A Pet Peeve for Collectors and Dealers: Avoidable Rubs on Multi-Blades

Rick

Rick

Joined
Nov 27, 1998
Messages
2,602
I've found that blade rubs on most multi-blade collectable knives, and production knives in particular, are easily avoided with a modicum of care. Specifically, opening the larger blade(s) before opening the smaller ones avoids scratching said large blades. The most unsightly blade rubs in my experience are caused by the smaller blade scraping over the large blade as its opened or closed. Open the large blade first; close the large blade last. Problem solved.

If you want to admire the small blade on a collectable knife, open the large blade, then open the small blade, then close the large blade. How difficult is that? Of course, it also helps if you avoid pushing the blades laterally into one another (or the liners) as you open or close them, but that's much easier to avoid with the large-first rule.

I've encountered several dealers who take a brand-spankin'-new multi-blade knife out of the box for a sale photo and proceed to scratch up the blade finish by opening the blades randomly, resulting in a wince-inducing letdown to the buyer of what should have been a pristine new knife. :grumpy:

Obviously, this isn't applicable for users; most of us can't be bothered to open the master blade on a whittler to get it out if the way so you can safely open the pen blade before making the cut.

Moderator, please file this under Obsessive/Compulsive Disordered rants. Thanks. :)
 
word to that my brother.

Its funny that you posted this just now, because i got my first GEC, an 89 whittler, the main blade is super long, and the secondaries super thing ground, and the tolerances so small that rubbing is inevitable unless you open the big blade first. The funny thing is that the tip you just provided is the method i discovered for myself to avoid scratches, and i'm super glad you said this, because i was getting pissed off that i got stuck with the one knife with this this problem. Now i realize its just conducive to these folders.

I am totally with you on this matter, although it is kinda crummy that when you need to quickly pull your blade out and cut something, that you have to pull your main blade out first and fiddle around. But seeing as you are speaking of collectibles, that's a completely different story and people should be more careful. When you buy a gun and bring it home, even if you dont touch it, it is now considered used; and people should realize that when they're opening knives up to take a stock photo.
 
Well I can think of a custom or two that I have (or had) that are (were) VERY thin with very little space between the blades, yet which suffer no rubbing at all upon opening the smaller blade next to the closed larger blade. Is it too much to expect that production knives don't come with overly flexible blades?
 
Believe it or not but blade rub doesn't bother me. I just don't care.

Would I rather it not be there? Yes

Would I expect it in a custom? NO

May I add that I have found a GOOD nail nick or long pull can go a long way to avoid blade rub. If that doesn't work well, you have no choice but to put a lot of force over onto the blade.
 
Last edited:
Of all my knives, my GEC Conductor suffers from this the worst. And it is totally due to flexing the large clip blade into the pen blade tang while opening the pen blade. I find it impractical to open the clip before I open the pen when in use, so I suffer the blade rub. I admit it does bother me and I wish it was not there. But I love the knife regardless.
 
Thanks for the comments so far. Nice to see that I'm not alone on this gripe.

richstag said:
May I add that I have found a GOOD nail nick or long pull can go a long way to avoid blade rub. If that doesn't work well, you have no choice but to put a lot of force over onto the blade.
Click to expand...

Agreed! A well implemented a nail nick allows you to hook your nail in and pull straight out without lateral movement, even with the type of thin, flexy blades mentioned by On-the-edge, above. I've found Ohta's crescent nail nicks to be particularly good.
 
richstag said:
Believe it or not but blade rub doesn't bother me. I just don't care.

Would I rather it not be there? Yes

Would I expect it in a custom? NO
Click to expand...

That about sums it up for me. But I'm a user, not a collector, so my values are a bit skewed.
 
I'm with Kevin and Frank on this one. Why would I care about blade rub on a knife that's gonna get scratches and patinas through use anyhow?
 
JAlexander said:
I'm with Kevin and Frank on this one. Why would I care about blade rub on a knife that's gonna get scratches and patinas through use anyhow?
Click to expand...

I thought I was pretty clear that this discussion was only concerned with non-user collectables; e.g., "Obviously, this isn't applicable for users...", etc.
 
I can understand where you are coming from Rick, blade rub...does it concern me?...I guess it would on a few knives that I have...but not all that much, but then again...if you buy a knife that is Mint....and you plan to safe queen it-then ye I'd expect ALL CARE as you have stated in the handling of my knife, I have had knives ( slightly ) mishandled....one time I was showing a group of people my lovely old Bone knives and one of the ladies scooped them all up in one swipe!!!...it took all my manners not to say what I was feeling I can tell you.
Good point Rick...collectors expect different things from users, and I can totally see where you are coming from my friend, you know what?...blade rub annoys me the most when i take photos of my knives...the rub ALWAYS shows more in photos as to how it looks "in the flesh"...thats when blade rubs annoy me the most!
 
