Washer/ Dryer

d dub

d dub

Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Messages
94
So my Kershaw Leek went through the wash, then the dryer at high heat for an hour. Other than shrinking, is it possible that it hurt the temper?
 
It might have gotten hot enough to soften any LocTite on the screw threads. If it didn't fall apart, check all the screws to make sure they are still tight. Other than that, you might want to put a drop of oil on the pivot.
 
It will be fine--but do check the threads as yablonowitz said--as the blue loctite may have loosened in the heat.
 
So long as you didn't use a fabric softener in the rinse cycle, you should be OK. Downy will make a blade as soft as a baby's behind. ;)
 
I made a bottle opener with pinned blackwood scales. I never even got around to peening the pins or using adhesive. It still went through the wash/dry cycles with no problem.
 
Watch for any rust, if a Dryer could ruin your HT it would melt your synthetics and burn your cottons.
 
Seriously ... my only concerns would have to do with the Kershaw assisted opening mechism, specifically the grease in the recess in the handle which houses the AO spring being exposed to water/detergent and heat, as well as the tiny bit of grease in the blade hole for the end of the AO spring. I wouldn't expect this to hurt anything, but wear could be accelerated over time, and grease from the recess could have migrated because of the heat, making the inside of the knife greasy and more prone to collecting lint and grit.

If it were my knife I'd disassemble it, clean it and re-lube it just for good measure. Only thing tricky is the pivot pin, which rotates freely and makes these knives harder to disassemble. The old Kershaw forum on BFC had at least one good thread about dealing with this, maybe a paying member with forum search privileges can find the link and post it.
 
Dog of War said:
Seriously ... my only concerns would have to do with the Kershaw assisted opening mechism, specifically the grease in the recess in the handle which houses the AO spring being exposed to water/detergent and heat, as well as the tiny bit of grease in the blade hole for the end of the AO spring. I wouldn't expect this to hurt anything, but wear could be accelerated over time, and grease from the recess could have migrated because of the heat, making the inside of the knife greasy and more prone to collecting lint and grit.

If it were my knife I'd disassemble it, clean it and re-lube it just for good measure. Only thing tricky is the pivot pin, which rotates freely and makes these knives harder to disassemble. The old Kershaw forum on BFC had at least one good thread about dealing with this, maybe a paying member with forum search privileges can find the link and post it.
Click to expand...

Remove the pocket clip over the pivot, fold up a small piece of paper towl, electrical tape, or rubber and replace the clip over the small piece and snug up and it will hold the pivot enough for you to remove and disassemble the knife.
 
spidyman said:
Remove the pocket clip over the pivot, fold up a small piece of paper towl, electrical tape, or rubber and replace the clip over the small piece and snug up and it will hold the pivot enough for you to remove and disassemble the knife.
Click to expand...
That's pretty much the way I do it :) -- in fact I use a regular hole punch to make nice disks of a thin, soft plastic and leave them permanently installed.

Others have held the blade open under tension or used a small, jeweler's-type screwdriver blade wedged between pivot pin and handle, but IMO the method described here has advantages.

Also handy is to use teflon thread tape instead of Lock-Tite, which allows adjustment of the pivot while holding the screw secure.
 
d dub said:
Other than shrinking,
Click to expand...

Run it through a couple more times, then you can out it on your keyring. ;)

You're lucky it didn't open - I left a Stanley utility knife in my pocket, and didn't find it until everything went into the dryer, and I heard it banging around. The blade had slid out, :eek: but hadn't cut anything up yet.

thx - cpr
 
Only managed to wash a knife once. No damage. The girlfriend, however, once managed to get a tie from a dress caught in the door of the washer... which happened to be front-loading washing machine. It very happily turned her entire load of laundry into a rope (since the machine just keeps spinning, even if something's caught in the door), tore dress ties off, pushed underwire through bra cups, and generally destroyed everything in the washer.

Hard to believe, but I think an open blade in the washer might have caused less damage, heh.
 
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