Tuning lockup on my ZT0551

A temporary way to increase the diameter of the stop pin is to use heat shrink tubing. Electrical and/or Marine Supply stores also sell adhesive lined shrink tubing. The benefit to the adhesive variant is that it will stay in place. One might think that heat shrink tubing is not strong enough, I would say just give it a try you might be surprised. :D

Attached pic is a Strider SMF which has a 1/4" stop pin.
 

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00ChevyScott said:
Very good idea! I'll do that at work today! Should I do both sides?
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Wassup? I thought the stop pin was round and the shrink tubing would slide over the pin and be heated to tight? Round pin = all sides right? :confused:
 
cziv said:
Wassup? I thought the stop pin was round and the shrink tubing would slide over the pin and be heated to tight? Round pin = all sides right? :confused:
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I meant both sides, as in both sides of the thumb stud. People were showing o rings on just one of the thumb studs before. Should I put heat shrink on both studs or just one side?
 
Wow... I've used the snot out of my original 0551. The 'backup' second one has been played with. It's still razor sharp - as delivered. The 'user' has been touched up twice on my Sharpmaker - albeit not to it's original sharpness - but still sharp. If you don't look, they feel the same - still tight. I guess the Kershaw 'X X X X' blem rating can mean something more insidious than I originally thought - it aint always simply a physical cosmetic imperfection. I'm guessing it isn't something as simple as a loose pivot screw... Sorry for your troubles - but I'd forget reprofiling the contact areas with a belt sander... that seems like, to me and my indelicate hands, like sharpening a pencil with a chainsaw.

Oh - I'd try that heatshrink on both thumbstuds.

Stainz
 
CrimsonTideShooter said:
Both of mine have vertical "play" if I grab the blade and really tug up and down. Matter of fact, all 8 0551s that I've held have had that.

I don't think you're experiencing play, especially since the oring trick did not work for you. I think you are experiencing VERY slight lock rock, which is just unfortunately a result of the design of frame locks. It is inevitable that MOST frame locks will have some "give", especially if you are looking for it.

Hold the handle, the handle alone. (with the blade in the open position) Now shake the knife up and down. Do you hear clicking from the blade moving back and forth? If not, then you don't have "play", you have some slight movement in the locking system, which is just going to happen. VERY few frame locks can avoid this. Strider and CRK are the only ones that I know of, and the way Strider fixes it is by having the lock meet at such an extreme angle that it wears out in 6 months. Stop obsessing over a TINY amount of movement and use the knife, it's not going to affect anything.
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Actually CRK does have play. Chris Reeve himself has stated that the lock will move if you put a lot of pressure on the knife, and that this is the way the knife is designed and supposed to function. That being said, my 0551 lock doesn't move unless you put a LOT of pressure on it, so maybe this is just a result of the knife being a blem. A friend of mine knifesturbated the hell out of a Spyderco Resilience and it ended up with something very similar to the problem here. The lock wasn't all the way over, and would engage, but with very little pressure it would slide back a bit and let the blade wobble.
 
FYI the shrink wrap trick worked beautifully. It's not the prettiest thing in the world but it definitely cured the lockup problem. Thanks a ton for the suggestions guys.
 
00ChevyScott said:
FYI the shrink wrap trick worked beautifully. It's not the prettiest thing in the world but it definitely cured the lockup problem. Thanks a ton for the suggestions guys.
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Hey - cool beans 00CS00! That's good news. Maybe they make that tubing in colors or you can paint them? (just a pasing though - I'm half asleep). Glad you have a tight 0551 again! :thumbup:

Just googled and it does come in colors but black probably ties in to the handle slabs best.
 
cziv said:
Just googled and it does come in colors but black probably ties in to the handle slabs best.
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or clear. =)

00ChevyScott said:
FYI the shrink wrap trick worked beautifully. It's not the prettiest thing in the world but it definitely cured the lockup problem. Thanks a ton for the suggestions guys.
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Did you use regular or adhesive lined heat shrink tubing?

Also, the Strider SMF stop pin ONLY touches on the Ti side, not the G10 side. But the 0551 appears to engage both sides; did you put tubing on both sides? Got pics?
 
I used regular tubing because that's all we had at work. It does move if you really try to twist it but it will work for now. I put it on both thumb studs, and it is holding up pretty good so far. I'll be on the lookout for the heat shrink with adhesive on it. Will post pics tomorrow.
 
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Nice job man, I'd stick with the black adhesive tubing whenever you score some - quick fix huh? :D
 
Can you post a pic of the NEW lock-up too? Would be neat to see how much it changed? Also, did the packaging say what thickness heat shrink tubing it was?
 
blacksheep25 said:
Can you post a pic of the NEW lock-up too? Would be neat to see how much it changed? Also, did the packaging say what thickness heat shrink tubing it was?
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I'll try to get some pics of lockup tomorrow. And it was a pack of 3/16ths shrink wrap although the 3/16ths I had at home was barely too small. Maybe mine had gotten hot at some point and made it a little smaller than usual.
 
That is a very good trick! I'll have to keep that in mind!

Oh and How can you tell if it's a blem if it still has a serial number? Thought they would be X'd out?
 
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