loosening a riveted pivot?

[Midget]

My spyderco native pivot has a LOT of drag. It is not the lockbar tension, because when i manually depress the lockbar and cycle the blade, the tension is very obvious. i can't take the knife apart for cleaning or anything, because everything is riveted in the FRN.

so what are some good ways to clean this thing out? I'm thinking leaving it submerged in solvents overnight or something... ?

I'm not sure what caused it to be so stiff, i do know this knife has been exposed to chemicals, specifically brasso and brake cleaner.

any ideas on cleaning it out?


thanks.

 

[Midget]

also, i can't visibly see anything that would be obstructing the pivot. all the exposed metal is very shiny and smooth (it was the brasso).

 

[Bear]

As a LAST ditch effort you can actyally loosen the rivet by laying it against something hard and massy with a hole in it bigger than the rivet head, then hitting the rivet head (the head that's facing you) with a punch.

For example, you could lay a washer on top of a metal block, position the rivet so the bottom head sits inside the washer hole, then hit the top head with a punch.

Do it gradually, alternating sides until it's as loose as you want it to be.

This may void your warranty, and may not be reversible.

Bear

 

[Little claw]

try soaking/rinsing in hot soapy water. If that doesn't work, try blowing through with lots of WD40, then go back to soapy water.

brasso is an abrasive cleaner with gritty particles that may be stuck in between the handle and blade, or possibly between the pivot an hole. If this is the case you may need some patience and reapet the above process a few times. Brasso is ammonia based, so if you can get some of that it may be the quickest fix - I doubt it would harm the handles but its wise to check first.

Never underestimate the power of detergent and water.

 

[Robbie Roberson]

Midget, 1- Joy or equal dish detergent to cut grease and residue, work blade vigorously, rinse in hot water, wait until dry, add lightweight oil on pivot pin.
OR

2- use old type razor blade, the one with reinforced metal back, insert blade in between handle and blade, may be tight fit, gently tap blade edge until it is in between blade and handle, don't go too far and don't kink razor blade, do other side if possible, I have loosened many blades like this. Try a little at a time to make sure and not over loosen. Sometimes just tapping razor in a little will loosen enough. Don't go in too far with razor, or you may score pivot or even cut it if hit too hard, I have done this .

OR

3- Last resort, most of the time either of above worked well, if not, open blade slightly, tip should be about 1-1/2 inches out of handle, grasp blade about midway, with index and thumb, push blade gently like you are trying to break it, (but don't) , this is a leverage trick, it puts leverage on pivot and should open handles by stretching pivot heads. Don't push hard, just wiggle back and forth a few times and check tension, when blade will drop smoothly when you depress lock, it is loose enough.

Robbie Roberson

 

[Jeff Clark]

Whatever you do, do NOT soak it in solvents. Plastics like FRN are attacked by short exposure to strong solvents or long exposure to weak solvents. I suspect that brake cleaner may have distorted the FRN around your pivot or may have transfered some FRN to the blade surface in your pivot area. It is also possible that you just have something like brasso residue in your pivot area.

I would not suggest loosening your pivot rivet until you have tried other things. Get some pipe cleaners from a drug store and use a little rubbing alcohol (briefly) to try and clean out all around the pivot area. Now try and wear in the surface by opening and closing the blade a lot of times. Then work a little candle wax into the joint area. If that doesn't do it use a toothpick and transfer a little mineral oil into the joint and work the blade a bunch. If that doesn't do enough try and loosen the joint by applying a little side bending action (not too hard) between the blade and the handle. Only after all this has failed would I do things like light hammering to try and loosen the rivet.

 

[Bear]

Yes, yes, yes. I talked about hammering the pivot rivet too soon.

My first approach is always to pour dishwashing detergent into the handle, work the lock and pour in more detergent from different angles, with the lock depressed, etc. Then rinse under hard running water all the while working the lock and blade through their full range of motion.

I'm glad other people emphasized the LAST RESORT nature of hammering on your knife.

Bear

 

[marty123]

Toothpaste might work. And it's harmless if it doesn't.

I still maintain that Spyderco FRN knives, such as the Native (I have one), should have adjustable pivot screws, as opposed to the rivet that is used now.