Best way to check for blade play?

jfindon

jfindon

Joined
Dec 12, 2006
Messages
967
I don't want to be cranking on my knives when I first get them because it seems like that would make any knife have blade play, and could potentially loosen something. When you get a new knife how do you usually inspect it for flaws?
 
Opening it and trying to wiggle the blade won't ruin anything if it's a well made knife.
 
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Gosh, just hold the handle in your left hand and hold the blade-tip in your right hand, and try to wiggle the blade up/down and right/left. If it wiggles, send it back.
That's blade-play. There is also lock-rock, but that's not something I've ever run into. Opening and closing of the knife should be smooth and not scratchy. Unlocking of the blade should not be sticky. Need a good detent. Lesser flaws would be machining marks that are not polished out, or misfit scales to frame.
If you're careful about what you buy, and read reviews and watch YouTube videos in advance, you may avoid getting a nasty product. But remember that a good percentage of new folders have sticky locks that usually will smoothen out during break-in. Can try using graphite on blade tang to help sticky problem.
Sonny
 
I open the knife and very gently attempt to wiggle the blade from side to side and up/down.
 
RobCamlin said:
Opening it an trying to wiggle the blade won't ruin anything if it's a well made knife.
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Yep. If it ruins the knife to wiggle it back and force.. well, youve got problems.

If there is blade play, try tightening the pivot, and if that doesn't do it, then try sending it back (if it bothers you like it does me)
 
I was just unsure how much pressure to use/how much "wiggle" there should be, because I can make any blade wiggle if I wanted.
 
jfindon said:
I was just unsure how much pressure to use/how much "wiggle" there should be, because I can make any blade wiggle if I wanted.
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What is the knife in question?

Some linerless zytel SOG's and even some spydercos with thin liners will have flex in the handle that can be mistaken for bladeplay. I am personally not satisfied unless there is absolutely zero perceivable play between the blade and the handle
 
I doubt you can make "any" blade wiggle by hand force, no offense. Unless you try to on some $5 gas station knives, no knife worth buying will develop blade play from hand pressure alone.
 
res1cue said:
What is the knife in question?

Some linerless zytel SOG's and even some spydercos with thin liners will have flex in the handle that can be mistaken for bladeplay. I am personally not satisfied unless there is absolutely zero perceivable play between the blade and the handle
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ZT 0560. I'm not really worried about it, I'm just wondering because I tend to get paranoid with new purchases.

RobCamlin said:
I doubt you can make "any" blade wiggle by hand force, no offense. Unless you try to on some $5 gas station knives, no knife worth buying will develop blade play from hand pressure alone.
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By wiggle I'm talking about seeing slight movement at the pivot area of the blade. It's not flopping around, but I can see tiny movement in every knife I own if I try with moderate pressure. It's not loose or excessive, but there is a tiny bit.
 
I crank on the tip and use as much force as I can with just two fingers. I can get play in 99% of folders like this either due to some sort of flex or actual movement in the pivot. The only folders I owned that passed this test were the Sebenza and Umnumzaan. Blade play only bothers me if I adjust the pivot and still find it when cranking on the blade as close to the pivot as I can. That tells me its a real pos with crap tolerances. This is purely my opinion and I could care less what other people think. I'm picky about my folders and I have compulsive tendencies with them. Of course you have to consider price and adjust your expectations accordingly. I dont care if a sub $100 folder has a tiny bit of play.
 
Just grab the blade in one hand and the handle in the other and give it a wiggle. If you feel movement that's blade play. It can be very obvious or almost undetectable, both are blade play, how much is too much is completely up to you.
 
jfindon said:
I was just unsure how much pressure to use/how much "wiggle" there should be, because I can make any blade wiggle if I wanted.
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Any blade?

busse_natural_outlaw_blue_knife_1024.jpg
 
kawr said:
I crank on the tip and use as much force as I can with just two fingers. I can get play in 99% of folders like this either due to some sort of flex or actual movement in the pivot. The only folders I owned that passed this test were the Sebenza and Umnumzaan. Blade play only bothers me if I adjust the pivot and still find it when cranking on the blade as close to the pivot as I can. That tells me its a real pos with crap tolerances. This is purely my opinion and I could care less what other people think. I'm picky about my folders and I have compulsive tendencies with them. Of course you have to consider price and adjust your expectations accordingly. I dont care if a sub $100 folder has a tiny bit of play.
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That's what I'm talking about, I mean it's barely detectable but it's there. If you say you've seen it on 99% of knives aside from the CR knives then that mirrors my findings as well and it must be fairly normal. It's not like they'd be wiggling around under normal usage, so I guess I shouldn't care much. It's so little that I can barely tell if it's the blade moving or the entire knife moving in my hand as I pull and tug, if that helps explain it any better. Probably just my paranoia.
 
You could not detect any blade play in a few of my folders. I am well above average adult male strength and I try to break the tip of the blade off when I test if I know the knife can take it. :D
 
BloodworkLS said:
You could not detect any blade play in a few of my folders. I am well above average adult male strength and I try to break the tip of the blade off when I test if I know the knife can take it. :D
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Me too, powerlifter :P

Ok so maybe I couldn't detect play in all of them, but every one I own I can see the tiny bit that is so little it makes me think I'm imagining things (and I have some "quality" folders, Spyderco Gayle Bradley, Benchmade 710, Kershaw Speedform 3500, Spyderco Manix, and now ZT 0560). I'm just chalking it up to being borderline OCD.
 
I believe it is normal. Some of my benchmades and spydercos have that almost imperceptible play you are talking about. I am surprised to see it in some of those listed though, especially the ZT. I have the same OCD problem with blade play but I try not to stress about it because I'm sure the knives are still plenty strong enough for their intended uses.
 
jfindon said:
That's what I'm talking about, I mean it's barely detectable but it's there. If you say you've seen it on 99% of knives aside from the CR knives then that mirrors my findings as well and it must be fairly normal. It's not like they'd be wiggling around under normal usage, so I guess I shouldn't care much. It's so little that I can barely tell if it's the blade moving or the entire knife moving in my hand as I pull and tug, if that helps explain it any better. Probably just my paranoia.
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Exactly. If you look for it, you can find blade play in any folder. Some require you to search with a litte more effort but in the end you almost always find it. Dont let it bother you too much and as long as the play isnt excessive and the lockup feels safe, just enjoy it.
 
I haven't found any blade-play in my CRK's, PM2's, Militaries, ZT 0550, HEST 2.0 or Emerson. If I ever did, I'd send it back or sell it.
Sonnydaze
 
Open the knife, grab the blade near the tip (try not to cut yourself), and torque it around. If it wiggles or moves around, it has blade play. If it doesn't wiggle, it does not have blade play - a lot of knives have some flex in the handle, pivot, etc. if you crank on them hard enough, but I wouldn't really consider that blade play.

I put about as much torque on them as I can with my girly finger strength. I always laugh when I see Nutnfancy test for blade play...gently touch the thumbstuds with your thumb and forefinger, then proclaim that your SOG flash-2 locks up like a bank vault. :rolleyes: Nearly every knife I've held had at least a tiny bit of side to side blade play, and that's not really a big deal for me.

I have had just a couple of knives that even I couldn't find any blade play in, even when I really torqued on them. The Hogue EX-01 and one of my Kershaw RAMs are a couple that leap to mind as having been insanely well fit out of the box.
 
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