KLJ77 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 17, 2021 5:43 pm
I take them apart and straighten the spring a tad to make the locking mechanism more manageable. I also polish up the lock bar/blade tang surfaces to make them super smooth.
Bob...if you could be so gracious as to explain a bit more on your process of 'straightening the spring a tad' to make the locking more manageable, I would truly appreciate it. Is it that hard to take apart? Looks like a couple of star screws to unscrew. I'm looking at the blue 'tuff lite', but if it comes as stiff and hard to unlock as you describe, I too would like to make your adjustment. There are numerous reviews discussing this very issue. I could probably get it apart, but would not know, or fully understand how much to straighten on the spring or how to do that.
Thanks in advance, if you desire to describe your technique.
I'm not sure how well I can describe it but if it's not clear I might be able to find a video showing the technique, or I can photograph a sequence of still photos for you. It might not be clear to read it, but if you have the knife in front of you I think it won't be difficult at all.
Most Cold Steel folding knives use a Torx 9 for the pivot screw and a Torx 6 for the handle screws. There may be other pins that pass through the handles that aren't threaded in. Removing the Torx fasteners will allow disassembly. It may take some depressing of the lock mechanism to take some pressure off the handle scales from the pins or some careful prying to get things apart.
Once apart, it will be easy to identify the lock spring. It is a leaf spring with a straight section that sits in a slot in the backspacer and a slightly bent section that contacts the lock bar. I hold the bent end in a pair of pliers or in the vice and carefully bend the the spring back toward straight just a tiny bit. I also polish the end of the spring where it contacts the lock bar. I use 800 and 1000 grit wet-and-dry SiC paper on a block for that. That spring tension also holds the blade in the closed position, so taking off too much pressure will make the knife a breeze to open but might not provide enough pressure to keep it fully closed when in your pocket, so be careful if you relieve the spring.
While the knife is apart, I also use that same SiC wet-and-dry paper to polish the bottom of the "foot" of the lock bar and the heel of it where it mates with the blade tang. When you're taking the knife apart, seeing it with just one side removed will make it clear exactly how the locking system works and what parts will benefit from polishing.
The blade has two washers on either side: a phosphor bronze washer (
very thin) on the sides toward the handle and a Teflon washer (
extremely thin) against each side the blade. I carefully clean these off to make sure there is no grit on them. Same goes for all the other internals. After everything is polished and adjusted, I lube it sparingly with Teflon/Boron Nitride lube and reassemble. I start with the pivot screw tight and then slowly back it off a tiny bit at a time until the blade
just starts to drop closed when the knife is held horizontally and the lock bar is pressed. Then it can be closed the rest of the way one-handed, two-handed, or by pressing the back of the blade against something. (I put blue Loc-Tite on the pivot screw.)
It's not a difficult process at all and you can really smooth the action of the knife. If you have any trouble I will help you get through it, so fear not!
Like a lot of folks, I had viewed one of Cold Steel's CD catalogs/brag sessions/side shows many years ago and was kind of turned off. But I keep seeing what seem like legitimate reviewers praising some of Cold Steel's offerings as excellent values and rock-solid knives.
I did carry the Rajah III for about a year...it was legal, even at the shipyard.