Lightweight Native 5

[z1r]

Fortunately for me, I have purchased 4 Native 5 knives. Unfortunately for me one is a Lightweight. The scales of FRN are used as the bearing surface for the knife tang. I took the knife apart when new, cleaned and lubricated it with tsubaki oil. Carried it for two weeks and noticed yesterday it was not closing well. Took it apart and the bearing area around the pivot was nasty dirty. Cleaned it all up and lubricated again and it is back to working properly. I cannot imagine a riveted lightweight knife in use. Either I have to find some version at low cost that is not lightweight to swap the blade into, or McGuyvor some sort of bearings, or this goes on eBay.

I carry a Pacific Salt 1 every day of the year without issue. Linerless FRN knives have been used for decades, my Pacific Salts among them. There is nothing wrong with the Native LW, it doesn't need bearings. It's just a pocket knife, not a race car or mountain bike.

I think this is one of the reasons I like the Stretch XL so much. The G10 version is a beauty, but it is also a beast. The LW version is just so much more pocketable. I love my LC200 Salt 2, but rarely carry a Delica. Comes down to, I feel I get more performance out of that linerless platform. One thing I love about my N5's, not one has a hint of blade play. They lock up solid, no side to side movement, and the way I view them is having a high power-to-weight ratio!

[Superflex]

Powdered graphite works great on washer less knives