Lil' Native Backlock lock-up changed, extreme lockstick

[ChoilsChoilsChoils]

I got a Lil' Native lockback a few months ago and so far it's exactly as great as I was hoping it would be. It got sweaty and covered in wood bits from an extended carving session a few weeks ago, so I cleaned it with rubbing alcohol and gave it a good dose of mineral oil around the pivot and lock/tang areas. Then yesterday I opened it to cut something (hadn't used it heavily since the cleaning and oiling) and couldn't close it one-handed. It had a very deliberate but smooth opening before. I had to depress the lockbar with a dowel and a quick-clamp to disengage the lock. It seems that the lockbar now sits noticeably deeper in the blade tang cut-out (maybe 0.25-0.5mm), with the bottom of the lockbar sitting noticeably higher relative to the backspacer. I oiled and worked the lock a bit and now I can just barely disengage the lock one-handed, but I need to re-position my hand to get maximum leverage (I have pretty good grip strength for a city boy).

Besides the loss of flushness at the back from the lockbar levering forward, I'm mostly concerned that if the lockbar works itself any deeper I won't be able to easily (and most importantly SAFELY) disengage the lock anymore. Seems like this is a fitment issue that could only be fixed by adding material to the tang or lockbar, so I'm not what could be done short of a lockbar replacement. I'm in Canada, so sending the whole knife for servicing means it might not get back here if the customs agents are feeling ornery. I love the knife and it took forever to find one in stock, I hope it will just work itself out.

[mikey177]

Maybe some wood debris got stuck in the lock area. I would suggest disassembling the knife and checking to make sure there are no tiny foreign bodies interfering with its proper lockup.

I don't have a Lil Native, but if it's anything like the Native 5 below, taking it apart and getting it back together should be pretty straightforward.

[SG89]

Once, one of my spydies developed horrible lockup all of the sudden. I shined a flashlight in the lockbar crevice and saw a big piece of lint. I removed it and the knife was normal again. Wood bits might require a thorough cleaning under running water or disassembly. Or more simply just a blast of air. Or send it in to the mothership.

[WilliamMunny]

Not sure about the lil native but the Native 5 is very easy to take apart and probably the best way to go for you. I am sure there are a ton of online videos to show you how. Like the above posts something is probably just stuck in there.

[RamZar]

Or more simply just a blast of air.

Sometimes that’s all it takes for tiny debris to be pushed out. This also happens in the pivot area.

[Giygas]

How much oil did you use?

I've seen heavily oiled lockbacks develop similar issues.

Edit: After re-reading your post and seeing that you specifically oiled the lock/tang area, I bet that's the problem.

[Doc Dan]

Did you at all take the knife apart? If you did, then perhaps the spring is upside down.

I'm betting on debris in the knife that got washed in there while you were cleaning it. Besides the debris, no oil in the pivot will make a knife hard to open. I had a Boker completely freeze up from that.

[40mm]

Take it apart and clean it all out. Bet it’s fine after that assuming spring is in correct orientation.

[apollo]

Really curiouse what the reason is that this happend to you're knife. I have bin using my Lockback manixes for years now and my chinook 2 for even way longer and even when they are as dirty as can be they never developed this problem at the moment.

[nerdlock]

When I first got my Lil Native Lockback, it had a gritty action and didn't feel as smooth as my other lockbacks so I put some KPL on the pivots and that greatly improved everything.

It's now my favorite iteration of the Lil Native, slightly edging out all my other compression lock LNs.

If you have already oiled your pivots, the next thing to check, as others have said, is the spring.

[Airlsee]

If it were me...I would disassemble, clear any debris, clean all parts with alcohol, check fitment & lock-up then reassemble with a very thin coat of oil and a dab of blue thread locker on each screw.

If it turns out that you find a problem with one of the parts, then you will know that you need to roll the dice and send the knife to Golden. If not, then your knife will be as good as new.

