Spyderco K2 RIL lock sticking

[Jim Malone]

I just purchased a Spyderco K2, it's in shipment at this moment. Does anyone know if the lockface is treated (hardened) against wear? I saw some posts about the lock beeing hard to disengage and late lock-up. Now i wonder if mine will have the same problem? any owners that can chime in? Does anyone know why Spyderco didn't use a steel insert on the lockface like the Ti Military? I have a first generation Military without the steel insert and i have problems with lock stick.

[VashHash]

Use a pencil to lubricate the lock face. This usually helps.

[Archimedes]

Mine has very late lock up. I really am not a fan of late lock up but it does not seem to be moving, so I will assume it is ok. It still bugs me. My lock has not proven sticky at all ,so no problem there. It really is one of the biggest folding slicers ever and I really like the knife overall.

[Ed Schempp]

You can use a Sharpie or another permanent marker on tang engagement area. It last longer than graphite fron a pencil...Ed

[RadioactiveSpyder]

Sorry to say I had to trade mine away because of the lock stick issue, sadly leaving me sadly without my giant 10V cleaver . I just couldn't take the stickiness every time trying to disengage the blade. I liked the design pretty well otherwise!

[spyderg]

Mine was a bit sticky initially but with use not bad at all anymore. Late lockup, yes but it hasn't moved and from what I know the late lockup is intentional.

[Jim Malone]

Just received it, fantastic knife! but LOCK-STICK! I thought my Ti Milli was bad but this knife has a LOT of lock stick. I am not able to close it one handed. I hope this will get better with use , because i love the knife.

[SpyderNut]

Another thing you might try is to lightly apply some degreaser to the locking tab/blade tang using a Q-tip saturated in bore cleaner. (I prefer Remington's brand of bore cleaner for this task). I've done this with a few Liner Locks, as well as integral frame locks, and it seems to help treat the "stickiness" of the lock. I suspect part of the issue with lock stick is that most knives are shipped from the factory with a light coat of oil to protect the knives from rust/corrosion. If oil gets into the locking face (between the blade's tang and the locking tab), this can create the dreaded "lock stick" that we all despise. Of course, this is my own experience/observation. Your results may vary. :)

[awa54]

Another thing you might try is to lightly apply some degreaser to the locking tab/blade tang using a Q-tip saturated in bore cleaner. (I prefer Remington's brand of bore cleaner for this task). I've done this with a few Liner Locks, as well as integral frame locks, and it seems to help treat the "stickiness" of the lock. I suspect part of the issue with lock stick is that most knives are shipped from the factory with a light coat of oil to protect the knives from rust/corrosion. If oil gets into the locking face (between the blade's tang and the locking tab), this can create the dreaded "lock stick" that we all despise. Of course, this is my own experience/observation. Your results may vary. :)

Huh... is the theory here that the lock is wedging due to seating *too* firmly? My guess would be that in a Ti on steel lock it's just the titanium being titanium (I hate screw on Ti watch backs, because unless well greased the threads stick terribly).

My intuition would be to put a tiny dab of some high pressure grease on the tang to lock bar face, maybe one with some moly in it?

Also if you use bore cleaner to degrease, make sure to clean the affected area well afterward, some bore cleaners are aggressive enough to cause corrosion if left on metal for an extended period, especially to bronze bushings (bore cleaner is designed to remove jacket metal after all).

[Cliff Stamp]

In regards to using some kind of grease/lubricant on the interface, this can also destabilize the lock. If the lock sticks it simply isn't designed/ground properly. The problem is people tolerate that as they think it is the way the locks are supposed to behave. They are not. Lots of makers use Ti framelocks and don't have jam/stick issues.

[tvenuto]

Case in point, my Slysz Bowie is so easy to disengage it doesn't even feel like the lockbar is touching the tang, except as evidenced by the perfectly solid lock-up. My southard doesn't have that magical feel to it, but it doesn't stick or drag at all. My PPT (which is for all intents and purposes a RIL), does have a bit of drag, but not what I'd call a "stick." That one is steel on steel, though, which probably makes a difference. (I realize most liner locks are steel/steel as well, but the larger face of a RIL certainly must increase the likelihood of galling/dragging/sticking).

So I guess I should say: cases in point. Keep in mind that these are just the spyderco RILs I have, and are just one example of each, so take it for what it's worth and don't extrapolate too much from it.

[awa54]

In regards to using some kind of grease/lubricant on the interface, this can also destabilize the lock. If the lock sticks it simply isn't designed/ground properly. The problem is people tolerate that as they think it is the way the locks are supposed to behave. They are not. Lots of makers use Ti framelocks and don't have jam/stick issues.

Which brings up the point that a badly finished lock face on either the blade or lockbar are very difficult to correct after the fact... if there's plenty of extra metal on both parts then very precise polishing that doesn't alter the lockup geometry (or corrects it if needed) will probably fix the issue, but would require some skill to execute. Also in a Ti on steel lock, the Titanium will wear away faster than the steel if the faces are rough, eventually compromising the lockup of the knife.

As far as lube in the lock, many knives come with at least a small amount in place (whether intentionally applied or just migrated from the pivot), but I totally agree that a knife with minimal overlap, weak spring tension, a flexy lockbar or soft edges on the lock faces would probably become unsafe with an application of moly paste or teflon. Any strongly sprung lock with good interface depth should stay locked no matter what lube is on the faces though. So yeah, lubricate with caution, keeping all of your fingers attached is a good thing!

I do however stand by the observation that Ti on Ti or Ti on steel interfaces are more prone to being sticky than in a comparably designed steel to steel interface. Better part polish ought to minimize that, but the inherent characteristic of the Ti is still there.

[Cujobob]

My Slysz Bowie was quite sticky initially and is as smooth now as one could ever want. I think it will go away with use as it did for me...didn't take long but don't recall exactly the time for it to go away.