- Joined
- Dec 24, 2000
- Messages
- 1,055
Ever since I got my ZT0300CE from TAD I have been contemplating taking it apart and tweaking it a bit.
Don't get me wrong it is a great knife; but compared to other 0300s I've sampled I felt it could use help in two specific areas. First was the well documented torsion spring rattle. Second was the somewhat faint lockbar tension. It locked up rock solid but took barely the lightest touch to disengage the lock bar. Felt like if I breathed strongly the bar could be moved back.
So I got out my tools and went to work. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to work with and that its relatively simple under the hood.
A strip of white grease under the spring on the steel liner silenced the rattle and a gentle nudge on the lock bar gave it some added tension.
While in there I also cleaned out the factory lube from the pivot area and re-lubed the washers.
Put it all back together and voila- its perfect. No rattle, the lockbar gives a new resistance while still locking up like a vault and the action is smoother and faster than ever.
I have taken apart and re-assembled lots of knives over the years for various reasons; was really nice to work on this one and get such simple and positive results.
Of course always defer to the factory warranty before you tear your knife down... ;-)
Don't get me wrong it is a great knife; but compared to other 0300s I've sampled I felt it could use help in two specific areas. First was the well documented torsion spring rattle. Second was the somewhat faint lockbar tension. It locked up rock solid but took barely the lightest touch to disengage the lock bar. Felt like if I breathed strongly the bar could be moved back.
So I got out my tools and went to work. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to work with and that its relatively simple under the hood.
A strip of white grease under the spring on the steel liner silenced the rattle and a gentle nudge on the lock bar gave it some added tension.
While in there I also cleaned out the factory lube from the pivot area and re-lubed the washers.
Put it all back together and voila- its perfect. No rattle, the lockbar gives a new resistance while still locking up like a vault and the action is smoother and faster than ever.
I have taken apart and re-assembled lots of knives over the years for various reasons; was really nice to work on this one and get such simple and positive results.
Of course always defer to the factory warranty before you tear your knife down... ;-)