21 Blade Play

jday2727 · Jul 5, 2016

Hi everyone, today I got my first CRK, a Small plain 21. I was inspecting it and realized that there is a very tiny amount of front and back play when open. The seller said that the knife had just gotten back from a spa treatment which seems right because of the unscratched handle and some scratches on the blade. My question is, if it just got back from a spa treatment, why is there play? Can I adjust it out? I really don't want to have to send my most expensive knife to warranty the first day I get it.

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Anarchy84 · Jul 5, 2016

Take your allen key and make sure the pivot and blade stop screws are nice and tight. If they already are, I would recommend taking the knife apart, cleaning / greasing it, and putting it back together (there are YouTube tutorials that will walk you through it step by step). 99% of the time this will resolve any issues. If it continues to be a problem after reassembly you'll have to send it to CRK.

jday2727 · Jul 5, 2016

Anarchy84 said:
Take your allen key and make sure the pivot and blade stop screws are nice and tight. If they already are, I would recommend taking the knife apart, cleaning / greasing it, and putting it back together (there are YouTube tutorials that will walk you through it step by step). 99% of the time this will resolve any issues. If it continues to be a problem after reassembly you'll have to send it to CRK.

Thanks, I disassembled it on my own and after 4 tries got it centered, must have been the washers/bushings. The play is better, but still there. Maybe I'll wait a few days before sending it in.

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Ajack60 · Jul 5, 2016

Can you post a pic of the lock position.

jday2727 · Jul 5, 2016

Ajack60 said:
Can you post a pic of the lock position.

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Ajack60 · Jul 5, 2016

From the pics, looks like there's more of a gap on the lock side slab than on the presentation side, that doesn't look right at all. Both sides should have the same distance from the blade.

Go look in the CRK sell forum, there are knives pictured that show the lock up and the slabs.

Ajack60 · Jul 5, 2016

Oops, wrong thread

jday2727 · Jul 5, 2016

Ajack60 said:
From the pics, looks like there's more of a gap on the lock side slab than on the presentation side, that doesn't look right at all. Both sides should have the same distance from the blade.

Go look in the CRK sell forum, there are knives pictured that show the lock up and the slabs.

Looking at the knife, it is perfectly spaced out, must just be the pictures.

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Driften · Jul 6, 2016

The pictures do make it look like a pinched washer or something...

jday2727 · Jul 6, 2016

Driften said:
The pictures do make it look like a pinched washer or something...

If by pinched washer you mean it slides off the pivot and doesn't seat correctly, that happened when I was trying to put it back together and it uncentered the blade. I must have got it right though as the centering is spot on now.

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Driften · Jul 6, 2016

jday2727 said:
If by pinched washer you mean it slides off the pivot and doesn't seat correctly, that happened when I was trying to put it back together and it uncentered the blade. I must have got it right though as the centering is spot on now.

Yes that. That is what it looks like from those pictures but you know best with seeing it in person.

jday2727 · Jul 6, 2016

Driften said:
Yes that. That is what it looks like from those pictures but you know best with seeing it in person.

Yeah I'm assuming that the washers are fine now, before when they were messed up the blade rubbed, wiggled a lot when closed, and was very hard to open. Now the only thing wrong with the knife is the tiny bit of play.

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Anarchy84 · Jul 6, 2016

jday2727 said:
Yeah I'm assuming that the washers are fine now, before when they were messed up the blade rubbed, wiggled a lot when closed, and was very hard to open. Now the only thing wrong with the knife is the tiny bit of play.

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If it's front to back blade play it seems unlikely that it'd be the washers, but anything is possible. I know the waiting part sucks, but the good news is CRK can definitely fix it.

jday2727 · Jul 6, 2016

Anarchy84 said:
If it's front to back blade play it seems unlikely that it'd be the washers, but anything is possible. I know the waiting part sucks, but the good news is CRK can definitely fix it.

Is it likely to be expensive to fix?

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Peter Hartwig · Jul 6, 2016

jday2727 said:
Is it likely to be expensive to fix?

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The expense will be in shipping both ways, with maybe a slight charge for washers

Try cleaning the lock face(slide a piece of paper) & tang with alcohol-could be a little residue.

If I may ask-what are you doing to get the blade play-as in just holding it and you can feel some play or forcing it?

jday2727 · Jul 6, 2016

Peter Hartwig said:
The expense will be in shipping both ways, with maybe a slight charge for washers

If I may ask-what are you doing to get the blade play-as in just holding it and you can feel some play or forcing it?

I'm not forcing it, though there is a push needed to feel it, and even that's minimal. You can't tell it's there unless you try.

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Ccc · Jul 6, 2016

jday2727 said:
Is it likely to be expensive to fix?

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Washers cost just over $1, shipping was under $10 if I remember right. It is not expensive. I had a small 21 with a nick in the blade along the detent ball track, and CRK fixed that free of charge. It took about 5 or 6 weeks, but it came back in perfect condition.

Anarchy84 · Jul 6, 2016

As others have said, it's not expensive at all. A short time ago I was quoted $1.50 for washers and $17 for return shipping (on a large). Refurbishing / sharpening is free.