how do you smooth the opening of your blades

Jestersinthemoon

Jestersinthemoon

Joined
Apr 6, 2008
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252
I'm always on a mission to get the ultimate in smooth and friction-free openings on my blades. I've tried everything from different greases and oils, to slight grinding and polishing of washers, to even replacing steel or bronze washers with Teflon or Delrin washer. Sometimes these things work, but with certain knives, I'm still never satisfied with the smoothness and consistency of the blade opening.

So, two questions..........first, what is your favorite lubricant that you use on your blade pivots? I've heard some say flourinated grease, others say certain Teflon oils or even Hot Sauce reel oil.

.........and secondly, what modifications or adjustments, if any, do you make to your knives to get that consistently super smooth, almost gliding, easy flicking opening that many of us so love in our blades?

Thanks for any advice!

Jester
 
My favorite lube is Quick Release. It is simply amazing. Made for Latama Cutlery ( some really high end Italian Stilettos ). I will take my washers sometimes and rub them on 2000 grit sandpaper until they are shiny. Lastly I adjust the pivot until it has no side to side but barely. So that there isn't alot of pressure on it.
 
Well polishing the blade tang can help. I also like to clean my knives thoroughly maybe once a week. For lubrication I just use mineral oil. It sounds like you've done most of those, the only other thing I can think of is loosening the pivot screw just slightly. I hope that helps.
 
RevDevil said:
Break them in over time.
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+1. I give them the necessary time to wear in a little bit before I go to town and over zealously waste my time. I have no problem going in after they break in to maybe hand rub a bit of slurry from my 10K grit Chosera waterstone or even use a bit of 0.5u Chromium Oxide on the pivot to buff it a hair. I do this very slowly, and use absolutely as little as possible.

I know we have all heard it one million times, but it's easier to take off than put back on.
 
Nylatron washers+tuff glide+detent ball bearing set .002 less than thickness of washer= silky smooth opening
 
Maybe it is just me but I over titghten my spyderco because then the blade is ultra secure when open. And its not like I need to flick it open I simply just push the thumb cutout and it slides right out.
 
To echo my learned colleagues above, there are few knives, or any other devices that contain friction surfaces, that time and use will not smooth out. For my purposes, depending on the knife, I will use either Benchmade's 'Blue Lube' or Sentury Solutions' 'TufGlide'.
 
Finally took the dive from being a reader to a member...
Depending on the knife I will either use a dremel drill and a polishing compound (10 microns down to .25 microns) to get a mirror finish on the washer or with pivots like the sebenza, for example, I will use the same concept but I will lose the power tool and do the stropping by hand. Additionally, I will polish the metal where it contacts the washer on some (not all) knives. I have heard of ppl having success with the 2000 grit paper but do all of these at your own risk, you have to pay attention because you can take off too much metal on some washers and actually make the action worse. Breaking it in the old fashion way works, but it takes a while and I like to tinker so it's part of my new knife work-over treatment. As far as lube, I think CRK fluorinated grease works the best but it's expensive and the new tubes they come in are not as nice as the syringes they used to come in. I use DuPont finish line extreme floro (in a syringe) for non CRK knives.
 
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Leather strop and paste - the blade tang, the washers, and the liners all can be polished to the point of smoother-than-glass and it makes a huge difference.

Plus, you don't have to worry about removing too much material (careful not to bend the washers and stay clear of the ball-detent).

Then I lube everything with Lucas High Performance Assembly Lube.
 
I flick the knife open for a few hours at night in front of the TV and in a few weeks they open a lot smoother.
 
I polish one side of each bronze washer in my Benchmade folders with an extra fine Spyderco triangular prism. The finish is mirror but doesn't cover the whole side of the washer. If you get 50% of the washer surface to a mirror finish, the blade flies out. No lube. Mirror side to blade tang.
 
I always use Sentry oil, a good alt to Sentry is White Lightning. I prefer to fully break in my folders before making any pivot screw adjustments.
 
I use a slurry of silicon carbide and llama spit...
:D


For real though, in no particular order: 3 in 1 oil, gun oil, or careful pivot adjustment usually works for my folders....
 
I will polish the washers, tang, and liners on stubborn knives. I find that once smooth though, that no lube keeps most knives silky smooth longer than lubing which then attracts dirt to the pivot area.
 
I take some material off of the spring if its a spine lock, it'll lessen the resistance of the spine lock catch when the blades round part is rolling underneath it. Had to do this with my Cold Steel Hold Out 1, the spring was so stiff no breaking in would've loosened it up. Now it will open with a flick of the wrist. Although im sure it has made the lock a slight bit weaker.

Another method is to give the round portion of the blade that contacts the spinelock a peak so there's less material to make contact, lowering friction. But usually results in the blade being off centered and loose in the closed position. I had to do this with another shitty Cold Steel Hold Out 2 that felt like gritty sand when the knife was opened.

Best thing to do though is to get an Benchmade AXIS lock or SOG ARC lock knife IMO.
 
KRS1 said:
I take some material off of the spring if its a spine lock, it'll lessen the resistance of the spine lock catch when the blades round part is rolling underneath it. Had to do this with my Cold Steel Hold Out 1, the spring was so stiff no breaking in would've loosened it up. Now it will open with a flick of the wrist. Although im sure it has made the lock a slight bit weaker.

Another method is to give the round portion of the blade that contacts the spinelock a peak so there's less material to make contact, lowering friction. But usually results in the blade being off centered and loose in the closed position. I had to do this with another shitty Cold Steel Hold Out 2 that felt like gritty sand when the knife was opened.

Best thing to do though is to get an Benchmade AXIS lock or SOG ARC lock knife IMO.
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I feel like I just watched a commercial about medication that helps you get rid of restless legs, but gave you heart problems, brittle bones, and anal leakage. :)
 
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