What on Earth makes a lock stick!?

dkb45

dkb45

Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
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My 550 is a good knife. It was my first titanium framelock, and I love the design. I got rid of my first like an idiot, but got another that works just as well, although it has a tiny bit of lateral play. The issue is that the lock will randomly become sticky and then randomly stop. Right now it isn't so much stick as it feels welded open. I have never seen a lock stick this bloody bad before.

My question is what in the expletive causes the lock to shift between extremes (insane stick and perfection) so sporadically? Just a few openings ago it was perfectly fine, and now it is locking with its best fixed blade impression.
 
Wasn't aware of galling. Looks like that is exactly what is happening, so what to do about it? I tried permanent marker on the lock surface. I guess I could lightly rub it with some high grit sandpaper, but not before feedback on that.
 
Don't use sandpaper on your lock interface, it's just a good way to accelerate wear. I've heard sharpie, and I've also heard lightly coloring the lock face with a mechanical pencil. Graphite is a dry lubricant, and will help reduce both friction and surface adhesion.
 
Would rubbing the lock faces over wood help, to get the steel off the titanium and vice-versa? I tried graphite a few times to little avail. I'll break out a carpenter's pencil and see if that applies better than the skinny mechanical pencil lead.

I'll post with results in a little bit.

Update: rubbed both lock surfaces with wood then gave them a good layer of graphite. The lock isn't damn near welding itself open now. The lock still sticks a wee bit, but it is manageable.
 
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Can you post a pic of the lock up , just for us to see. If it has not been said. Wash all of the oil off of the knife . Keep cleaning the lock face and lock bar face then add the marker.
Anyway, BP hit the nail on the head for the most part. But once it smooths out it should not stick much at all.
 
I made sure to get alp of the oil off, I also got as much of the marker off as I could. It wasn't helping, so I would assume it was causing problems. The graphite helped, though. I will just have to keep nursing it with a pencil until the lock fully breaks in.
 
Unless I missed something, what is the lockup percentage at. And am I crazy or does the 0550 have a slight radius in the blade tang unlike the flat on the 0561. Ive handled a few to customize and they all had a radiused lock face. But were also broken in. Which resulted in slight vertical play in some of them. It could be removed with a little extra bend, but that was not my decision to make as it would make the action too tight. Not saying that is all of them, just curious about the radius or lack there of.

dkb45 said:
I made sure to get alp of the oil off, I also got as much of the marker off as I could. It wasn't helping, so I would assume it was causing problems. The graphite helped, though. I will just have to keep nursing it with a pencil until the lock fully breaks in.
Click to expand...
 
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first check for pivot play, length wise, pull a little on the blade while unlocking the lockbar, if there to much, send it back to maker
normal sticky lock at running in
Graphite lubricates, lube on a lock douse not help, clean up and use a sharpy on the lockface off the blade , works all the time,
by the time the sharpy markings fade off the lock should function with out sticking
 
Lockup is at about 50%, and both lock faces are not radiused, they are angled. The lockbar has a good amount of tension, any more would make the detent impossible to overcome.

I will keep playing with it and see if the stuck returns or stays gone. The lock is pretty far from fully broken in.
 
I prefer to use Sharpie on my sticky locks. The trick is you have to let it dry and then reapply a few times until it gets smooth.
Pencil graphite didn't work all that well for me but people do use it and seems to work.
 
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