Kuno

In addition to these written guides, I highly recommend watching the Machinewise video tutorial on chanwich balisong maintenance, as most of the same principles apply:

General Maintenance

Required & Recommended Equipment

• High torque driver
• Wiha Stubby: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002JZ8E1Q/
• Wera T Driver: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085G1Y8FN/
• Glidr Bali Driver: https://glidr.co/products/bali-driver
• Torx T10 bits
• Wiha Impact Bits: https://www.wihatools.com/products/torx-impact-bits-maxxtor
• Pivot needle (OPTIONAL but highly recommended)
• https://balistuff.us/products/threadless-pivotneedle

Lubrication

Please keep the pivots of the Kuno lubricated! Running the pivots dry will negatively impact flipping performance and could very well damage your Kuno. Here are some of the oils I recommend:

• Nano-Oil: https://zippybalisong.com/products/nano-oil-balisong-lubricant-10-weight-85-weight?variant=44046971142393
• Super Lube: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UKUHXK/
• KPL Heavy: https://knifepivotlube.com/products/knife-pivot-lube-heavy
• Carbon Honey (Medium): https://carbonhoneyoil.com/products/carbon-honey-medium

Screw Technique

If the screws on your Kuno ever come loose, please utilize the following screw tightening technique:

1. Place the Kuno on a flat surface (screws facing up)
2. Squeeze the handles together with moderate pressure
• Maintain this pressure whenever engaging a screw so as to lock the pivot barrels in place and prevent them from spinning
3. Carefully seat your driver into the screw head
4. Apply and maintain moderate downward force with the driver before beginning to torque
• You want to really wedge the driver into the screw head to prevent the driver from slipping out and stripping either your bit or the screw
5. Carefully torque the driver while continuing to apply that downward pressure
6. Stop torquing when the screw cannot be tightened any further
• You don't want to go too crazy here; overdoing the amount of force you use can very easily strip a screw

Additionally, I highly recommend tightening the bottom screws of the Kuno before attempting to tighten the main pivot screws. If the bottom screws are loose, then tightening the pivot screws could lead to the handle halves "pinching" at the pivots and causing all sorts of issues.

Disassembly

1. Unscrew and remove the pivot screw
2. Using a pivot needle or your driver, pop the pivot barrel/sexbolt out
3. Pull the handle away from the blade
• If your Kuno uses bronze washers, you can discard them. Bronze washers should be replaced after each disassembly
• If your Kuno uses hardened steel washers, please keep track of which washer went on each side of the handle/blade as well as which side of each washer was facing the blade. You want to maintain the washer orientation upon reassembly
4. If you don't plan on replacing or sanding your bushing, I recommend just leaving it in the blade

For user maintenance purposes, I recommend leaving the bottom screws untouched and treating the Kuno handles as a single piece.

Also, after disassembly it is recommended to wipe the pivot area of the blade down with a microfiber cloth or paper towel. This is to clean up any of the leftover oil and possible debris.

Warning

Please do not attempt to replace your Kuno's bushings unless you are familiar with balisong tuning. Spare/new bushings are almost always untuned and will need to be carefully lapped down by hand until they are a few thousandths of an inch thicker than the blade. This generally requires both expertise and equipment to execute properly, so I highly recommend against attempting such. If your Kuno is experiencing persistent tuning issues (like tap or excessive handle play) that are not resolved by tightening the screws, please contact me for a warranty claim and I will fix it for you. Thanks!

Reassembly

If you removed the bushing during disassembly, remember to apply and spread a liberal drop of oil inside the bushing hole of the blade before reinserting the bushing.

1. Apply a small drop of oil to both sides of the blade (where the bushing meets the blade)
2. Slide the washers over the bushing, aligning the pivot holes
• Do take care to orient the washers correctly. Washers have a smoother side with rounded edges, and a rougher/textured side with sharp edges. The smooth, rounded side should always go towards the blade!
• 
• If you are unsure as to which side is which, refer to the image above. The left washer shows the smooth side with rounded edges, while the right washer shows the rough side with sharp edges. You want the smooth, rounded side (left) to go towards the blade
• With steel washers, it may be difficult to tell which side is which. If you are reusing the washers, simply make sure to maintain the same washer orientation your Kuno had before disassembly
3. Slide the handle over the washers and onto the blade
4. Using either a pivot needle or your driver, align the pivot hole of the handle/washers such that the sexbolt can be installed
5. Install the pivot sexbolt, making sure to seat it fully (push it all the way through)
6. Set the Kuno down and screw in the pivot screw to finger tightness
7. Before fully cranking the screw down, do the following
1. Check that the bottom handle screw is fully tightened
2. Apply an extra drop of oil to both sides of the blade pivot area
8. Fully screw in the pivot screw