Anyone Own A...? (a thread to ask about Brand/Model experiences)

[ddp335]

You missed out on the SRK blowout; the 5" model is still probably about a third of the price of that ESEE, and it's surely no worse of a knife.

Cold Steel SRK-C Compact Fixed Blade Knife Kray-Ex (5" Black) 49LCKD - Blade HQ

The SRK Compact model is outfitted with a tough SK-5 steel blade and Cold Steel's black Tuff-Ex finish for a durable, corrosion resistant blade. It is everything you love about its bigger brother, but in a more compact package. The blade is only 5" long, and only 0.16" thick, making it lighter...

www.bladehq.com

SRK is a classic, and it's almost impossible to mess it up.

Those cold steels will live forever ! They never quit!

 

[not new guy]

Has anyone put Skiff bearings into any of their knives? Cage Bearings

I have two knives, different sizes of the same model. One I bought factory new with the standard caged bearings in it and the other I bought used off ebay. The prior owner of the ebay one had swapped skiff ceramic caged bearings in. Both are pretty well broken in at this point and the knife with the aftermarket bearings rolls much more smoothly. A set of bearings costs ~$11 before shipping so I bought another pair for the other knife, but was curious if anyone else had experience with them.

 

[enbloc]

Not I. If you go ahead and install... would you document it here?

 

[not new guy]

Not I. If you go ahead and install... would you document it here?

I'm only seeing this now, after the upgrade is done, but I did grab a couple of pics.

After breaking out the heat gun to loosen the blue loctite (I need to buy purple) I finally got the knife apart. It was interesting to see just how much material Dave machines out of the scales to cut weight. And it works, because despite being a big old knife it's not that heavy. 5.something ozs.



While I had it apart I cleaned up a little lock stick. As you can see the contact surface of the lock bar looks rough, but I think there are two factors there. One is the frag milling on the scales themselves, the other is that the lock bar itself is cut an angle so that the bottom/inside edge of it contacts the edge of the pivot, acting as an overtravel stop.



All signs of lockstick were cured with the magic of the Presto Gun Blue Pen. 3 quick coats on the locking surface of the blade, 5 minutes apart, and it's gone. Get one of these if you have a ti framelock.



The Skiff ceramic bearings themselves just look better, all around. They're caged in solid... brass(?), vs the steel originals being held captive in that bent metal. And there are more of them:



With the knife back together the action was definitely smoother. With the original steel bearings you could almost hear it rolling, and it felt... not smooth, to the point where I expected to open it up and find the bearings messed up. It still dropped shut, but it didn't glide shut like it does now. Best $11 upgrade I've found yet.

With its little brother:

 

[enbloc]

Great work! And Thank you for your contribution!

I see what you mean... The Skiffs look leaps and bounds better and with more bearings it is a great upgrade.

Great photos too. Much appreciated and obliged...
~Enbloc