Why Toolless Disassembly Should Be The Future of Knife Design

I have a few knives I take apart. They have tool steel blades and I've forced a patina on them. After doing that I like to take a look in the pivot area to make sure there is no rust forming.

Not really a man in the street kind of thing I guess.
 
I don’t agree. The average knife owner won’t buy the folder that you can field strip without tools.

They also don’t bother to maintain their knives to the same standard we do.
 
I can appreciate the idea, but I'm not sure it's worth it. The sheer amount of engineering and expense it would take is not worth the minimal gain involved.

There are some knives that don't go back together as well as they did in the factory. I went though my take apart phase but I'm over it. Severe dirt issues or parts replacement are the only reason I disassemble now and I'm fine with using torx.
 
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I have a knife that you can completely take apart without any tools.
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In fact the modern trend for every other manufactured thing is no disassembly possible - given that fact I would like to disassemble a knife because there is nothing else left to disassemble.
 
I disagree, but for other reasons than listed in the thread.

I live in the Netherlands and that means that warranty often means sending knives overseas. That makes it a lot more attractive to be able to do things yourself. However, I worry about the concessions that will have to be made in a toolless design. Will it still be as sturdy? Will it still look as good?

I also think that everyone should have a standard set of tools in or around their home. That said, there is absolutely no reason to use proprietary screws. That just sucks. Just use standard inbus or torx. I do think it would be better if the knife industry settles on a universal standard for this, much like phones now all have USB charging (except Iphones because apple would rather incur the fine).
 
That is not a feature that I need. I have better things to do than trying to find tiny knife parts in a field. There is usually no need to take a folder apart unless something is broken. What are you going to do, carry spare parts?

If you are having that kind of problem with your folder, it is time to consider a fixed blade.

n2s
 
Lodd said:
...I live in the Netherlands and that means that warranty often means sending knives overseas. That makes it a lot more attractive to be able to do things yourself...
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Same here living in Spain.

Mikel
 
not2sharp said:
That is not a feature that I need. I have better things to do than trying to find tiny knife parts in a field. There is usually no need to take a folder apart unless something is broken. What are you going to do, carry spare parts?

If you are having that kind of problem with your folder, it is time to consider a fixed blade.

n2s
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Who said anything about taking a knife apart in a field?

That CRKT shown earlier is one that soldiers might like these days because they're serving in a place where there's lots of sand and it gets everywhere. It's nice to be able to take it apart and rinse it out when they get back to the base, instead of just leaving it all grindy. (Just like they might do with an M-16.)
 
Smaug said:
We don't NEED to take apart our knives, but if we do, we can get a lot more dirt and steel dust out of the action.

Without taking it apart, were can lubricate, but not really CLEAN the action.
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With compressed air or brake cleaner I can my knives every bit as clean as I would by disassembly. Where does this steel dust come from?
 
Dan57 said:
Modern EDC knife designs, which (generally) aim to be as easy as possible to carry and use, still require a decent bit of equipment to properly maintain. In order to keep a folding knife in top shape, its owner is required to buy and keep a torx bit set, loctite, pivot lube, and sharpening system.

......Most people don’t buy or carry folding knives because they *need* them, they carry them because it’s convenient; and it’s just plain bad design, that a product whose main selling point is convenience, is so inconvenient to maintain. Knife designs that enable toolless disassembly drastically reduce this problem.

Thoughts?
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Never took apart a modern knife in my life and don't intend to now unless it's broke. My knives are properly maintained. Why would knife companies want people to take their knives apart and then they will be getting them back dis-assembled for repair?
 
Smaug said:
We don't NEED to take apart our knives, but if we do, we can get a lot more dirt and steel dust out of the action.

Without taking it apart, were can lubricate, but not really CLEAN the action.
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This.

Although infrequent, I do occasionally see a need in taking my folder apart. Usually for a dirty pivot that I just can't get clean.

I'm not a big Cold Steel fan, but I love how easy their knives are to take apart. They are easy to maintain and keep clean.

By and large, however, I usually just wash my knife with soap and water, dry it well, and follow up with Rem Oil. 95% of the time that's all that is needed.
 
Smaug said:
Who said anything about taking a knife apart in a field?

That CRKT shown earlier is one that soldiers might like these days because they're serving in a place where there's lots of sand and it gets everywhere. It's nice to be able to take it apart and rinse it out when they get back to the base, instead of just leaving it all grindy. (Just like they might do with an M-16.)
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If you are going to take it down at your base then it shouldn't be hard to keep a few hand tools there to help with that. Usually, you can flush dirt and dust out easily with a lubricant, without disassembly. I am not afraid to take things down, but doing so induces wear and will reduce the life of the tool. Steel screws will quickly reduce titanium or plastic sockets, as would the repeated use and removal of loctite.

This take down thing has become something of a fetish; what we should be looking for is sturdy enough construction to permit regular use, without having to regularly rebuild the knife. The Buck 110 has been everywhere over the last 50 years in vast numbers and I doubt that many of them have ever been taken apart. If that is becoming a problem for you then it is time to buy a better knife. There are way too many "tactical folders" that are little more than finicky men's jewelry, and those are not the kind of tools that you want to rely on in a harsh environment.

n2s
 
If they don't want to learn how to turn a screw driver probably not interested in taking knives apart
 
Smaug said:
Who said anything about taking a knife apart in a field?

That CRKT shown earlier is one that soldiers might like these days because they're serving in a place where there's lots of sand and it gets everywhere. It's nice to be able to take it apart and rinse it out when they get back to the base, instead of just leaving it all grindy. (Just like they might do with an M-16.)
Click to expand...


i live in sandy soil. its on everything. ya can't do any cutting on anything outside without sand getting in the knife. I dont have to take my knives apart to clean them out. those who want to thats fine....but it can be done without disassembly. when all knives were pinned back when cutlers were abound, pre screw together....taking apart was a harder task and most didn't do it and didn't need to do it.

the crkt tool less take down one I have a couple they are pretty neat design though, even ill admit that, but I dont take them down dont really need to.
 
tiguy7 said:
View attachment 1456608 View attachment 1456607 Sometimes corrosion develops in the pivot area. A wire brush and fine ceramic stone can restore the free movement. In the "after" picture, all the observed rust is below the bearing surface.
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If you continue to polish and remove materials from the pivot area, to keep it looking shiny, you will eventually change the tolerances and damage the knife. Just lubricate the pivot and work the action and the grime will come out with minimal damage.

n2s
 
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