Wave +, loosening the blade & hammering the pivot.

[Houlahound]

Enjoying the hell out of my new wave and have spent a lot of downtime opening and closing the actions to loosen them up. Used cleaner, lube etc. I have not worked any tools to change the tension on any of the action points.

After all this the plain knife blade has become stiffer to open, it was always smooth but tight ie: I could never flick it open but could always open in one smooth movement with my thumb. Now it harder to do so. The pliers have also become tighter with use. Every other tool is breaking in nicely.

i have seen several videos where guys centre the main pivot on the pliers over a hole and then belt it with a punch and hammer. It seems a common thing to do and works providing you choose the correct side to hit.

my main questions are:

1. should I be worried about the blade action becoming stiffer.
2. What bit fits the pivot screw on the blade (nothing I own fits) and would you back off the tension screw on the blade pivot.
3. does any of these fixes affect warranty?

 

[hsherzfeld]

As far as adjusting the blade pivot is concerned, you need to a pair of security Torx T10 bits or wrenches. I have experienced this blade issue as well; I normally just loosen the pivot and add some mineral oil. That normally works.

The Wave+ pliers are just weird in that they will get nice and loose if you work them a lot, but then they'll tighten up again if you give them a good squeeze. I followed some advice from the multitool.org forum and worked some abrasive paste (toothpaste) into the pliers and worked them until black sludge came out of the pivot, then flushed them out with water and oiled them. That effectively polishes the surfaces and reduces the friction. They're pretty loose and useable now.

 

[hsherzfeld]

And as for the warranty, I'm pretty sure that I've voided the warranty on every Leatherman I have with all of the modifications and tinkering that I've done! But I don't think that merely adjusting the pivot screws would void the warranty.

By the way, you can also try actual polishing compound instead of toothpaste. I've used Brasso metal polish for the same purpose; I couldn't really see any difference in effectiveness, but it stands to reason that metal polish should work better on metal than toothpaste. You just want to avoid overdoing it, since you're basically removing material from the plier surfaces.

 

[hsherzfeld]

I would avoid using a hammer.

 

[Houlahound]

I would avoid using a hammer.

Visited the multitool site, lots of info. Thanks tips & leads.

The hammer thing sounds extreme but lots of enthusiasts demonstrate it on YT, seems legit.