put a fair amount of force on the pivot to move it. That said it all went fine in the end and I can't believe the difference.
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There are detent balls on both sides, in all the years I've had Emersons I have had one detent ball fall out, wasn't any big deal putting it back in though. Whenever I take a Emerson apart I always do it over a towel just in case that happens again.

Hold your Emerson up to the light with the blade partially open, you should be able to see both detents.

Put a little lube on the female side of the pivot next time, it will slide right in.

You can use a Q-Tip or toothpick to help line the second washer up perfectly, you should not have to use hardly any force at all. Work the blade back and forth and up and down as your pushing on the female pivot, it will slide right up in there.
 
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newknif... if just taking the blade out is over complicating, well I would say that is just you :eek:
 
brboru7 said:
There are detent balls on both sides, in all the years I've had Emersons I have had one detent ball fall out, wasn't any big deal putting it back in though. Whenever I take a Emerson apart I always do it over a towel just in case that happens again.

Hold your Emerson up to the light with the blade partially open, you should be able to see both detents.

Put a little lube on the female side of the pivot next time, it will slide right in.
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Perfect that was really easy and quick, thanks again for taking the time!
 
brboru7 said:
newknif... if just taking the blade out is over complicating, well I would say that is just you :eek:
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I just now looked back and read everything again and all I can say is, I gotta lay off the crack.

No, just kidding. I guess what I meant is that it seemed to me that you were being overly cautious. There's nothing wrong with how you do it though. I go on tangents like that. Never mind me...
 
newknif said:
I just now looked back and read everything again and all I can say is, I gotta lay off the crack.

No, just kidding. I guess what I meant is that it seemed to me that you were being overly cautious. There's nothing wrong with how you do it though. I go on tangents like that. Never mind me...
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Hey it's all good newknif.

I'm not overly cautious, I've taken apart and put back together more Emersons than I could begin to count. What I do have is a bad case of OCD when it comes to my knives and firearms, my wife tells me I need to work on that, I tell her to mind her own damn business :D

I was just poking at you a little bit buddy, no harm intended, that's the Emerson way and " how I see it " ;)
 
After I finished my CQC15 I decided to attempt completely stripping down my CQC7 .... believe me it needed it. Anyway, I am happy to report it went well. The knife is spic and span and everything came apart and went back together without incident. I Didn't strip anything, didn't damage anything, blades centered (centred in Canadian) and its nice and smooth. Not quite as smooth as the 15 but I used a little heavier lube on the 7 so that is likely it.

I am really pleasantly surprised at how simple Emerson knives are to maintain. That said I wouldn't have attempted it (and I am sure it wouldn't have went nearly as well) with out all the great tips on the forum.
 
brboru7 said:
newknif... if just taking the blade out is over complicating, well I would say that is just you :eek:
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Ha. I saw this old thread was added onto again so I thought I mention that I redid the standard7.

I was just going to take the blade out but I really wanted to do the whole thing again and better this time.

Needless to say- - it was nothing doing it the second time. I really gave the liners and washers a good stropping and redid the pivot. The pivot is like glass now. I actually had to tighten it more than where it was before I started. I thought because the blade weighs as little as it does that it wouldn't be sufficient enough to drop fast after disengagement of the lockbar. I was wrong. I like the fact that these are easy to take down. The TripleBlack T3 from DPx - daggone- I bet I could use that with no handle screws. Talk about a Pressed Together knife. But I'm glad I finally did it - love both companies.
 
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