Petrified Fish Knives

I’ve found budget knives are a low-risk way of learning how a knife is constructed and taking it apart prepared me for long term maintenance skills. As knives are used, they get dirty, even the expensive ones (unless they end up being safe queens).

The only time I sort of damaged a knife was dealing with red Loctite. The screws stripped as I didn’t know it would be used on the pivot (Gerber knife). But it was cheap and didn’t break my heart.

It’s a gentle learning curve and you can pick up some good knowledge along the way, such as: how to center a blade between the scales, how to tune the knife to be buttery smooth without horizontal blade play; and if you’re brave, how to adjust detent with the lock bar.

As long as you take your time and carefully place each part down in a way you can keep track of where it came from, you’ll do just fine!

OK, opened it up, cleaned and lubed. While having it open, I haven’t noticed any major issues, although I’ve never taken a knife apart, so I have no point of reference. It was a bit dirty though, so it definitely benefited from some cleaning. I’d say the action did smooth out; however, it is still not as slick as my Ganzo.

I noticed the area on the blade right along the edge of the main hole is a bit rough on one side, as seen in the last photo below. Not sure if this is something that could be sanded down, and if so, would it improve smoothness?

Anyway, I appreciate everyone’s advice. It was a good learning experience.

Prior to cleaning:

Post cleaning:

Nice photos! If you mean the burr along the pivot hole, then likely no benefit in sanding it as this area is not contacting any other surface. Any burrs parallel to the pivot is spaced by the ball bearings. However if there are burrs pointing into the pivot and showing signs of rubbing against the pivot, then it should be removed.

Just wondering how much pressure it takes to unlock the linerlock?
I have had knives with a linerlock that didn’t open to freely. If I pushed the linerlock in the unlocked position the blade was as free as a bird, it would just free fall from a 90 degree position.
I take the knife apart and push the linerlock outward (over bending it slightly) taking some of the bend out, this relieves some of the pressure the detent ball places on the blade during rotation. It also makes the blade in the closed position easier to open. So don’t over do it or the blade could come open in your pocket.
I have a ZT0456 clone that I worked on and now the blade flies open and still has good blade hold in the closed position.
It doesn’t take much so take your time and you may have to assembly the knife a few times to get it right but it’s well worth the time once you find that sweet spot. :wink:
I also find that some linerlock knives take to much pressure to push the linerlock in the unlock position. I don’t have weak hands, yet some are a struggle to open.
This solves that problem, making the knife much more enjoyable to flick open and close.

I usually reserve bending the lock bar as a last resort to adjust action because too much either way can ruin a knife (sometimes permanently). But when I do, I use a digital caliper to measure the distance between the bar and the scale when disassembled. This way I can track how much I’ve moved it in case if something isn’t quite right. It’s a bit tricky as it takes a very light touch to move the caliper on the lock bar without flexing it to get an accurate measure.

If the liner lock or lock bar is difficult to unlock or free off the face of the tang, I usually clean the tang with alcohol to remove any pivot lubricant that might have ended up there and put some graphite on the tang to lubricate it. It’s so a good media to break in the lock face for a new knife. A plain old pencil will work by “drawing” on the tang.

All the knives I have adjusted the linerlock pressure on so far have been titanium handles with titanium linerlock wth a harden steel insert. The steel linerlocks could be a different story with bending for adjustment. I haven’t tried one yet, but the titanium seems to be pretty forgiving.
Haven’t really had a problem with the linerlock sticking in the lock position, it was more just the pressure it took to actually bend the titanium linerlock out of the way so the blade could pass. The Twosun TS16 and the Green Thorn ZT0456 were both a struggle to push.

It’s also definitely not a good move for novices. I’ve done all kinds of knife maintenance over the years and I recently snapped a lock bar. :open_mouth:

I’m a big fan of the Tangram Santa Fe. I like the Amarillo. So I decided to try the Orion. The one I got had a “wet noodle” detent. It was bad enough that after sharing a video with their customer service, they just refunded me the cost of the knife.

