Yo1 help please... washers, stiffness, all around suckage.

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Hi. So just bought a used Yo1. Love the knife, but this one needs a ton of help. Sometimes, knife is just a bit gritty.. then the next second its tooo hard to close, and the opening action is really gritty and tough once you hit the 3/4 open mark (I can feel the pivot screw rotating a bit as I open the blade which explains the sometimes decently smooth action, followed by the sudden tough action. If I tighten the pivot down its impossible to open). I opened the knife up and see these tiny, super thin washers. I expected to see bronze washers, but definitely not. The color is the same, but these are super thin and see through. Anyone know whats normal in the Yojimbo 1?? What size I need??

I tried putting the blade on just the lock side(with the other side scale off) and it felt fine. Then when I put the blade on the other scale, without the lock side scale on.. I can replicate the tough,gritty feel. I am really thinking some thicker, washers may fix this. If I open the blade in direct light I can see the blade is not coming out straight, but the tip is pushing towards the lock side more. And the blade is not centered when closed, it favors the lock side a decent amount.

Any tips, ideas, all welcome. I would love to get this thing working right. Thanks so much.
 
It's been a few years since I had a Yojimbo apart, but if I remember right, mine had the Nylatron washers. The symptoms you describe could be caused by a number of things. There is no way I can diagnose the problem without seeing the knife, so I can't tell you how to fix it. I will say the one I bought used was beat up pretty bad, but I got it back to like new lockup and smooth operation with a couple of hours work.
 
Thanks, Yablanowitz. Just googled that, and mine definitely aren't the same. Hmm, maybe thats the issue?

I shaved down a bit of the g10 surround of the liner near the blade pivot, and lightly sanded the lockbar face. Still, not near where I want it. Felt decent open and closing for maybe 50 cycles, and now back to being tough. I no longer feel the the pivot screws turn when blade being deployed.

Argh... is there any maker/modifier that handles such a situation?
 
Overtightening the spacer screws on the back of the handle nearest the blade can cause the liners to skew instead of being parallel. If that happens, the blade starts out fine and binds as it opens fully.

Also, if you're not Loc-Titing your screws to hold everything in place they may be loosening up or shifting--especially if you're doing multiple openings right after assembly. Try assembling everything dry and confirm that you can get it right. Then, disassemble and reassemble with Loc-Tite--again until you get it right. Then, put it down for an hour and let the Loc-Tite cure.

I hope this helps.

Stay safe,

Mike
 
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