Leaving the blade half open on stiff Manx 2 XL ? Thoughts?

[HorserloverFat]

AKA " Spring Trick " :

A gentleman on another cutlery forum recommended to another member that he leave the blade half open for a few day (somewhere safe) so that it compresses the spring on a new Manix 2 XL (black button) in order for it to be more easily flicked open. I've never heard of this in my admittedly limited experience with the intricacies of knives. However, he does seem to be rather well credentialed (a knife maker) and therefore to know what he is talking about...

I'm wondering what Mr. Glesser and others way have to say about the efficacy of this method? Thanks in advance!

[Laethageal]

Softening the spring pressure, maybe it be by cutting it somewhat, or long compression like this might not be the best idea in my mind. If Sal designed it this way there's a reason for that.

[tvenuto]

I think this is unlikely to have much affect, positive or negative. You're not actually compressing the spring much by this approach, and it's far more likely that the blade stiffness is due to tolerances/tightness around the pivot. You'd be better off focusing on the pivot, either by tweaking the scale screws, or on the extreme end, by taking it apart and polishing the bearing surfaces on the blade.

[Ray Allen]

The effect would be minimal at best. The spring is already compressed when closed. The Manix series will smooth over time but a good cleaning and tweaking the torx screws as needed will help.

[Evil D]

I can think of at least a few spring applications where staying mostly or all the way compressed really doesn't change the strength of the spring enough to know a difference at all. At the very least it would take an extreme amount of time, possibly years to see any change. As mentioned, the spring is already compressed when closed, and opening it half way only compresses it another 1/16 an inch at the most. I would also look into pivot tightness and lubrication before I looked into weakening the spring. Remember that the force of the spring is also what keeps the ball in place when locked, so if you weaken the spring you're also weakening the lock. Besides, the spring is only forcing the ball into the tang, which has a very small contact point on the pivot, so the amount of drag is pretty small. Your tension problem is almost guaranteed to be in the pivot.

[HorserloverFat]

The effect would be minimal at best. The spring is already compressed when closed. The Manix series will smooth over time but a good cleaning and tweaking the torx screws as needed will help.

It's been 5 months since I received the Manix 2, but it's still appears stiff. However, I did buy a torx set from Home Depot last week, so I will be able to adjust the pivot now: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-8-IN-1 ... /100087664" target="_blank

Thank you, Mr. Allen.

[HorserloverFat]

I think this is unlikely to have much affect, positive or negative. You're not actually compressing the spring much by this approach, and it's far more likely that the blade stiffness is due to tolerances/tightness around the pivot. You'd be better off focusing on the pivot, either by tweaking the scale screws, or on the extreme end, by taking it apart and polishing the bearing surfaces on the blade.

Tweaking the scale screws? I'm have not heard of this method...

How much should they be tweaked? Thank you.

[HorserloverFat]

Softening the spring pressure, maybe it be by cutting it somewhat, or long compression like this might not be the best idea in my mind. If Sal designed it this way there's a reason for that.

Good point. I think that I will leave the spring alone. Thanks.

[HorserloverFat]

I can think of at least a few spring applications where staying mostly or all the way compressed really doesn't change the strength of the spring enough to know a difference at all. At the very least it would take an extreme amount of time, possibly years to see any change. As mentioned, the spring is already compressed when closed, and opening it half way only compresses it another 1/16 an inch at the most. I would also look into pivot tightness and lubrication before I looked into weakening the spring. Remember that the force of the spring is also what keeps the ball in place when locked, so if you weaken the spring you're also weakening the lock. Besides, the spring is only forcing the ball into the tang, which has a very small contact point on the pivot, so the amount of drag is pretty small. Your tension problem is almost guaranteed to be in the pivot.

OK, you've convinced me to forget about the spring trick, Mr. D. :) Yeah, I need to focus my attention on the pivot...

Thanks.

[opusxpn]

Just loosen up the pivot screw a bit, lube it and move it open and close so the lube can spread and then adjust the pivot screw to your preference a drop of lube on the spring wont hurt.

[Paddy B]

Mine was stiff. I used it for a week as my edc, and now it's perfect.