PM2 Model Variations

riz_aaroni

riz_aaroni

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Feb 7, 2007
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I got a Pink PM2 recently and it rekindled my love of the PM2 model. The action is great (e.g. smooth and quick to open/close). However, more recently I got a Blurple S110V PM2 and the action was much stiffer. I tried cleaning it out, applying some nano oil and adjusting the pivot screws every so slightly. The end result? The side-to-side blade play is minimal/gone, but it is no where near as quick to open/close as the Pink PM2 (albeit it is smoother now).

Has anyone ever experience a wide variation in action between PM2 models?
 
riz_aaroni said:
I got a Pink PM2 recently and it rekindled my love of the PM2 model. The action is great (e.g. smooth and quick to open/close). However, more recently I got a Blurple S110V PM2 and the action was much stiffer. I tried cleaning it out, applying some nano oil and adjusting the pivot screws every so slightly. The end result? The side-to-side blade play is minimal/gone, but it is no where near as quick to open/close as the Pink PM2 (albeit it is smoother now).

Has anyone ever experience a wide variation in action between PM2 models?
Click to expand...


My s110v has stiffer action than my s30v pm2’s. I actually prefer the action a little stiff, as my s30v’s always open halfway when dropped on the floor. I’d rather a knife stay closed whe n dropped. But I think it varies more knife to knife than model to model.
 
Hmm. I figure there will always be some variation between knives, though I am curious if there is more variation between the models in this case.

I'm conflicted here too. The pink one is a ton of fun to fiddle with, though realistically, the stiffer action won't affect actual use. Plus, like you said, not having to worry about the blade opening accidentally is a plus.

I forgot to mention the detent on the blurple is way stronger. Almost too much for my liking. I have an orange XHP PM2 and that is closer in all ways to the pink one. Smooth action, quick open/close, softer detent, etc.
 
I don't know if there is any rhyme or reason to it, but my s110v was the stiffest too. S30v's were the loosest, red m390 is in between and the xhp's were in between the m390 and s30v.
 
I went back and loosened the stop pin screw a little and then adjusted the pivot. That actually was a big help. I think the stop pin screws were pinching the blade. I put some loctite on the stop pin screw to keep it in place. The blade play seems to be completely gone and is much quicker to fall. Though still not at the pink S30V's level. I'll call that a win lol.

On a side note, I kind of wish I never started caring about this stuff. Now that I notice it, I can't NOT think about it.
 
My blurple S110V was stiff, a bit off center, one of the poorer Para2's Ive had out of the box. I pulled it apart to fit CF scales, wiped the bits with an oily rag, put it back together and it was mint - centered, smooth and locked up solid.
I've found the Sprints/DE's are more likely to be satisfactory when new, but that's just my limited experience.
 
For anyone fixing action on their PM2s, stop pin adjustment is many times necessary.

I have four PM2s (had couple more previously), and their action out of the box was all over the place. But with adjustment and break-in, all feel consistent now. Detent on one is lighter than the rest. Not an issue as it doesn't break free that easily, but definitely lighter.

Speaking of, has anyone tried bending the liner part more, to give it more tension, and hypothetically, more detent?
 
When I first got mine it was too stiff. Thought it would wear in but nothing months later of continued use. Cleaned out etc and then just loosened the pivot a tad and it was good to go and perfect. I think I may have adjusted the stop pin like others suggested above too. But at the time didn't know that would change anything.

also avoid snake oil like nano oil. Expensive mineral oil and other lube are just better in knives.
 
The stop pin adjustment was somewhat of a surprise. It makes sense to me now, though if it weren't for a random YouTube comment, I wouldn't have thought to to do it.

Nano oil seems to be fine, the action is certainly smooth, was just a bit slow. Though that was due to too much pressure on the blade. Will just have to use it now!
 
I have 16 PM2's, and yes, there's some variation. The newer ones (red M390, 52100, Maxamet) seem to be the best out of the box. I have one S30V that's on the stiff side and 2 blue M390's that are loose.

So basically there are 3 modes of adjustment:
  • Adjust the pivot and stop screws. If that provides the action you want with zero lateral play, you're done.
  • Remove material from the outside faces of the pivot.
  • Remove material from the faces of the washers.
Before doing any of these, I would take the knife apart, lightly stone the pivot areas of the liners and then polish them to 1k. That ensures there aren't any high spots. You don't need to remove the lanyard tube, just pivot the scales. Then I would gently polish the washers on a smooth strop. You can either reassemble the knife dry to check it, or go right to lube, which obviously takes up some slop.

My goal is ideally to get the lateral play to zero with my preferred pivot action and all the screws fully tight. That way the screws are less likely to move, and the assembly is easily repeatable. Once that's established, I use blue loctite on everything.

The first one I messed with extensively is a blue M390 that had lateral play with the screws fully tight. It took a while, but I got it perfectly dialed in. Next I did a jade M4, which also had some lateral play and got it perfect too. I took one of my 52100's apart for patina, but it needed no changes - I just lubed it and reassembled with loctite.

My older S30V has been used quite a bit. It's been carried for about 5 years and opened many times. It's still a little stiff when adjusted with zero play (which is not at full screw tension). So I'll probably take a little off its washers at some point, just to experiment.

Anyway... each PM2 is a little different. So depending on what you want, you may want to experiment a bit. And as others have said, the newest ones seem to be really well dialed in from the factory. The older ones seem more likely to have a little lateral play.
 
An illuminating thread. Thanks to all posters. I will use this data to fix my PM2's which might need some attention.
You folks have an approach that takes this to a much higher level.
 
I only have 2, an all black S30v and a 52100. Both have an extremely small, barely perceptible amount of blade play. I haven’t taken the S30v apart but I have taken the 52100 apart. Should I expect zero blade play and still have a smooth, drop freely blade action?
 
kingston73 said:
I only have 2, an all black S30v and a 52100. Both have an extremely small, barely perceptible amount of blade play. I haven’t taken the S30v apart but I have taken the 52100 apart. Should I expect zero blade play and still have a smooth, drop freely blade action?
Click to expand...

That is a tough on. My S30V has a drop free and super smooth/quick action, no blade play at all. The S110V has no blade play at all, though not as quick. May need a bit of tweaking to get it a little looser. For me, I have one to fiddle with and the other to just use.
 
I actually don't like the blade to drop completely freely. I like to complete the closing operation with my thumb. So if there's just a bit of friction, I know my thumb is behind the spine. If the blade truly pivots freely, it overcomes the detent and rebounds out of closure when it drops. I don't like that.

So for me, 'perfect' is a little bit of pivot friction and zero lateral play with all screws fully tight. And that (or whatever you personally want) can be accomplished per Post #10.
 
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