What is this noise?

[BJ987]

Just got this MT Anax, Can't help but notice this faint scraping noise when moving the blade up and down. Makes it through the whole range of deployment. I applied some KPL to the pivot last night (just dropped in each side, no disassembly). I just don't know if this is a normal thing for this knife or for integrals. Should I be concerned?

 

[Centermass]

Probably the detent ball riding along the blade tang. Will likely wear in.

 

[mongomondo]

Sounds like the ball detent. It will probably stop making noise after using it a while.

 

[Grasshopperglock]

Boy does that blade sound hard.

Put some mineral oil on the pivot and work it for a bit. The little nipple on the lock will wear in.

 

[Docscoot]

That's the sound of outsourcing manufacturing to China Kidding (sorta), I'm sure it'll break in. Man my OG Marfione Anax is one of my all time favorite knives, kinda sad they're not stepping up and making these in house, such a classic design.

 

[BJ987]

Boy does that blade sound hard.

Put some mineral oil on the pivot and work it for a bit. The little nipple on the lock will wear in.

By little nipple are you also referring to the detent ball?
So do you guys think this has anything to do with the pivot being too tight? It has kind of a shake shut action right now, with the weight of the blade helping that I'm sure. And it is centered so I wouldn't want to mess that up. I just don't think I've heard this sound so consistently and at this volume before, except on a seconds Yojimbo.

 

[Docscoot]

Might be worth sending in, I know mileage may vary but I've had pretty stellar experiences with Microtech customer service, perhaps that detent ball is rolling in there, or otherwise not set in correctly. I know these are not made in the US, but I believe they should be able to service them here.

 

[BJ987]

Might be worth sending in, I know mileage may vary but I've had pretty stellar experiences with Microtech customer service, perhaps that detent ball is rolling in there, or otherwise not set in correctly. I know these are not made in the US, but I believe they should be able to service them here.

Well they definitely should be servicing them here. Would be a real fail I think if they can't service a MT in the US even if it is a Chinese collab. Idk tho. I have anxiety just thinking about sending it somewhere and waiting weeks for it to come back.

 

[LLRJ17]

Have you confirmed that the detent ball is there? Reason I ask is that I received a new Tactile Rockwall with no detent ball and it, of course, made a scraping noise (along with having crappy action).

 

[kreole]

Just sounds dry to me and in need of lube on the detent as others have said.

If it's the ball detent, you should be able to move the lock bar away enough that it isn't riding on the blade, move it, and it won't make noise. If it still makes noise, it isn't the detent.

If the sound is the detent, to LLRJ17 's point, open it fully and shine a light inside the handle. If you see the detent (looks like a bump or half ball on the lock bar), you're good. At that point I'd just pop some lube on the ball and see if that makes it go away. If you can't really get there (this is where having a needle tip lube applicator is nice), you probably want to take the blade out and lube the detent track right on the blade.

 

[BJ987]

Just sounds dry to me and in need of lube on the detent as others have said.

If it's the ball detent, you should be able to move the lock bar away enough that it isn't riding on the blade, move it, and it won't make noise. If it still makes noise, it isn't the detent.

If the sound is the detent, to LLRJ17 's point, open it fully and shine a light inside the handle. If you see the detent (looks like a bump or half ball on the lock bar), you're good. At that point I'd just pop some lube on the ball and see if that makes it go away. If you can't really get there (this is where having a needle tip lube applicator is nice), you probably want to take the blade out and lube the detent track right on the blade.

I didn't even think about this. I can't actually move the lockbar away far enough so that it doesn't touch at all (because of the stop). But, when I bend it as much as I can away, the sound is noticeably quieter. I feel like this is enough evidence to prove it is, in fact, the detent ball. Or should I actually get the tool thingy out and remove the stop to confirm?

 

[Docscoot]

I didn't even think about this. I can't actually move the lockbar away far enough so that it doesn't touch at all (because of the stop). But, when I bend it as much as I can away, the sound is noticeably quieter. I feel like this is enough evidence to prove it is, in fact, the detent ball. Or should I actually get the tool thingy out and remove the stop to confirm?

Maybe I’m misunderstanding, but if the detent ball is no longer making contact with the lock bar fully open and it’s still noisy, then it’s not the detent ball. More likely something grinding in the pivot somewhere. Have you taken it apart to give it a good cleaning?

Update: I notice I may have mis-read your post, where you say you aren't able to move the lockbar away enough so that the detent ball doesn't touch at all. I must admit I'm having trouble visualizing this, when you're flexing the lock bar to drop the blade shut, that detent ball in the bar should be completely free of the blade. The stop just keeps you from breaking the lock bar by bending too far out. But looking inside with a flashlight you should be able to confirm that when you flex that bar out the detent ball does in fact come away from the blade.

 

[LLRJ17]

I didn't even think about this. I can't actually move the lockbar away far enough so that it doesn't touch at all (because of the stop). But, when I bend it as much as I can away, the sound is noticeably quieter. I feel like this is enough evidence to prove it is, in fact, the detent ball. Or should I actually get the tool thingy out and remove the stop to confirm?

You should feel two distinct contact points when releasing the lock bar and closing the blade. One when the lock bar rolls onto the blade tang and one when the blade tang contacts the detent ball (very shortly after the first contact).

On most knives the lock bar is able to be moved enough so that it does not touch the detent ball so that the blade can swing/move freely, depending upon whether running on washers or bearings and how tightly adjusted.

 

[BJ987]

Maybe I’m misunderstanding, but if the detent ball is no longer making contact with the lock bar fully open and it’s still noisy, then it’s not the detent ball. More likely something grinding in the pivot somewhere. Have you taken it apart to give it a good cleaning?

Update: I notice I may have mis-read your post, where you say you aren't able to move the lockbar away enough so that the detent ball doesn't touch at all. I must admit I'm having trouble visualizing this, when you're flexing the lock bar to drop the blade shut, that detent ball in the bar should be completely free of the blade. The stop just keeps you from breaking the lock bar by bending too far out. But looking inside with a flashlight you should be able to confirm that when you flex that bar out the detent ball does in fact come away from the blade.

Sorry for the confusion. Last night when I tried I was unable to bend the lockbar away enough so that it didn't make contact. This morning I tried again, and with a lot of force I'm able to move the lockbar away and it does NOT make the scraping noise when the detent ball is not in contact with the blade tang. So you guys were right! The lockbar is, however, very strong and hard to move. I basically had to use both hands just to bend it out of the way enough and wedge my thumb in there so it wouldn't snap back.

You should feel two distinct contact points when releasing the lock bar and closing the blade. One when the lock bar rolls onto the blade tang and one when the blade tang contacts the detent ball (very shortly after the first contact).

On most knives the lock bar is able to be moved enough so that it does not touch the detent ball so that the blade can swing/move freely, depending upon whether running on washers or bearings and how tightly adjusted.

I definitely do feel those two distinct contant points. This knife supposedly has a "32 Silicon Nitride Ball Race Bearing System". And deploying it is fine, and I can lightly swing it shut, so I don't think the pivot or bearings are a problem. The sound really is coming from the detent ball contacting the blade tang. Also, the lockbar is stiff, but I just checked and lockup is only around 30-35%, so I don't think it's a cause for concern but I definitely could be wrong.