[ChoilsChoilsChoils]

Thank you all for your suggestions. Just a few clarifications of the problem:

-The knife has not been disassembled and no parts have been changed
-I have inspected the knife thoroughly and there is no debris in the lock/tang area
-The lock is sitting deeper, not higher, than it did before, so obstruction is not the issue. This deeper seating of the lock (and the resulting lock stick) is the only issue, there isn't any grittiness or problems opening/closing once the lock is disengaged.

I fear Airlsee is correct and I'll either have to live with it or live dangerously and send it to Golden.

[Bloody Fingerz]

Why is sending it in to Golden “living dangerously”? Someone else said that sending it in to Golden was “rolling the dice”... I have a titanium handled military that has late lockup with some lock-rock and I was going to send it in and see if they could change the lock bar insert and possibly tighten up the lockup. I don’t carry it much because feeling the movement when I’m cutting bothers me. Is it a mistake to let Golden work on your knife nowadays? I remember sending a knife in maybe 8 years ago with an issue and the service was excellent.

[SG89]

Why is sending it in to Golden “living dangerously”? Someone else said that sending it in to Golden was “rolling the dice”... I have a titanium handled military that has late lockup with some lock-rock and I was going to send it in and see if they could change the lock bar insert and possibly tighten up the lockup. I don’t carry it much because feeling the movement when I’m cutting bothers me. Is it a mistake to let Golden work on your knife nowadays? I remember sending a knife in maybe 8 years ago with an issue and the service was excellent.

OP lives in Canada.

[ImHereForTheMilitary2]

Not sure about the lil native but the Native 5 is very easy to take apart and probably the best way to go for you. I am sure there are a ton of online videos to show you how. Like the above posts something is probably just stuck in there.

The lil native g10 at least should be very easy to disassemble. It's just a smaller native from what I can see

[Araignee]

If the lock is seating deeper, couldn't it be some sort of lint that maintains it down ?

At this point, just disassemble the knife, really. You will never be able to conclusively rule out the many possibilities evoked in this thread, until you take it apart.

[Bloody Fingerz]

Why is sending it in to Golden “living dangerously”? Someone else said that sending it in to Golden was “rolling the dice”... I have a titanium handled military that has late lockup with some lock-rock and I was going to send it in and see if they could change the lock bar insert and possibly tighten up the lockup. I don’t carry it much because feeling the movement when I’m cutting bothers me. Is it a mistake to let Golden work on your knife nowadays? I remember sending a knife in maybe 8 years ago with an issue and the service was excellent.

OP lives in Canada.

Oh, so it might not be able to be returned or taken by customs.. didn’t think of that. I feel sorry for our knife brothers and sisters in Canada. Silly politicians making laws to please idiots…

[sal]

Hi Choils(3),

Welcome to our forum Sorry for your frustration. Hard to tell what's up without a closer look. You might contact customer service and ask their suggestion?

sal

[weeping minora]

If none of the aforementioned advice works, I'd try disassembling the knife, thoroughly cleaning the lock mechanism (lockbar notch and cutout "seat" in tang) and apply graphite from a no. 2 pencil (use sparingly, it can be easy to overdo and to want to overdo if you are not getting instantly gratified) to the notch that seats into the lock cutout, as well as the cutout where that notch seats, itself. In other words, apply graphite only to the actual interfering locking parts that make the mechansim lock. This should help lubricate the lock mechanism, without the downside of attracting dirt/lint/dust. Might be worth a shot if all else fails before sending her home (if you choose to ultimately do so).

[ChoilsChoilsChoils]

Hi Sal,

Good news, the lock-up is still deeper than before, but the lockstick is about half gone and improving after lots of opening and closing. I figure maybe the new contact patch is smoothing itself out. I'll be sure to contact customer service for help if it becomes a major issue again. (I went to change the unhappy smiley on this post, but the only other options were really happy and I'm just fairly happy heh heh).

Hi Weeping minora,

That seems like a great idea, thanks. I'll try it first thing if I have any more problems.