ZT 0560 Just it got and having one issuse.

wade7575

wade7575

Joined
Apr 3, 2013
Messages
1,105
I'm new to flipper knives and I'm not sure if the problem I'm having with this model is normal or not.

When I flip this knife open whether I do it gently or hard I find it really hard to move the locking bar to close the knife,it gets so hard I can not do it and I'm a fairly strong guy and it hurts my finger or thumb that's how much pressure I'm having to use.

I have even had to use a key a few times to move the locking bar,please keep in mind it doesn't seem to matter whether it's a lite flip or hard flip of my wrist it seems to want to jam up a lot and very seldom do I get it where it does not want to jam after flipping it open.

Is there anything to adjust on knife itself to make it stop doing this.
 
Sounds to me like your lock bar is sticking. It's a common thing among titanium frame locks, especially flippers.

Try drawing on the blade tang with a lead pencil or sharpie, that should help.
 
Some like to stop the sticking by using pencil or graphite or some use a sharpie to coat the lock bar face. I've always liked the sticking myself. Course I don't need a coin or keys to unlock a stuck face. Over time I noticed sticking becomes less and less.....but I got no science to prove this...it's just my experience with emersons. You can always send it back to kai and they'll fix it for ya as well.
 
This may not be what you want hear but I had the same issue with a 0561. I could have probably lived with it until it "broke in", I did the sharpie trick, pencil led and that didn't work for very long. I know that framelocks get a bad rap for "sticking" sometimes but to be honest, I have had 7 different frame locks. 2 CRK, 2 RHK, 3 ZTs (0550 x2 and one 0561) and the only one that has EVER stuck was my 0561. I ended up sending it in and they replaced the lock side I think. It worked great after that. I ended up selling it. I can say nothing but good things about KAI's customer service however, they were quick and it came back perfect.
 
Totally common, man. They call it lock stick/sticky lock/etc. Give KAI Customer Service a call and ask 'em what they think is the best course of action.
 
I ended up having to flick mine 1000+ times to have it unstick to the point where my thumbs were not bleeding. In the end I had another issue with the knife where I sent it in for warranty and mentioned the lockbar was engaging at 90% by the time it had smoothed out. They replaced the locking side and it came extremely smooth and basically perfect. So there's something wrong with whatever factory line stage in my opinion, people should not have to send their knives in because they can't unlock them without bloody thumbs.

So... to answer your question keep flicking :P if it engages way late then they will likely replace the side. Pain in the a** but good luck with your experience.
 
I had this same issue with my 0561 when I received it. It took two hands to close and I'm a fairly strong guy (strong as in 100 kilo wrestler who trains twice a day). Returning it was not an option, since I'm quite far from the US and my country's postal service cannot be trusted. So I tried the pencil led trick and it worked.

At first, the lock would start sticking again as soon as the pencil led wore off, but after some use it became easier and easier to close it.

It's frustrating to have this sort of thing happen with a fairly expensive knife, but it's easy enough to fix.
 
+1 for pencil trick, but if it does stick try pulling back on the blade slightly to relieve the pressure on the lock face, I would never pry a lock bar over unless as a last resort. But then to would make a nice fixed blade :p
 
Most people say the same that close my 561. It does not stick but most people have soft thumbs.
Mine has broken in and does not stick , just a slight grab at 40%.
It could be the carbidized lock face too.
 
Sikmike said:
I ended up having to flick mine 1000+ times to have it unstick to the point where my thumbs were not bleeding. In the end I had another issue with the knife where I sent it in for warranty and mentioned the lockbar was engaging at 90% by the time it had smoothed out. They replaced the locking side and it came extremely smooth and basically perfect. So there's something wrong with whatever factory line stage in my opinion, people should not have to send their knives in because they can't unlock them without bloody thumbs.

So... to answer your question keep flicking :P if it engages way late then they will likely replace the side. Pain in the a** but good luck with your experience.
Click to expand...

I think I'll just send it in as it really hurt's my fingers and it sounds like the same problem as yours,I don't know if I would say it engages to late more like the lockbar goes in way to deep.
 
Dry the lock mating surface on the blade tang with a q-tip and rub some pencil lead all over it. Some frame locks have a break in period.
 
The lock bar can be "tuned" in the same fashion as the extractor on a 1911, provided lockup is 50% or less. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this yet. It is a permanent fix on the 550 and 560 series of ZT knives as compared to the pencil lead or sharpy trick. The best part is that the tuning job can be adjusted with more or less lock engagement as per the users preference.
 
Oil will often make it worse.
I find my ZT locks up perfect and flips smoother with no oil added at all.
 
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