Military ball detent failure ?

[vanman]

Hi all,
I just received my new Millie PE and noticed that the blade
can move in the closed position ( about 1/4 "). Is this
normal or can I solve this ?
Should I contact Spyderco directly ? ( I live in Belgium,
Europe and since I have ordered it through an on-lineshop in US, I'm not eager to contact a local dealer )

Thanks,

Dirk

[STR]

I have only had one knife where the detent ball actually fell out of the knife. On a couple other occassions I could see that it got shoved in too far somehow.

Either of these things can allow the knife to open from gravity. If just moving the knife body forcefully with the blade closed can make it open. Send it back. If it moves enough for the point to come out to where it can catch your finger, send it back.

There is nothing wrong or unacceptable about a little movement with a liner lock so long as the ball keeps the blade from doing either of the two scenarios above. However, if it moves in excess of say a couple mm, even if the blade is still safely shielded from coming out to harm you or clothing, I'd still have to say it needs to be replaced. IMO.

[The Deacon]

With the knife fully open, you should be able to see the ball on the side of the lockbar which bears against the blade when it is closed, near the front. It is most easily visible under strong light. Assuming the ball exists, the first thing to try would be a good washing with soap and water. As you will have observered, the ball is quite small and does not project very far from the lockbar. A relatively small piece of dirt in the detent in the blade can cause the knife to open very easily. Excessive lubricant in the detent can conceivably cause the same thing. If the ball is there and cleaning does not solve the problem, tightening the pivot slightly may cure the problem. There should be an audible "click" when the ball drops into the detent upon closing, but even with that, some Milies can open VERY easily.

[vanman]

Thanks for the replies, I'll try the water and soap first. :)