Cure of compression lock blade play

[Alex4]

Hello,

I have a para 3 lightweight knife and it has developed a vertical (up and down) blade play.
Reason seems to be is that the lock’s liner has travelled too far, so not enough tension from the spring to move even further (moving it further by hand eliminates the play). All screws (except pivot) are tight.

Is there a way to somehow adjust the point of lock engagement to come earlier? (Maybe oversized stop pins, bending locks liner, somehow moving it up, playing with screw tention etc?).

Living over pond complicates the issue of just sending it to Golden.

Best regards,
Alex

[apollo]

How long do you have the knife?
For now i can not really think of an answer to improve lock up. But bending it back will definitely not help because the metal there has worn out so it would even get more play i think.
Hope somebody with some para 3 knowledge jumps in soon since its a popular knife i think they will be people able to help.

[Alex4]

Actually just since 2 years, not used much and also no flipping

[JRinFL]

Some people have rotated the stop bar and cured their blade play and/or sticking. Oversized stop pins have been mentioned before as well, but that takes more skill than most are willing to acquire.

Hopefully, some P3 and PM2 experts will chime in here with actual experience.

[wrdwrght]

Sounds like the dreaded “lock-stick”, a result of excess stock on either the tang or the spring that prevents the spring from wedging optimally into the tang. I’ve had it on one of my PM2s and on my Superleaf and SuperHawk, and corrected all three.

Look to the role of the stop-pin, as JRinFL just mentioned. Rotating it may actually solve the problem.

I say “dreaded” because the location of the excess stock must be guessed (the excess will not be obvious) if you will be doing the removal. Alternatively, repeated locking and unlocking of the blade can wear down the stock but only if the excess is not, ahem, excessive.

WARNING! Guessing can lead to removal of stock that is not the excess but actually required for tight lock-up, so proceed very cautiously. Test what you remove often to confirm actual lessening of the stick. Baby steps.

Instruction on removal will come only from full understanding of how the compression lock works. Study it. But don’t disassemble the knife for the removal of stock. You need the moving parts in their proper place to test your work.

[soulspy]

I have 3 Para3 LWs and they all lockup at around the same place as your pic. I don't think yours has moved beyond what is expected.

I am going to suggest that you do flick it a bit, since you say you haven't used it much. It could be that the blade tang and lockbar haven't developed a perfect geometric relationship yet. That happens over time, I believe, and with use.

I have also adjusted one of mine by disassembling and bending the lockbar to have slightly more tension. It did not take much to bend it, so don't over do it if you try. I held it between 2 adjustable wrenches and just ever so slightly changed the wrenches positions. Barely enough to even feel it, then reassemble, then adjust again. Kinda tedious, but now it's got a much more positive, sturdy tension that I can feel when unlocking that particular P3 LW.

[Giygas]

Pictures can be deceiving, but that doesn't look like the lockbar has traveled "too far" at all.

If it was mine, I'd bend the lockbar to increase tension but that's not something I can suggest you try without knowing your skill level.

Having said that, I've never encountered a para 3 LW that I couldn't muscle at least a tiny bit of lock rock out of.

[cjk]

it doesn't have those aftermarket titanium scales for the lightweight which Heinie Haynes sells, does it?

[Alex4]

Thanks for replies! Actually, may try some flicking, since I always tried to hold lock-bar a bit when opening for it not to slam the tang and not to wear quickly.

The knife is fully stock and here is the picture, that probably gives a better view of the lockup