Ugh. I wish this was posted 3 days ago when I got my new GEC Maverick: I scratched both the pen and sheepsfoot blades when opening the pen blade (the tolerances between the two are really close). I thought blade rub was due to bad manufacturing and not bad operator technique; now I know better but I don't feel any better. Is there any way to remove the scratches?
 
Thanks for the comments, Duncan. Hard to imagine someone scooping up all those knives like a heap of poker chips, but it wouldn't be the first time for such inconsiderate behavior. I once explained to a family member how old, rare and valuable a particular mint pre-WWII knife was before letting him handle it, and he proceeded to casually drop it onto a pile of silverware (we were at the dinner table). I never said a word about it, but I'll never share another knife with that individual.

Shaggy - I doubt there's a single collector anywhere whose knives are completely blade-rub-free. It's difficult to avoid on certain tight multi-blade patterns unless you never handle them, and what fun would that be? We can minimize the issue with careful handling and practice--hence this thread--but living with minor rubs and imperfections is all part of the game.
 
Two words/phrases in the knife-world irritate me - "mint" and "NIB" (new in the box).

I almost always expect blade rub of some magnitude in multi-blade knives even when brand-spanking-new and it is irritating when the dealer describes these knives as "mint". As to "NIB", it should be just that - never opened, never unwraped, never handled, before delivery to the owner.

How many of us have asked a dealer to hand-pick a knife with no gaps, rubs, etc.? Once a dealer opens boxes or tubes to make such a selection for a customer, those knives that were opened and unwraped are no longer "NIB" and most likely by doing so, the dealer has marked/mared the knife - even if just a tiny bit and the knife is no longer "mint" from the manufacturer.

So, you get a new, multi-blade, knife from the dealer described as "mint" and "NIB" and most likely it will have a blade rub. Where did it get that blade rub - at the manufacture, at the dealer, or when you handled the knife when removing it from it's packaging and manipulating/handling it.

Good points Rick. Handling a knife correctly once you receive it from the dealer is paramount for a collector but there's a lot to be learned by the individuals who handle the knife between the manufacturer and the end recipient.
 
I'm also annoyed by blade rub scratches. Opening the large blade first is a great tip. It still puzzles me that people say that blade rub can be avoided if you pinch, rather than push the blade sideways when using the nail nick. I must have weak fingers, blades that ride too low, or nicks that are too small, because I can never manage to do this, particularly on the spey/pen blade on a two spring stockman. Is there some secret that I'm missing?
 
Rick said:
I thought I was pretty clear that this discussion was only concerned with non-user collectables; e.g., "Obviously, this isn't applicable for users...", etc.
Click to expand...

Sorry, Rick, I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. I can see where my tone was more acerbic than I intended. I s'pose that's what I get for reading too fast.
 
JAlexander said:
Sorry, Rick, I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. I can see where my tone was more acerbic than I intended. I s'pose that's what I get for reading too fast.
Click to expand...

Thanks. If anything, it was I who sounded persnickety, for which I apologize.
 
isko said:
I'm also annoyed by blade rub scratches. Opening the large blade first is a great tip. It still puzzles me that people say that blade rub can be avoided if you pinch, rather than push the blade sideways when using the nail nick. I must have weak fingers, blades that ride too low, or nicks that are too small, because I can never manage to do this, particularly on the spey/pen blade on a two spring stockman. Is there some secret that I'm missing?
Click to expand...

isko: youre not missing anything. Some knives like sodbuster, barlows, and other single blade folders are natural "pinchers," that is to say that one-third to one-half of the blade is exposed when closed. Now on multi blade folders, in which a tiny space is occupied by several blades, this is impossible. I dont care who you are but youre not going to pinch any swiss army knife (for example) with more than one blade. As stated earlier, the better engineered the nail-nick is, the less horizontal pressure there is, which accounts for blade rub. The trick is to expose the blade by nail-nick to the point where the backspring equalizes (stops pulling down), and then pinch the blade the rest of the way.

Im sure others can chime in on this, but an effective nail-nick is one that is shaped like an "eye," and deep enough so that one's nail can easily slip in without forcing the blade against the liner\adjacent blade, providing maximum vertical force.

goodbad.png
 
Last edited:
I bought a Case 6318hp in 1982 and it was always in my pocket til 98.It never rubbed blades.I have had 3 yellow 6318's and a stag 5318 since and all 4 of those came with rub marks as standard equipment even though all had substantionaly thicker liners to give more blade clearance and reduce actual hand fitting.Still got the old one,gave the others away.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top