Weak Opening Spring on 110 Auto?

I wash with Benchmade wash or Windex or Alcohol and blast with air gun. I then lube with Mil surplus gun oil (i have lots, my dad was expert marksman and swore by it for price)
https://www.amazon.com/PACK-Weapons-Military-Lubricant-Protectant/dp/B07DH471T4
(Cheaper at any good surplus store by a lot)

It's not food safe. If you need food safe oil , I use Mineral Oil. It's safe and doesn't rot or decompose like vegetable/olive oil.
 
Is it a common problem for the 110 automatics to have a weak spring? I was thinking of getting one soon. But if the auto opening action is sluggish then perhaps I should hold off.
 
pjsjr said:
The OP's post is the first of it's nature that I can remember...not common.
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Good to hear. I wanted to add a 110 to my collection since it’s an icon in the knife world. I had one back in 1988. And the automatics looks sweet. But the last thing I want is a weak/sluggish spring.
 
I don't carry my 110 or 112 autos much. I have carried my 898 Impact almost everyday for the past two years, with no issues.
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I have quite a few autos and the buck is the slowest out of the gate. I have rebuilt Buck knives that will pop out of your hand if you don't hold on tight. The difference is that the Buck knife uses a coil spring and the others use a flat spring. I wrote about this a while back, I was a tool and diemaker in a spring factory. The only way to make the knife spring stronger is to change the leg position on the spring. Most likely you cannot use a bigger wire size because the space where the spring fits will only take a certain thickness torsion spring. If you change the leg position you then risk over stressing the spring.
 
JOE NOWICKI said:
I have quite a few autos and the buck is the slowest out of the gate. I have rebuilt Buck knives that will pop out of your hand if you don't hold on tight. The difference is that the Buck knife uses a coil spring and the others use a flat spring. I wrote about this a while back, I was a tool and diemaker in a spring factory. The only way to make the knife spring stronger is to change the leg position on the spring. Most likely you cannot use a bigger wire size because the space where the spring fits will only take a certain thickness torsion spring. If you change the leg position you then risk over stressing the spring.
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im an auto collector as well. you dont own enough autos if you think the Buck is the slowest. :)

pick up a gerber 06 any version of it from any year and then get back to me on which is slowest.

I own 3 of the 110 factory autos. very small sample but mine all open decently in speed.
 
I don’t know how common it is for a 110 auto to be slow, sluggish or perceived as weak. But my 110 auto was a bit sluggish about 50% of the time when I received it. I washed it with warm soapy water and activated it while submerged several times and a rinse in warm water. Then blow dried followed by a few drops of mineral oil. That made a lot of difference! It fires quick and locks good every time now. I think they have some polish compound or debris in the action moving parts from being manufactured and finished. I consider that as normal new break in maintenance and not a problem for me. I’m sure there’s some who would think different and want it perfect but when you consider the amount of knives they produce every day that would be a lot of extra time to complete adding to the cost and slowing production.
 
I only speak from my experience and the knives on hand. I know how fast they can be and how slow they are. there is a big difference between the two, JMHO. I believe a torsion spring will only let it be so fast and after a point it cannot be made faster.
 
JOE NOWICKI said:
I only speak from my experience and the knives on hand. I know how fast they can be and how slow they are. there is a big difference between the two, JMHO. I believe a torsion spring will only let it be so fast and after a point it cannot be made faster.
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same here. I have a lot of autos from every maker both modern and old designs. I have a very wide range of experience in them.

pjsjr said:
Here's a short video of my auto 110 opening...
IDK if this is slow or not, my 898 seems to be the same speed.
https://1drv.ms/v/s!AjrTp15MDL4xlDW2_fvOAAZftNnw?e=7O28AA
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^ yup. exactly like my three. thanks for posting that video, Sir and clearing that up.
 
Yes that is like my Buck auto after cleaning it. I do have aftermarket converted Bucks that really kick. I also have two other autos that are the speed of the Buck, I believe they have torsion springs to open them also.
 
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Lesknife said:
I don’t know how common it is for a 110 auto to be slow, sluggish or perceived as weak. But my 110 auto was a bit sluggish about 50% of the time when I received it. I washed it with warm soapy water and activated it while submerged several times and a rinse in warm water. Then blow dried followed by a few drops of mineral oil. That made a lot of difference! It fires quick and locks good every time now. I think they have some polish compound or debris in the action moving parts from being manufactured and finished. I consider that as normal new break in maintenance and not a problem for me. I’m sure there’s some who would think different and want it perfect but when you consider the amount of knives they produce every day that would be a lot of extra time to complete adding to the cost and slowing production.
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You shouldn't have to do that with any auto. I have a Protech, Benchmade, Microtech, AKC, Hubertus, Boker, DHgate, 1970s Italian and cheap Taiwnese OTF. None of them have ever needed a bath when bought. Cleaning like that should only be needed when you cut cake and forget to wipe the icing off for 4hrs :)
 
brownshoe said:
You shouldn't have to do that with any auto. I have a Protech, Benchmade, Microtech, AKC, Hubertus, Boker, DHgate, 1970s Italian and cheap Taiwnese OTF. None of them have ever needed a bath when bought. Cleaning like that should only be needed when you cut cake and forget to wipe the icing off for 4hrs :)
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I've had to clean some Italians to get them to fire. akc, skms, aga, Frank Beltrames. pinned vs. screwed makes a big difference
 
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brownshoe said:
You shouldn't have to do that with any auto. I have a Protech, Benchmade, Microtech, AKC, Hubertus, Boker, DHgate, 1970s Italian and cheap Taiwnese OTF. None of them have ever needed a bath when bought. Cleaning like that should only be needed when you cut cake and forget to wipe the icing off for 4hrs :)
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I promise, it’s not that difficult. Took all of 15 minutes and a few pennies worth of soap and it was good to go and has worked perfect ever since. And it didn’t cost near as much as most of the ones you mentioned. Perhaps the screw together construction makes it possible for those brands to clean and lube for smooth and free action where as the 110 is pressed pins. I am completely satisfied with my 110 auto.
 
Boker, Hubertus, DHGate, AKC and Italian are pinned construction and the same price or cheaper than the 110.

Something's wrong if you have to clean a new auto. I would have returned a new knife that only fired 50% of the time; if only so the firm could learn and fix their production problem.

By the way, only the Microtech and Protech cost more than a 110 auto and three of the others cost $25 or less.
 
brownshoe said:
Boker, Hubertus, DHGate, AKC and Italian are pinned construction and the same price or cheaper than the 110.

Something's wrong if you have to clean a new auto. I would have returned a new knife that only fired 50% of the time; if only so the firm could learn and fix their production problem.

By the way, only the Microtech and Protech cost more than a 110 auto and three of the others cost $25 or less.
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yeah and I have Italian pinned autos i had to clean to get to fire reliably. you may not have, but I have.
 
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