Well, I didn’t want to throw it away. So I decided to try putting some more tension in the lock bar. Whatever steel they use does not want to inelastically deform. It was flexing to a point that seemed extreme but according to my calipers, I wasn’t getting anywhere. Since I was already refunded, I decided to push past what I would normally consider safe. It didn’t just snap. It was like the steel shattered along a stress line, leaving sharp edges which sprung back hard with a reverberating “pang”. Had I not been using pliers and a vice, it could have cut me.

When I do something like this I take a different route.
I clamp the liner in a vise and put a piece of steel between the lockbar and the rest of the liner to push up the locking arm (if I want to give the lock more strength). The I heat the lockbar relief (or cutout, where the steel bends) with a torch. Usually it’s enough to heat it up until it’s turning slightly bronze.
Let it cool down and it should be good. If you dislike the discoloration you can sand/polish it, acid etch and stonewash it or use Whink Rust and Stain Remover on titanium (beware, it contains hydrofluoric acid, read about it before actually using it).
If the spring is too strong you can put a steel spacer into the locking arm and hold it down with C-clamps. Heat it, let it cool down, should be fine.

Thanks for sharing. That’s a good idea. I’ve had luck with simple bending in the past. For instance, it totally made the difference on my Ganzo FH41. This was my first time with a stubborn steel. Next time that happens, I’ll try a torch.

Thank you. Many budget framelock/liner lock knives come with a too weak or strong detent.
I learned the way above after snapping an SRM 710’s locking arm.
Not a big $ loss but it hurts to destroy any useful tool.

I’m wondering when I will find the time and the mood to make the tartan micarta scales for my Boker Urban Trapper, too many other projects atm.
Just saying cos that Urban Trapper needs a slightly stronger detent :wink:

oil the detent ball as well, this seems to help a lot.

Right now i have the 818, 838 and 919.

The 838 is the only one i hade to bend the lock bar a little bit to get it to be nice and snappy.
the 818 and 919 where perfect out of the box.

I also orderd 2 version of the new 949 Warrior with K111 steel.
1 with the blue carbon fiber & 1 Damask pattern G10 :smiley:

I recently picked up one of their older models, the PF719. I love the wood but ditched the lanyard. Action is fantastic and reliable even with a light detent. The blade stock is nice and thin. The factory edge is excellent and it's reasonably thin behind the edge. Now, all of my PF knives have come with good factory edges but this one is exceptional. It's also 12C27, which is a nice change from the usual D2.

The only real issue is that it does not use a clip. So that changes up the carry options. I may eventually put a lower-profile lanyard on there. Along with some of the other PF knives, this one will get a nice discount for the 11/11 sale on AliExpress:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33043710181.html

I also have this knife and I love the blade shape, the slimness of the overall design and also the thin blade stock. It’s a real scalpel and I’ve found that if I use it for cutting (not prying or rough use) it works very well. I also like the fact that it’s not D2 and is much more resistant to rust (although my D2 blades seem to shrug off rust pretty easily with a little care.

The bearings in the pivot make for a super smooth opening too. Very nice for the price. Also, the wood on mine is very pretty.

Chronovore, Please check your Private Messages, I wrote to you yesterday.

I sent my 818 over to Outpost 76 for cut testing. Here is a link to the video. Spoilers: this knife did really well. While this is only one example, Petrified Fish seems to be in the top of the class for Chinese D2.

Very nice Results :+1:

I might have sugested to one of their product managers to send LTK one of the new K110 (949) knives :innocent:

if they end up doing it, LTK can pass it on to Outpost76 for more testing :smiley:

I have some brands and for 5 years i was reviewing a lot but i do not have this brand.
Brands i have: sanrenmu, land, ganzo, harnds, cima, hx outdoors, kubey, ch, inron, enlan, y-start, victorinox, mora, bahco… i did not try this brand, we will see in the future…

Be aware you do not get a petrified fish with the knife . It’s misleading advertising .

True! You get only a microfiber cleaning cloth with the knife! There’s no fish in the box! :smiley: