Acceptable blade play?

J

jabroneeman

Joined
Jan 29, 2013
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80
How much if any blade play is acceptable to you on a 3 bladed stockman and 4 blade congress? I would assume that the more blades, the more likely there is to be some amount of play, however I am no expert but some of you on this forum are. What do you guys think?
 
Bladeplay to me has ALWAYS been greatly overblown. If I can't feel movement when in use, I don't worry about it.

This grasping of the blade and handle and firmly moving it side to side to discover any play has nothing to do with how a slipjoint is used.
 
Yea, I know there are people who are bothered a lot by it and some that don't care. I fall somewhere in between. I do find it annoying but I would guess that functionally speaking, especially with a slip joint, a little bit of play doesn't really matter.
 
almost all of my traditionals--including brand new GECs--have a little bit of bladeplay. I didn't even notice it until the other day when I purposely wiggled all the blades. I agree with Black Mamba. It really isn't a big deal unless it's really moving while you use it.
 
black mamba said:
Bladeplay to me has ALWAYS been greatly overblown. If I can't feel movement when in use, I don't worry about it.

This grasping of the blade and handle and firmly moving it side to side to discover any play has nothing to do with how a slipjoint is used.
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This.

I've come to accept small amounts of blade play as a given in slip joints, and it does not bother me. It can be eliminated, but often at the expense of smooth action and ease of cleaning.
 
I always carry at least one traditional folder and one tactical folder. If there is play in either I don't carry them any longer.
 
jabroneeman said:
Yea, I know there are people who are bothered a lot by it and some that don't care. I fall somewhere in between. I do find it annoying but I would guess that functionally speaking, especially with a slip joint, a little bit of play doesn't really matter.
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Agreed. Doesn't matter how many blades there are. If I can feel it rocking or "ticking" when I give the blade a slight side-to-side wiggle, it'd bug me but it would not affect my use of the knife.

Linus
 
black mamba said:
Bladeplay to me has ALWAYS been greatly overblown. If I can't feel movement when in use, I don't worry about it.

This grasping of the blade and handle and firmly moving it side to side to discover any play has nothing to do with how a slipjoint is used.
Click to expand...

Agreed. That's what it comes down to for me.

On the other hand, I will say that the rock solid no wiggle lock up on my 3 dot 110 is pretty sweet and I can see how someone might get spoiled and expect this on every production knife.
 
It used to bother me. I got an old Ulster scout with more blade play than I had previously thought tolerable, but other wise I really like the knife. I said to my self, just use it. I wouldn't be doing anything extra stressful with it, but I'm not going to baby it. I have not found any thing that it cannot do as a result of the play. I believe it is a Swindon key construction, which I believe means that it is not the pin slipping out of place, so while it certainly has play, it's not going to fall apart. I just use it like I would any other slip joint.
 
Blade play? :barf: I personally hate it because that to me means something is loose. It will eventually catch up with the tang of the blade (wear on one side) and uneven wear on the spring........if the knife is used daily on a consistent basis.
That's just me though and if it's not too extreme........use it and enjoy! :thumbup:
 
I have a GEC BF 2013 knife that was except for a couple of slight cosmetic things, perfect. After about a month of light use the pivot pin popped loose on the pile side and the main blade wobbles. That's a defect and wobble caused by a genuine defect. That is unacceptable. Slight movement after years of normal use is normal wear and tear, and I can accept that and may even correct it on my own. It also is a matter of personal opinion.
 
As a few others have said, it doesn't bother me unless it affects the function of the knife. I had a Case gunstock and the main had a ton of forward and backward play that seemed to get worse the few times I used it and I sent it in for repair. It was returned in great condition and haven't had an issue since. I have a medium stockman and really use the spey a lot for whittling and it developed a bit of side to side play but seems to come and go with the use of the other blades and has never caused me any problems and never gets worse.
 
I can do without it ... though on slipjoints it can often be fixed with a bit of a bop to the pin ... not too much or it affects the snap closing

On lockbacks, however, it makes me psycho .... mainly because I know there is nothing to be done ...

one of my favourites is a cobo Queen Mountain Man. It has play and it is only because I have a bit of a crush on it that I still have it. All the other wiggling ones have moved on or gone back to their makers :)
 
Blade play disappoints me. Don't like it. It bothers me and always will. If I get a knife with blade play I cannot correct, I don't keep the knife.
 
No blade play please. If I have any blade play when I first get the knife, it gets sent right back.
 
I am one of those people who really dislike any blade play and coming from the tactical side I expect no play with a blade locked up. Slipjoints, I am discovering, are different. I am learning to live with some slight blade play so the blade can open and close. Still I prefer minimal side play.
 
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I hate it. As a former bike mechanic, my gut reaction is that play just worse.

I switched to Opinel. No more play.
 
Stencil said:
This.

I've come to accept small amounts of blade play as a given in slip joints, and it does not bother me. It can be eliminated, but often at the expense of smooth action and ease of cleaning.
Click to expand...

I hate it too. But as said, if you tighten it up it often affects the action. That's made me tolerate a bit more.
 
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