Ball detent rough action on Sm. Seb

C

carrot

Joined
Jan 9, 2006
Messages
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I've noticed that after washing my Sebenza under the faucet the ball detent gets a little rough and the knife doesn't open as smoothly. A little bit of Tuf-Glide makes this go away. What's this mean, and how can I fix this?
 
Mine does this too. Just give it a little lube under the ball. Eventually, the ball-blade interface should wear a bit and become very smooth with little or no lube.
 
You might want to check out my thread about adjusting the lock bar strength. I don't necessarily recommend doing so, but I got a good result from it.
 
Are you really asking whether a metal-to-metal friction surface under pressure needs lubrication? Really???

Yes.

Greg
 
Greg said:
Are you really asking whether a metal-to-metal friction surface under pressure needs lubrication? Really???

Yes.

Greg
Click to expand...

Actually CRK sets a tiny ceramic ball in the handle that rides on the blade.

Carrot, just move the blade until the ball runs off the edge then lube it with the tiniest drop of lube (I use their teflon grease) you can manage. Once the ball becomes saturated and wears in with the blade, this friction should be reduced but the lube is the key.
 
Greg said:
Are you really asking whether a metal-to-metal friction surface under pressure needs lubrication? Really???

Yes.

Greg
Click to expand...
I was under the impression that metal on metal action with polished surfaces isn't supposed to feel gritty. Not one of my dozens of other knives are like that. You don't have to be rude.
 
I find the lockbar pression on small Sebbies to be a bit too much, in part due to the clip that pushes the lockbar too hard. What I did on mine was flex the clip so it no longer touches the lockbar when the blade is in open position. Feels much nicer now. It gets better with use too, the ball/blade wear reduces the friction.
 
I have a small BG42 "In God We Trust" sebbie,and it's the only sebenza I own thats not buttery smooth to open.I sent it in for a blade sharpening and had the the handles sand blasted.it came back smoother,but still isn't nearly as smooth opening as my other sebenza's. I've alredy tried CR's white grease on the detent.
 
carrot said:
I was under the impression that metal on metal action with polished surfaces isn't supposed to feel gritty. Not one of my dozens of other knives are like that. You don't have to be rude.
Click to expand...

Sorry carrot, I wasn't trying to be rude--I really was incredulous.

My experience with ANY bare metal to metal (or ceramic to metal) contact is that the tiniest imperfection or contamination makes the movement rough and 'gritty' feeling, especially when there is pressure involved.

Unless you used purified water and dried the joint with a micro-fibre cloth or similar I would suspect that even just 'dried tap water' would leave some contamination.

When I want to smooth out a knife I sometimes wash it with soap and hot water, dry it well, and then put some ultra fine polishing compound in the joint and work it for a bit. Another wash and then a lube, and most of the time it has smoothed out.

Greg
 
Is lubricant really supposed to wash out like this? None of my Spydercos seem to need reapplication of Militec or Tuf-Glide after being washed.
 
carrot said:
Is lubricant really supposed to wash out like this? None of my Spydercos seem to need reapplication of Militec or Tuf-Glide after being washed.
Click to expand...

Militec and TuffGlide are suposed to leave a thin layer that should be quite resistant to washing. Oil and grease will go away if you wash with hot water.
I usually wash the blade only and blow the handle interior/pivot area with canned air, so this was never a problem for me.
 
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