How does the locking mechanism work on 84mm Wengers

[Santos]

How do the locking mechanism work on the 84mm wengers, Sakwiki is a little lacking in the wenger love... Is the locked blade firm?




 i have been trying to get a good beater Sak for my sisters christmas present, since she is an outdoor type. (like search and rescue or 3 weeks trail sort of thing) She is currently backpacking in spurts across Latin America from my fathers place in rio.

A year or to ago she gave me a spartan that was given to her a when she was young because she never used it on her trips (this particular spartan has a sentimental history from a deceased relative) I was thinking maybe a compact or a golfer with a philips/corkscrew swap. The thing is i know she has a serrated lockback blade for emergencies like cutting rope etc, so i know a serrated knife on a sak that locks would appeal to her (as a spare)


I also tend to carry little 2.5" china serrated lockback knives in first aid kits, toolrolls and daybags.  Might replace a few with eby jobs
I think certain lockbacks are illegal here, but its more of an attidute thing, i keep it on the keyrings and it looks like another key charm.
Also no australian police officer is ever going to notice the locking ability on a 85mm sak. (which i dont carry casually)

Just typing this i may have convinced myself to get a few but i would like to know how it works anyway, maybe its not exactly how i am thinking

[jzmtl]

It's a lock back. The unlock lever life the back spring so release the lock.

[stressmaster5000]

Go to this link on knife forums to see what another member of the SAK modding community posted.

http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?post/607565/

Also this is the entire thread showing all the breakdowns for all the parts and inner workings of the common 85mm Wenger SAK's.

http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/607556/post/607556/hl//

I remember reading and viewing this thread and it helped explain it to me.

[Santos]

thanks stressmaster that really helped me understand it. I have a couple of junker victorinox that i am going to 'de-layer' , once i get up the exp i will take on the 85mm lockblades 

(that and i will have to get my sister a 3 layer serrated lock back with carribener clip for my sister in the meantime )

[stressmaster5000]

thanks stressmaster that really helped me understand it. I have a couple of junker victorinox that i am going to 'de-layer' , once i get up the exp i will take on the 85mm lockblades  

(that and i will have to get my sister a 3 layer serrated lock back with carribener clip for my sister in the meantime )

Glad to be of help my Aussie SAK pal.

Just a note about the Wenger locking pack lock knives in 85mm size; they tend to wear out and then they are very unreliable, closing up with just the slightest pressure. New ones of course do fine but I have some old ones and they are bad.

My advice is to test the lock carefully BEFORE you put any strain on it otherwise a bad accident could occur.  

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

My opinion is that the lock failure is not due to wear on the older Wengers...it is due to the soft backspring issue that they are plagued with. I have fixed several myself by disassembling and bending the spring to create more tension.

My advice with older Wengers is to depress the lock just enough to release the blade and never fan the blades out.

[Mr. Whippy]

My opinion is that the lock failure is not due to wear on the older Wengers...it is due to the soft backspring issue that they are plagued with. I have fixed several myself by disassembling and bending the spring to create more tension.

My advice with older Wengers is to depress the lock just enough to release the blade and never fan the blades out.

Ack!   

Have you seen this in newer Wengers? (S557 for example?) I use that as a workhorse.  Can't say I'm all that careful about how I unlock the blade....

BTW, the S557 is an AWESOME knife.  Only thing it could use is a saw.

[Spork, Lord of Lime Jello!]

I haven't bought any of the newer locking models yet. I have not read about any backspring problems on the newer series either.

[ChopperCharles]

Go to this link on knife forums to see what another member of the SAK modding community posted.

http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?post/607565/

Also this is the entire thread showing all the breakdowns for all the parts and inner workings of the common 85mm Wenger SAK's.

http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/607556/post/607556/hl//

I remember reading and viewing this thread and it helped explain it to me.

I'd love to see those breakdowns of all the parts and inner workings of the 85mm wenger SAKs... but knifeforums.com is defunct

Charles.

[Mechanickal]

Charles, you're bringing back threads that are almost 10 years old...

[Don Pablo]

Charles, you're bringing back threads that are almost 10 years old...

I’ve done that too. 

It’s nice to see a new enthusiastic SAK fan.

Though, if I may, Charles, why not make one thread with all your questions in it? That way, it will be easier to find information.

[ChopperCharles]

Well, the threads were not adequately answered. The information I want isn't there. I'm wanting to mod Wenger knives. I have a Swissbuck Taskmate that's going to get scissors (to become a Taskmate II), and if at all possible, I'd like to add a blade lock to it. I don't know if the locking mechanism is based on just the backspring, or if the blade is special and needs to be matched to the backspring. Then when that's all done, I have some nice walnut scales for it, since the swissbuck scales have seen far better days.

I also don't know if evolution parts will swap into old Wengers.
I also don't know how to bend the springs to restore snap. Though I assume I just bend them in the opposite way the knife bends them normally.
I also don't know how to re-rivet Wenger knives... though I assume it's just like Victorinox knives, but without the special rivet cap. Just beat on it with a ball-peen?

Once that's all done, I'm wanting to build a custom knife for myself. One with two locking blades - one standard and one fully serrated. (with a clip point blade and a combination tool as the smaller blades), and a snap shackle. There will definitely be a couple more tools in there, but those are the defining features.

Charles.

[ChopperCharles]

Though, if I may, Charles, why not make one thread with all your questions in it? That way, it will be easier to find information.

Because it seems random what threads actually get answers. I've asked some questions in the modding forum and the swiss army knights forum, but get no responses. I seem to have more luck getting people to respond when I find a thread with similar questions, which hasn't been fully explored/answered. People are more willing to post there, apparently. I'm not doing it in a calculated way or anything, I'm just searching for information and when something is close to answering, I'm asking in the hopes I'll get a useful response.

Charles.

[Mechanickal]

The knife is different on a blade with lock.
It's got an extra notch to avoid the blade to snap closed when closing it one handed.

[Mechanickal]

2 locking blades is not possible on a Wenger 85mm platform.
The lock release is off centre and would interfere with the layer next to it.

[ChopperCharles]

Even if the blades were both on the outside layers?

Charles.

[Mechanickal]

The lock release button is connected to the liner and is always attached to the left side of the the handle (depending on your point of view)

Moving the blade layer will always cause it to interfere with the previous layer, unless you'd fill the needed space with liners.
This will make the knife a layer thicker without having more functions then just a lock.

Turning the blade layer around lengthwise will not work since you'd have to turn the liner around too.

[ChopperCharles]

My opinion is that the lock failure is not due to wear on the older Wengers...it is due to the soft backspring issue that they are plagued with. I have fixed several myself by disassembling and bending the spring to create more tension.

My advice with older Wengers is to depress the lock just enough to release the blade and never fan the blades out.

I just disassembled a weak lockblade wenger today. This knife had both a weak backspring, and wear on the lock mechanism.. it also had a LOT of gunk built up in the notch that does the locking. Cleaning out the gunk was enough to get the knife locking a lot more reliably. That said, it still wasn't perfect by any means. So I bent the backspring slightly, and I also took a file and changed the profile of the notch from a straight 90 degree edge to a slightly angled edge, on both the blade and the backspring. This is called an undercut, and essentially when you put pressure on the blade to close (without depressing the lock button), the undercut will draw the notch in the blade and the notch in the backspring together more forcefully. Now it locks with enough force that I'm afraid I'm going to break something if I try pushing it harder. In short: Completely fixed!

I'm slowly assembling the pieces to build my perfect Wenger SAK...

Charles.