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This tutorial is for the Chris Reeve Ti-Lock. There are many ways to maintain this knife and this one is my method. Feel free to use or modify to suit your needs.
Tools and materials needed
1) Lube- CRK sells this on their website and you can get it from a variety of online sources. Use what you prefer, but I recommend what CRK provides.
2) 5/64 hex wrench (2mm hex wrench will also work in a pinch)
3) 1/8th hex wrench.
4) Cotton swab- Totally optional as is a paper towel. I use both to clean the nooks and crannies.
5) Loc-tite 222MS low strength. (blue). Never use anything else as far as loctite is concerned.
6) Painters tape- This is optional to cover the blade while you are working on the knife. My instructions do not show the tape.
Work area
It's somewhat important to have a flat surface free of clutter to keep from losing components. While it's not the end of the world to lose a component, it may cost time and money to replace them. Some pieces, if lost, require that the knife be sent in to Chris Reeve Knives for replacement. i.e. Washers
A word of warning on this particular knife. These instructions are independent of anything that Chris Reeve Knives will tell you on this knife. If you need service, send it in. If you are confident in your abilities, then by all means, proceed. It's a little finicky to take apart and moreso, to put back together. There is no warranty provided by myself nor Chris Reeve Knives should you proceed and damage your knife.
Let's get started!
In the tutorial below, the instructions will be followed by the pic they are referring to.
This is a pic of the supplies that I will be using sans loctite and cotton swab. This is a good time to apply the painters tape to the blade for safety.
Loosen and remove the screws indicated below. The black hex is 1/8 and the silver is 5/64. You will see some loc-tite residue on the male pivot bolt. Clean this off of the male pivot fastener as much as possible.
With the screws removed, use the 1/8th hex at an angle to push the pivot barrel fastener through the scale. Take care as it will go through the hex in the fastener. Take your time. When the fastener is free, slide the blade free from the scales. Don't try this with the lock mechanism engaged. The angle you see in the picture works just fine to pull the blade out parallel to the scales. You will see why soon.
Blade free of the rest of the major assembly.
There is just enough room to wiggle the scale on top free and rotate. Again, take your time. The fit on the pin and the backspacer is about as perfect as you can imagine. Once the scale is rotated, you can lift it to free from the pin that is pressed into the opposing scale. You will also note that the backspacer is still attached. There is a screw holding it form the clip side. There was no reason for me to remove it. It's one less part to lose this way.
What we are left with.
Two things in this picture you will notice. The brass lockbar position as it sits in the titanium piece in the blade. It moves freely once the blade is independant of the scale assembly. This is the reason I referenced above why you have to pull the blade free from the assembly in the aforementioned fashion. You don't want to damage this. It would be a trip back to CRK to fix if you did. The other part you will notice is the pin that is pressed into the other scale at the top of this picture. It's fixed position if perpendicular to the flat axis of the scale.
All the parts removed to this point are only what is necessary to remove. In this pic, they are cleaned up and ready to reassemble.
Added lube to the caged bearing pivot pockets. It's always a debate if lube is really necessary or not in this step. I use it for two reasons with the main being retention of the caged bearing when placing it back in the scale and it certainly isn't going to hurt. RETENTION in the pocket.
Add some lube to the pivot hole in the blade. For some reason, the camera didn't want to focus on the hole very well. I really need to upgrade to three hands.
This is the reverse of how we took it apart. The major problem here is that when we took it apart, we didn't notice the bearings moving out of the pockets and such. When we are putting it back together, that is a different story. The lube entered on the previous step really helps with this. Slide the scales back together, but careful not to move them so close together you can't get the blade back in. You will also notice, I started the pivot barrel fastener in the scale. Just enough to start it in, but not protrude past the bearing.
Here is the single biggest hurdle of the assembly. Getting the blade back in and the pivot barrel fastener through. Insert the blade into the scales at roughy the same angle you removed them. At the same time, try to center the brass locking mechanism onto the track of the titanium scales. If you are lucky, the caged bearings didn't come free of their pocket in the scales and the lube did it's job. I wasn't that lucky. This was try 2 for me. You will have to fiddle (technical term) with the blade a little to get the pivot barrel through both sets of scales. Once it's through, you are just about done!
Rear backspacer fastener in;
Male pivot fastener. This is where you will add loc-tite if you are going to use it. I recommend applying it to the last thread or two with a toothpick.
Tighten the male pivot fastener until you meet resistance and back off slightly. Less than 1/8th of a turn.
