Guess who is in my rotation now.

[gull wing]

Sage III:
After frustration with the lock, I layed it down for a while. Then weeks of just working it a few times in the evening while watching TV. There is now a breakthrough in the Blue Boy. I can unlock it easily with thumb and index. I can "flick" it open.
So now I carry it, I convexed and polished the edge with my cardboard wheels. To make the blade look just a little less fat, I put small and tasteful swedges. Great knife. :D

If you want to see the inside, see below.
WARNING, DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME. It's tricky!

[JNewell]

Totally fun! :spyder:

[The Deacon]

Thanks for the pics. Always interesting to see how a new lock actually works. Glad you finally got your Sage III the way you wanted it.

[Zendemic]

Wow! Those are some cool pics! I always like to see the inner workings of all these knives.

[Creepo]

Thanks for the pics. :D
I've always wanted to know what the piston looked like, I remember seeing some patent blueprints of the lock where it was like a pointy wedge, but it has a round end, makes sense. :)

[markg]

Looks like a pretty solid lock.

[Ben_1323]

Wow, great pics, thanks. That lock looks just as strong as the ball bearing lock.

[Morris]

very interesting look inside

you should have made a video of putting it back together. would be interesting to see :)

[DeathBySnooSnoo]

nice to see...only thing that I can see that I don't think I like is that the spring seems to only be supported by the G10 when you pull back on it. After years of use you'd think that the G-10 will get worn away....might be nice to see something else behind the spring.

[Koen Z]

G10 is easy tough enough to handle that small forces, I suppose.

Great photo's, thanks!

[The Deacon]

nice to see...only thing that I can see that I don't think I like is that the spring seems to only be supported by the G10 when you pull back on it. After years of use you'd think that the G-10 will get worn away....might be nice to see something else behind the spring.

I have a 50 year old Parker ballpoint. Its coil spring rides inside a plastic tube that lacks the benefit of fiberglass reinforcement. Have worn out a couple springs over the years, plastic body is still going strong. Keep in mind that the tolerances aren't critical for that spring, The four steel dowels and the liners are what keep the bolt aligned. All the spring has to do is compress and extend.

[Creepo]

G10 is plenty strong for that purpose, the only force the G10 is experiencing is the one from the spring, if you try to force the lock to close, the force wont be affecting the G10 backing, only the metal parts where the piston wedges itself.
Besides, even if the G10 were to wear a bit, you just put a bit longer spring in and it's problem solved. As Deacon said, it's more likely for the spring itself to wear out.

[DeathBySnooSnoo]

That does all make sense, and I am sure that it would have been addressed if it was an issue...just something that I noticed and wondered about.

[araneae]

Glad to hear that your S3 is where it belongs...your pocket. I'd love to see pics of the finished blade with the swedges. Thanks for showing us the guts.

[cosmo7809]

wow! Those are some cool pics! I always like to see the inner workings of all these knives.

+1

[VashHash]

Now that I know how it works I want one. Looks very sturdy too.

[Jazz]

Thanks for the pic - very cool. Funny, really, how a lot of locks are the same but not. Works similar to a ball bearing or an axis, and probably a few others. :cool:

- best wishes, Jazz.

[gull wing]

Thanks! This knife is now all that I expected. I like the handle size, which is a pinch larger(in width) than the other sages, but is still thin. I never liked really thick knives, there a bunch of Spydercos that are thin.
Swedge shot per request.

[gull wing]

Oh, forgot:
Does anyone know the purpose of the second spring? Can't figure this one. :confused:

[DeathBySnooSnoo]

maybe to keep the spacing correct for the piston to move up and down with no friction?