+1. If there were an option to throw in a non-OEM standard screw with the order for a dollar or two, i’d take it.
Please… forget the MACRO lenses…
Yeah… me too: is that what you see when you - personally/visually sans diopters - appraise it?
The machining on the cutouts is a little rough, probably caused by a worn cutter head or chips caused during manufacturing, but it also looks to me like the pivot “triangle” was damaged slightly by the tool used to tighten it that might not have fit properly.
It might have happened at the factory, but I recall a past reference that Exduct tightens their pivot screws before shipping to avoid problems with customs inspectors confiscating the knives. If the threads have lock-tight on them from the factory, it would take a bit of force to move it, which could cause that deformation…
But Exduct doesn’t have much choice in that… really.
For the money, I would not worry about it, it’s a tool that’s meant to be used a lot. The next one you receive may be better.
Is it just me 
or what posesses these people to produce a TRIANGULAR axis screw that we have no conventional tool to fit it? Some sort of ploy to get you to spring another $10 bucks for their “special tool” that fits it. BS. What an assinine feat of engineering.
Originally there were no tools sold for these at Exduct but many customers requested it. First they made a tool for the three-hole pivot, then new batches of EL-01 with this triangular design came and a tool was made for this. I also remember a little two prong “key” was available at one point.
I would prefer simple slot head or torx but maybe they want them to be “tamperproof”.
WARNING — Exduct sent me the wrong tool for my Enlan and then refused to send the correct one.
Making knives with proprietary pivots makes no sense in the first place.
I’ve gifted my Enlans with proprietary pivots and won’t be buying more — especially not from Exduct.
I would take a hacksaw and dremel and cut a slot before I bought a “tool” to remove it. Especialy at a ten dollar price tag. I view this simply as a “gouge” to the consumer.
Does anybody really think they came up with that 3-HOLE & TRIANGLE axis pin for the sake of beauty?? 
I agree, the triangular pivot is a big negative aspect to this model and the sad thing is, they intentionally produced it this way. Why go to the hassle of designing and manufacturing a pivot screw that only serves to piss off your customer?
Hey Enlan! Put a damn Torks or Allen head screw in your knives and stop messing with us. I would say it’s the single most common complaint about the Ezl-01 and it is entirely fixable.
£3.75 Pivot tool I’m sure ebay.com has them, and I know that one works.
I’ve found some phosphor bronze washers for the EnlanEL-01 that would probably fit most of the “full size” Enlans and others, only the side opposite the lock bar at the moment though but that’s the side that gets the most pressure on opening.
Phosphor-bronze washer, opposite lock bar.
I don’t know if it was just me but I had an email from USAKnifemaker after I had put my order in saying “was there something missing from my basket as my order wasn’t completed”. I went to the site and my order was still in the basket so I put it through the checkout again…… Guess what…… I got charged twice with PayPal and an email to USAKnifemaker to cancel the second order was not returned. I got both orders though, so be careful if you order from them.
I think I might have some for the lock-bar side as well but I haven’t tried them yet.
I’ll try a few pivots as I can afford them but postage from the U.S.A. is very expensive - $9.54 for 24 washers, doubling the price!
I can really only do one order a month at that rate but next on my list is pivots or at least a swap-out for the triangle screw head leaving the pivot in place.
Overclocker, be careful with the clean-up on the pivot screw head, if you take too much off you’ll have a hell of a job adjusting the pivot. That’s damned bad luck getting one that badly damaged, it’s the worst that I’ve seen.
I have asked FastTech to stock the pivot tools, linking to exduct item, they would probably be cheaper. I got the stock answer “it’s now on our To Do list”. It would do no harm if they got a few other requests. Hint. Hint.
I’m not buying a special tool because they made a goofy pivot. I’ll cut a slot in it if I need to adjust it. The good thing is, I have not had to touch any of my pivots yet.
IF I get an EL-01 I want the older model 3 hole pivot. I can deal with that.
I have emailed a coupld vendors on ebay that are showing the old style in their auction pics but after contacting them and ASKING OUTRIGHT I discover that they are not shipping what they show. WTF? Glad I contacted them before buying.
Still waiting on a reply from Helloshop, as they show one with 3 hole pivot on their auction site.
The ones showing 3 holers and shipping triangles,well……don’t get me started. |(
In all fairness, some vendors add a note to their auctions stating they have no control over what the factory ships. But it erkkkss me big time to see something shown but a different item shipped.
The easiest to deal with of the two types is the one with three holes, so drill three small holes, one in each of the “dips” in the triangle, problem goes away.
I have several EL-01’s and three more on order so the tool might save me some time as I’m replacing the bearings in them all. As it is the drill chuck for under £4 does the trick for the triangles and a couple of pins sorts the three hole type out.
For what it’s worth my two EL-04MCT’s both have the three hole type although one is an Enlan and the other a Bee so it might just be down to the age of the stock.
It is a damned annoying thing but it’s not only Enlan, Bee, Leen, etc. Microtech have a pretty poor record when it comes to fasteners.
I don’t have a problem with the triangle thing. The three pin is more annoying to me. The triangle pivot is easy to open with a drill chuck.
By sheer luck I found that the small Dremel drill bit that fits the smaller collet - 1.6mm - just fits the holes in the three hole pivot, two drill bits and a lever and we have adjustment.
The same can be done with a piece of wood with a couple of small nails (at the right spacing = ~5mm centres) with the heads cut off, mine weren’t particularly tight.
But I have to admit the first one I Dremelled a slot in it. I’m still trying to find a replacement for the Enlan/Bee pivots or just the screw side.
Yes your knife does not look so good…
Plus you were very specific about your desire of a perfect knife !
This means they don’t even bother reading customers’ messages…
This being a 15 bucks knife is not a reason to admit that sometimes you can get good quality (physical aspect being part of it) and sometimes you get a lower quality. Or it should be written specifically “minor scratches” etc, and the price lowered in consequence.
I don’t mind buying a knife with minor defaults AS LONG AS there is a financial counterpart (aka rebate).
Ha! I just bought a bare (replacement) drill chuck for $2 only because I remember seeing a post on BLF recommending its use! I was in a tool outlet store and saw them for $5, -50% off, then another 20% off of that. It's a Ryobi chuck. Just couldn't pass it up! Searched BLF and found this thread about using it on those pivot screws.
-Garry
I managed to get a drill chuck from ebay for about £3. It’s a bit fiddley at first you can’t exactly grip the screw, you need to set the jaws just right, but it gets the job done, and it’s better than shelling out $15 to $18 for the “special” tool. I might have bought one if they’d have been cheaper - another Enlan or the tool, no contest I’ll have the knife. 
Pivot screws are not usually very tight or hard to turn…. right? Would it be that difficult just to use a pair of small pliers of the right size?
YES nuttin really to grab onto.
I tried some stiff tweezers and couldn't budge mine. I think I'm going to try something suggested previously - put three screws through a small block of wood with the ends poking through at the proper spacing for the pivot screw. I'm thinking that pre-drilling the holes will make sure I get the screws at the right spacing.
-Garry