Cycle the blade slowly to make sure there isn't anything binding. If everything feels like it's functioning properly, you should be done!
Tools and materials needed
1) Lube- CRK sells this on their website and you can get it from a variety of online sources. Use what you prefer, but I recommend what CRK provides.
2) 5/64 hex wrench (2mm hex wrench will also work in a pinch)
3) 1/8th hex wrench.
4) Cotton swab- Totally optional as is a paper towel. I use both to clean the nooks and crannies.
5) Loc-tite 222MS low strength. (blue). Never use anything else as far as loctite is concerned.
6) Painters tape- This is optional to cover the blade while you are working on the knife. My instructions do not show the tape.
Work area
It's somewhat important to have a flat surface free of clutter to keep from losing components. While it's not the end of the world to lose a component, it may cost time and money to replace them. Some pieces, if lost, require that the knife be sent in to Chris Reeve Knives for replacement. i.e. Washers
A word of warning on this particular knife. These instructions are independent of anything that Chris Reeve Knives will tell you on this knife. If you need service, send it in. If you are confident in your abilities, then by all means, proceed. It's a little finicky to take apart and moreso, to put back together. There is no warranty provided by myself nor Chris Reeve Knives should you proceed and damage your knife.
Let's get started!
In the tutorial below, the instructions will be followed by the pic they are referring to.
This is a pic of the supplies that I will be using sans loctite and cotton swab. This is a good time to apply the painters tape to the blade for safety.
Loosen and remove the screws indicated below. The black hex is 1/8 and the silver is 5/64. You will see some loc-tite residue on the male pivot bolt. Clean this off of the male pivot fastener as much as possible.
With the screws removed, use the 1/8th hex at an angle to push the pivot barrel fastener through the scale. Take care as it will go through the hex in the fastener. Take your time. When the fastener is free, slide the blade free from the scales. Don't try this with the lock mechanism engaged. The angle you see in the picture works just fine to pull the blade out parallel to the scales. You will see why soon.
Blade free of the rest of the major assembly.
There is just enough room to wiggle the scale on top free and rotate. Again, take your time. The fit on the pin and the backspacer is about as perfect as you can imagine. Once the scale is rotated, you can lift it to free from the pin that is pressed into the opposing scale. You will also note that the backspacer is still attached. There is a screw holding it form the clip side. There was no reason for me to remove it. It's one less part to lose this way.
What we are left with.
Two things in this picture you will notice. The brass lockbar position as it sits in the titanium piece in the blade. It moves freely once the blade is independant of the scale assembly. This is the reason I referenced above why you have to pull the blade free from the assembly in the aforementioned fashion. You don't want to damage this. It would be a trip back to CRK to fix if you did. The other part you will notice is the pin that is pressed into the other scale at the top of this picture. It's fixed position if perpendicular to the flat axis of the scale.
All the parts removed to this point are only what is necessary to remove. In this pic, they are cleaned up and ready to reassemble.
Added lube to the caged bearing pivot pockets. It's always a debate if lube is really necessary or not in this step. I use it for two reasons with the main being retention of the caged bearing when placing it back in the scale and it certainly isn't going to hurt. RETENTION in the pocket.
Add some lube to the pivot hole in the blade. For some reason, the camera didn't want to focus on the hole very well. I really need to upgrade to three hands.
This is the reverse of how we took it apart. The major problem here is that when we took it apart, we didn't notice the bearings moving out of the pockets and such. When we are putting it back together, that is a different story. The lube entered on the previous step really helps with this. Slide the scales back together, but careful not to move them so close together you can't get the blade back in. You will also notice, I started the pivot barrel fastener in the scale. Just enough to start it in, but not protrude past the bearing.
Here is the single biggest hurdle of the assembly. Getting the blade back in and the pivot barrel fastener through. Insert the blade into the scales at roughy the same angle you removed them. At the same time, try to center the brass locking mechanism onto the track of the titanium scales. If you are lucky, the caged bearings didn't come free of their pocket in the scales and the lube did it's job. I wasn't that lucky. This was try 2 for me. You will have to fiddle (technical term) with the blade a little to get the pivot barrel through both sets of scales. Once it's through, you are just about done!
Rear backspacer fastener in;
Male pivot fastener. This is where you will add loc-tite if you are going to use it. I recommend applying it to the last thread or two with a toothpick.
Tighten the male pivot fastener until you meet resistance and back off slightly. Less than 1/8th of a turn.
Cycle the blade slowly to make sure there isn't anything binding. If everything feels like it's functioning properly, you should be done!
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