Think i ruined my washers...

scoobtay

scoobtay

Joined
Aug 17, 2012
Messages
145
Well, the title says it all. When i first got my Large 21 Sebenza, I used ballistol to clean the washers before putting fluorinated grease to lube the pivot. As time went on, the knife started getting slightly gritty, and more difficult to open. I have re lubed a few times and now the washers are all discolored and dark. Now even more gritty, it is even audibly gritty. Anything I can do before I send it out to CRK for a refurb? I searched and didn't come up with anything. :(
 
Take it all down, clean it well with rubbing alcohol or non-chlorinated brake cleaner.

Then, reapply the CRK grease and reassemble.

If that doesnt fix it, it might be worth contacting CRK.
 
The discoloration on the washers is normal.
 
Sure is. Don't worry about it. What I do is take a rag and put a dab of Flitz on it, lay the washer on it, cover it Flitz / rag between your palms and rub it around gently. This will lighten discoloration and clean off any grit. Actually, I usually use Tuff-Cloth.
 
Discolor is normal.....there is no need to clean the washers with anything, but that's besides the point since you already did. When taking down my sebenza a for cleaning, I scrub everything with dish soap and water am let dry. As for the washers before I do that, I get a paper towel and lay on a flat surface, place my finger over it to keep it flat and rub it back and forth on the paper towel. You will quickly see a greyish film that is just the natural oxidation and grime from the washers. This is all the cleaning the washers need, but I do scrub them with the soap and water like the rest of the sebenza. Lube during reassembly and your good to go. I have been doing it this way since my first sebenza. Never had an issue.
 
It is actually quite hard to get stuff under the washers with use as they are in constant contact with the blade and handle, that said it's not impossible. The colour change, as mentioned, is totally normal oxidation or staining and has zero effect on the function of the knife. The washers will have a bit of polishing on them from the action of the knife, this tends to be on the inside side as the blade travels over them while they are held still by the handle. That is not always the case but is usually how they work. Can you see that polishing on the inside of your washers ? Don't try to sand or heavily polish them as that will remove too much material and then you will have to send it back to be refitted with new washers. Just using something to remove any foreign material on the surface is all you need to do.
The detent can aslo "scrape" on the blade though and I have had this happen on my Umnumzaans and Sebenzas. It was never bad enough to mess up the action but it was clearly heard and felt so it's worth just taking everything down and cleaning it again to find the problem.
 
Haze said:
The detent can aslo "scrape" on the blade though and I have had this happen on my Umnumzaans and Sebenzas. It was never bad enough to mess up the action but it was clearly heard and felt so it's worth just taking everything down and cleaning it again to find the problem.
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This is one of my "issues" (although a very minor one) with CRK. The ceramic detent ball can make the action feel a little gritty if it rubs on dry metal. A tiny bit of flourinated grease on the ball and the blade where it makes contact will fix this. I really wish they used a carbide ball, it would slide much more smoothly.

You can check if its really the detent ball dragging by holding the lock bar off the blade and pivoting the blade with no pressure on it. If its smooth & silent (or not), you've narrowed down your problem.
 
Okay guys -- I did what you suggested and I once again pulled it apart, and started by polishing the washers with rubbing alcohol. Then lightly ran them across an UF stone to get off any imperfections. I even put the washers between two dictionaries and dropped them over my stair railing to make sure they were straight hahaha. Lubed and threw it back together and voila! Better than it ever has been. Thanks so much everyone.
 
scoobtay said:
Okay guys -- I did what you suggested and I once again pulled it apart, and started by polishing the washers with rubbing alcohol. Then lightly ran them across an UF stone to get off any imperfections. I even put the washers between two dictionaries and dropped them over my stair railing to make sure they were straight hahaha. Lubed and threw it back together and voila! Better than it ever has been. Thanks so much everyone.
Click to expand...

You do realize that it was the two dictionaries dropped over the stair railing that did it right.....??? :rolleyes:
 
It was probably something stuck to the detent, this is usually the problem if it feels a bit gritty, or at least for me:thumbup: A speck of nano-oil is what I use on detent's
 
For the record, the only reason I was suggesting cleaning it with alcohol was to get all possible grit out of the equation, and to eliminate any possibility of the Ballistol and the flourinated grease not working well together. I wasn't implying that the coloring was abnormal or a problem.


Glad it worked out for you. :thumbup:
 
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