Any way to keep a 51's blade from rubbing the liners?

DanR217 · Feb 3, 2015

I remember the 32 gold class I had did this, I sent it in, they fixed it. Didn't tell me what they did, but they fixed it. My old 51 did the same thing, the customer service rep on the phone said they couldn't fix it because the handles, "weren't solid material". I recently bought a couple of original 51s and the 51-1501 and they all do the same thing. I called BM and they told me to send them in. They came back with no noticeable improvement.

I tighten the pivot bolts until the blade binds, then back off in incredibly small increments until it frees completely, but the blade still rubs the liner. Anything else I can do? Would slightly thicker washers help? I know I shouldn't be so picky but my OCD just won't let it go. I love flipping the knife, but the rubbing kills it for me.

StryCoShaw · Feb 3, 2015

In my experiences, no. The 51's blade will rub the liner in one spot. At first I was shocked that this was acceptable in a current production knife, but in truth all bm balis have done this, my 42s etc, even my Alpha Beast when i had one. And it actually won't effect anything. I've had the rub on my 51 for 3+ years and it hasn't gotten worse. All it does is keep me from buying the LE's and such because it is a slightly flawed design (bushings please). It's almost a trade off, you get very natural flow when flipping it, and the blade isn't bouncing off the liners, just ever so slightly kissing it. I have what I consider to be a perfect 51, the handles have very little slop, and the blade rubs only on one side, at the fattest point of the blade (an inch behind the tip). It's literally a dot of rubbing. The edge never comes in contact with anything, and the titanium liner only has a small black line where the anodization wore off. I think of it as a simple way to see if a bm51 has been flipped, its like an indicator of usage. I am surprised to hear you had a 32 without any rub, probably because the blade is short enough to remain rigid from the pivot points and stays completely straight.

It's a pure user design, just enjoy it knowing that your 51 is no different than mine, no different than the 51 the pros on youtube are using every day. And don't forget bm offers blade replacements for a fee.

I still consider it to be the best flipper available, having owned every brand of production balisongs. It's an amazing knife, and flips like nothing else.

DanR217 · Feb 3, 2015

Yeah, it does flip well, just really sucks they feel it's acceptable for a "high end" production bali to hit the liners. I know it's just in one spot... if you adjust it well. My 51-1501 and one 51 were bouncing all over both liners when I got it. They obviously put a lot of thought into it, why overlook that, then CONTINUE to overlook it with the 51-1501?

So, thicker washers would or wouldn't help?

StryCoShaw · Feb 4, 2015

DanR217 said:
Yeah, it does flip well, just really sucks they feel it's acceptable for a "high end" production bali to hit the liners. I know it's just in one spot... if you adjust it well. My 51-1501 and one 51 were bouncing all over both liners when I got it. They obviously put a lot of thought into it, why overlook that, then CONTINUE to overlook it with the 51-1501?

So, thicker washers would or wouldn't help?

Yeah I wonder why they haven't tried improving the 51 yet. Thicker washers could fix the rub theoretically but then the back spacers would need to be thicker too, and the screws holding the zen pins might be too short, etc. Maybe there's a perfect sweet spot with a .001 thicker washer on one side only, that would solve the rubbing. I'm not recommending trying, it'll end up being a lost cause I think. Not sure what the solution can be

DanR217 · Feb 4, 2015

StryCoShaw said:
Yeah I wonder why they haven't tried improving the 51 yet. Thicker washers could fix the rub theoretically but then the back spacers would need to be thicker too, and the screws holding the zen pins might be too short, etc. Maybe there's a perfect sweet spot with a .001 thicker washer on one side only, that would solve the rubbing. I'm not recommending trying, it'll end up being a lost cause I think. Not sure what the solution can be

That's what I was thinking from the get-go: bigger back spacer, increase the space between liners and it wouldn't hit. I got it, maybe I could get a craftsman on here to machine me up some back spacer liners... hmmm, but then I would need thicker washers, huh?

I dismantled the side that was rubbing and oiled the spacers on both sides, hoping oil would let me tighten the pivot more without binding. Reassembled and it worked, now it doesn't rub at all! Makes me wonder what they did when I sent it in? Receive it, repackage it and send it back?