CQC-7V

Joefairbanks

Joefairbanks

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Hello Emerson experts. I am new to Emerson Knives, but have quickly acquired 3 of them. I love the way they feel, and the "soul" that they seem to have. Two of them were purchased LNIB on the forums (Mini A-100 PDW, and Seax) and are relatively perfect. I purchased the above mentioned CQC-7V new from a trusted retailer. The problem that I am having is the lockup. It started out with a pretty sticky lock, which I understand is not unusual out of the box before it is broken in. I used the sharpie on the lockface of the blade, and it works for around 10-15 cycles before needing to be reapplied. Eventually I disassembled the knife and cleaned all surfaces and carefully lubed as to not get any lube on the locking surfaces. The lock was REALLY stiff after that treatment! So, I went back to the sharpie trick. I have opened and closed this knife literally hundreds of times (serious callous on my thumb)! It doesn't seem to be breaking in. Also, when I use the wave to open it from my pocket, the lockbar goes so far over that I literally have to use a screwdriver or other instrument to release the lock. No, I'm not weak in the hands! The lockbar does not travel to the point that it touches the opposite liner, but it gets fairly close, depending on how swiftly I use the wave.
My question is: should I keep trying, and it will break in eventually? Or should I contact Emerson to look at sending it in? I've heard that their warranty is excellent, but I don't want to send it in if this is something that I need to continue to "break-in".
I posted this question here because I didn't want to get some of the "Emerson haters" telling me I "paid too much for an ancient design".
Thanks in advance for the sage wisdom!
 
ducati said:
I have had this happen on several. Keep doing what your doing. It will take you by suprise.
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Thank you for the reply. I don't want to sound like I'm wimpy, I just wasn't sure what to expect/how long it will take. Much appreciated.
 
Temperature and humidity will affect it also. Go for a night walk and see if it sticks the same as when you in the house. You could always try a drop of oil or a few passes of diamond paper on the contact surface. Good luck
 
Timothy 75 said:
Temperature and humidity will affect it also. Go for a night walk and see if it sticks the same as when you in the house. You could always try a drop of oil or a few passes of diamond paper on the contact surface. Good luck
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Thank you for the idea. I’ll try that tonight when I take the dog for a walk!
 
The smoothest Emersons I have are those that I use the most. So with that being said use the thing. I think good hard use will help you out. I am not an expert, but this is just what works for me.
 
jaypowell0185 jaypowell0185 Thank you for that bit of advice. I plan on doing just that as soon as I can get out and about again. I’m stuck at home most of the time, and have a hard time finding much more than making sandwiches with it at the moment! Hahahaha
 
You can also harden the ti lock bar, similar to carbonizing. Take the knife completely apart and using a propane torch, heat the lock area of the ti liner cherry red. Let it cool and re-assemble ;)
 
My Sheepdog took probably 1000 cycles to build up enough of a titanium residue on the blade tang to not stick anymore. What you basically need is to cause enough adhesive wear/shearing on the softer Ti so that when it locks up it is really a Ti/Ti interface.

This may sound ridiculous, and in some ways it is, but it does work...much better than constant lubrication.

OTOH, if EKI used steel that was properly hardened and had better quality machining, the initial lockup probably wouldn’t be as rough and the break in shorter. Every EKI knife I have owned has had its own character and personality in a sense, none of them would I describe as being made with precision, however.
 
depends on how you assemble it. That is the most likely case. If you send it in to emerson they will take 8 weeks just to turn a couple screws the right way and send it back.

Call them and ask them how to assemble. They are real helpful with things like that.
 
colubrid said:
[...] If you send it in to emerson they will take 8 weeks just to turn a couple screws the right way and send it back.

Call them and ask them how to assemble. They are real helpful with things like that.
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And $18.50 for return shipping on top of the ride out to EKI which is about $8.00.
 
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