Are you happy with non pivot bushing knives?

K

Kuso

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Oct 4, 2010
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I have only owned a few knives, including a Griptilian and a Delica, and I always disliked the pivots on those knives. It bothered me so much that a 1/4 turn of the pivot screw on some knives would make it go from too loose to too tight, and that it relied on Loctite to keep the screw in place. That's why I got rid of those knives, and now I'm on my second Sebenza. I don't think that I would ever purchase a knife without a pivot bushing. I like being able to tighten it down all the way. I'm extremely picky when it comes to little things like that.

I understand that the Sebenza is a step above the rest (in some people's minds), and that I have been "spoiled." But even before I owned a Sebenza, I was never happy with the way most pivots worked. Of course you don't have the tightening problem with knives that you can't take apart, like the stainless steel Delica, but I just like having a knife that you can take apart and clean.

What are your thoughts on the matter?
 
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Just put some teflon tape on the pivot. Easy to clean off and doesn't leave a mess. It's like 2 minutes of work and you don't have to mess with the pivot again until you need to clean the knife.
 
The Delica3 and 4 are held together with rivets not screws so they're not adjustable at all. I've never felt one that wasn't perfect and didn't stay that way.
I do understand what your saying as I have tinkered with the pivot tightness on the Griptillian and Sage knives but once set right, It's never been an issue. Of course, I've never handled a Sebenza or other example of knife perfection. Maybe at Blade next year :)
 
I've come to accept that every knife needs to be locked before I carry it. In my situation a bushing would actually be an annoyance because pivot tension pretty much determines legality around here.
 
All the BM's I've owned had pivot screws where a smidgeon of a turn was the make or break deal. Not a quarter turn which is a lot for the BM's I've owned. That annoyed me. But overall, a LOT of very fine knives exist today and in the past that don't or didn't use a pivot bushing. I have several now that I just love to carry and never really give me any grief. The flip side to a pivot bushing can be the very thing that makes well done pivot bushings so nice. Their close tolerance between too tight and too loose based on the overall thickness of the grip and pivot hole itself versus the tightened bushing can be as much a demon as a blessing. If anything goes awry over time with wear of even in the original build tolerance, then you have a pivot that can't be adjusted to the exact point you'd prefer for horizontal play elimination. I've had several knives in my day with pivot bushings that I could never eliminate the side to side play on. But no doubt that a well done pivot bushing system can rock your pivot world. I just don't think they are all well done sometimes.
 
I only have two knives with a bushing, all the rest do not have one. I am perfectly satisfied with my knives that do not have a bushing. Only one of them has required the use of loctite to keep the pivot where I want it, all the rest were adjusted once and have been fine since then.

Unless the pivot bushing is done perfectly, there will be problems - either blade play that cannot be fixed without drastic measures (if the bushing is too long for the blade thickness), or it will still behave as if it didn't have a bushing at all (if the bushing is too short).
 
Not my sebenza. It was either loose pivot screw or too tight to open with just a hair of a turn either way. Talk about some tight tolerances. Not like the manix 2 pivot, no matter how much you crank down on that pivot it stays the same, which I liked. I don't have either knife any more though. Whatever is in my sng works for me.
 
mongomondo said:
Just put some teflon tape on the pivot. Easy to clean off and doesn't leave a mess. It's like 2 minutes of work and you don't have to mess with the pivot again until you need to clean the knife.
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mr. mongomodo. i was thinking about that. but now you verfied it works.. i was thinking that when you removed the pivot screw the teflon tape might get into a blind hole and cause torque problems. but i wouldnt use locktite..not there.
 
I have no problem with standard knife construction. I can adjust all my knives to how I like them. I can also put something on the pivot bolt that holds it in place. I have never had a knife I couldn't adjust to how I want it and it stay that way. I also understand the nature of a fasteners like a screw and what is required to make it work.

Why would you not want to put loc tite on a pivot? It has been done hundreds of thousands of times, if not millions.
 
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