disassembly of a Kershaw Whirlwind

[jcs0001]

I recently obtained this knife - it required taking apart and cleaning to say the least.  I plan to use it as an occasional edc so it does not have to be perfect.  I could not find anything on the net about taking it apart so am posting some information here in the hopes that it will help others.

Photos taken after cleaning:





A minimum of tools are required as follows:

- T6 torx driver
- T10 torx driver
- small/medium philips head screwdriver
- wide slot screw driver
- custom made slot screw driver - easily made as the photo below will show.
- fine steel wool, a bit of thick grease and light oil (for lubrication and cleaning).

The knife is held together by three screws - the T10 pivot screw, a T6 screw on the clip side and a hollow "bolt" at the end opposite the blade.

Notice that there are three philips head screws holding the clip - they take a relatively small driver but make sure it fits snuggly as you don't with to strip the heads of the screws.  Remove them first.

Make sure the BLADE IS OPEN as it relieves most of the pressure on the torsion spring.  You may wish to tape the blade edge with masking tape or something similar to make it a bit safer.

I didn't see any benefit to removing the three remaining screws in a particular order but you may wish to pour a bit of hot water over them before hand in order to loosen them (in case thread lock has been used).  I wouldn't put the knife handle in boiling water - it's some kind of plastic and it may not be good for it.

This photo shows the modified straight driver I made - using a cutoff wheel in a dremel tool was all it took and it was a matter of a couple of minutes work:



This fits into one side of the hollow screw:



Use a wide slot bit to hold the other side:



to be continued:

[jcs0001]

Remove the T6 torx screw and the T10 torx pivot screw.  Take a thin blade (putty knife etc) and gently pry the two halves of the knife handle apart.  The pivot will likely make this a little difficult so keep the sides parallel and work at it gently.

The result will give you this (taken before cleaning):



A couple of things to note:

There are two copper/bronze washers - one on each side of the blade.  One is larger than the other.  Keep track of which side they are on.  Because of the dirt it's pretty easy to see where the small one goes (in the above photo) - it goes on the torsion spring side.  There is a steel pin between the liners just back and above the blade pivot.  It is removable so don't loose it.

The torsion spring is the piece of wire between the steel liner and handle on the side opposite the clip.  It can be seen in the photo.

The stainless liners are held to the inside of the handle halves by two small philips head screws.  Feel free to remove the liners and observe the position of the torsion bar before lifting it out.  It isn't under pressure so shouldn't take off on you.



Clean up the liners, the handles and other parts and put a bit of thick grease in the area of the handle where the torsion bar sits (you will likely see some grease there when you take it apart).  I rubbed some grease on the bar itself.

Install the liners with the small philips head screws (2 per liner), positioning the torsion bar under the applicable liner.  Take the opportunity to lightly oil all parts before putting them back together.

I assembled the unit starting from the clip side of the handle. 

Ensure that the pivot is in place in the handle.  Place the stainless pin in the hole in clip side liner.  Position the blade with it's two copper washers on the pivot and gently press it down.  Install the opposite handle and gently press the assembly together. Swing the blade almost closed and make sure that the blade end of the torsion bar fits into the hole in the blade.    The other end of the torsion bar fits in the small slot in the opposite handle (right at the top). You may need to use a thin small screwdriver to move the torsion spring ends into their proper positions.  This won't take a lot of force.

Once the handles are together install the pivot screw, T6 torx screw and the hollow screw at the end of the handle.  Tighten all three gradually making sure that nothing is binding.  Tighten the pivot screw firmly then back it off till the assisted opening feature works well but there is no side to side or other play in the blade.

I haven't used loctite on the screws yet but may if I find them adjusting themselves.

A caution - it appears that Kershaw will provide replacement torsion springs if needed.  I'm not sure that taking apart the knife will void the warranty but it is something to consider.  Also MAKE SURE THAT THE LOCKING MECHANISM WORKS PROPERLY WHEN YOU ARE DONE.


John.

[enki_ck]

Poor thing looks like it had a rough life.

Glad you are taking care of her now.

[jcs0001]

I have a lot of odds and ends of knives but nothing in the "assisted opening" line.  This one was priced fairly low on ebay and I knew what I was getting into.  It's now clean (although it has some rust scars) and works well.  Blade took a nice edge once I got past a couple of pits so it should see duty for a long time.

Everything I've read indicates that Kershaw is really good to deal with to get small parts like the torsion spring.

John.

[jerseydevil]

Everything I've read indicates that Kershaw is really good to deal with to get small parts like the torsion spring.

John.

That they are.  I've gotten a new torsion bar and clip screws for a Blur from them.  I offered to pay, and their only response was to send the parts to me quickly at no charge. 

[Syndicate]

When re assembling the Kershaw, you need to be careful when tightening the screws that hold the liners, because if you over tighten them, it rips out the brass screw post mounted in the handle