My 520 has been slugish lately. So I oiled it and cleaned the outside. No good. So I poped the blade, and washers so I could get them nice and clean. I cleaned all the crap out of the pivots and washers. While cleaning I noted that the washers actually have a little bit of discoloration on them. Dose that matter? I really have no clue. I doubt it makes any difference, but I thought I would see what everyone has to say.

I polish mine with neverdull or high grit sandpaper. I also polish the blade where it contacts the washers.

The washers on one of my Grips are like that too... Doesn't seem to make any difference in deployment speed, though. As long as there is no physical buildup of any gunk or whatever, and as long as they're not warped I would think it should be fine.

I just slide the washers around on a piece of high grit sandpaper. It may not do much, but when you see them shine you just know that's no longer a problem.

-fj

and then they oxidize again and you quit worrying about them...

quote:

Originally posted by muad'dib:
and then they oxidize again and you quit worrying about them...

BINGO !!!!!

As the late, great Richard Dawson said:

"That's the numba one answer"

Don't make a bit of difference what they look like. long as those bad mutha's work the way they're supposed to.

Way back in the day, when I had a lot of time on my hands, I'd be a bad guy/rule breaker/warranty voider, and give my blades a good rubdown. I found that some good car polish would get the gleam back up on the washers. Took a bit longer, but they really looked spiffy after that.

quote:

Muad'dib wrote....and then they oxidize again and you quit worrying about them..

Your mistake was in looking at them again. Don't look, just "assume" they are sitting in there perfect!

At least with the initial high-grit polish job you know there are no burrs on the washers.

But, in agreement with Sabu, if the knife seems smooth from the start, why even open it up?

I, however, bet phospher-bronze washers get pretty nasty looking in a saltwater environment.

I wouldn't worry about them since they are bronze washers. They will not rust, only discolor.

quote:

Originally posted by fastjan:
Your mistake was in looking at them again.

guilty!

I had a friend who owned a mini grip, and he abused this knife to the point that had the resistance of an SAK when opening and closing. I took it apart and cleaned it for him. The inside was truly disgusting. I swear things were living in there.

After cleaning the washers so they were smooth they were still discolored, and upon putting the knife back together it worked flawlessly. I guess this is my long winded way of agreeing with everyone else and saying the discoloration doesn't really matter.