Blade Centering?

S

SkyStream

Joined
Aug 19, 2020
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111
Do I have to be lucky to get a Benchmade or Spyderco with a centered blade? I was just at a local knife dealer and I looked at three Spyderco Para 3s, a Benchmade Mini Bugout and 945 and all five knives were off centered. Maybe I've just got spoiled with Protech, Kershaw, Civivi, Kizer and CJRB because every single knife that I've received from the five companies have been perfectly centered and had great action right out of the box.
 
Benchmade's are notorious for centering issues (among other things), though I've never had centering issues with Spyderco's. I do know the PM series can sometimes be a challenge to find the balance between great action, centering, and blade play.

It's been many years since I really looked at a knife store seriously, but those knives tend to be played with a lot, and can go off center.
 
K.O.D. said:
Benchmade's are notorious for centering issues (among other things), though I've never had centering issues with Spyderco's. I do know the PM series can sometimes be a challenge to find the balance between great action, centering, and blade play.

It's been many years since I really looked at a knife store seriously, but those knives tend to be played with a lot, and can go off center.
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Thanks for the info. It's just crazy to me that so many other companies can consistently pump out perfectly centered blades with great action and no blade play. I really wish Kershaw would make more manual KVT folders in the $75-$125 price range. I bet they would do really well because there's plenty of people sick of the spring assisted 8cr knives that don't want to spend $200+ on a ZT.
 
I don't buy any knives with an obvious centering problem. I don't require perfection and if it looks good at a glance, it's good enough for me.

The only centering problem that I ever had w/a knife that I bought was a cheap Kershaw Skyline which I immediately returned; the blade position could not be adjusted and always rubbed against the liner no matter what adjustment was made.

Otherwise, I never had a centering problem worth mentioning in the over 400 knives that I've purchased in the past 3 years and the 300 or so that I still own comprised mostly of Spydercos, ZTs, Kershaws, CRKTs, Benchmades, Pro-techs, Microtechs and other well known brands varying in price from $10 up to $500.

It's just not a "problem" that I have needed to worry about.
 
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I used to obsess over blade-centering, but I switched my spending habits to fixed blades many years ago. Now I sleep better at night, the air smells fresher, food tastes better and the stars shine brighter. Life is good and my universe is finally in harmony with itself.
 
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shane45-1911 said:
I used to obsess over blade-centering. I switched my spending habits to fixed-blades many years ago, Now I sleep better at night, the air smells fresher, food tastes better and the stars shine brighter. Life is good.
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Really? I must try that.

Who are you pulling for in the race for the Cup? That can't let any true Canadian sleep better at night. (My team's out, so I sleep like a baby.)

Oh, and on topic: I can handle a minute amount of off-center. But if it's too much, I think it reflects poorly on the standards of the maker or manufacturer.

(That doesn't mean it won't work well.)
 
Blues said:
Really? I must try that.

Who are you pulling for in the race for the Cup? That can't let any true Canadian sleep better at night. (My team's out, so I sleep like a baby.)

Oh, and on topic: I can handle a minute amount of off-center. But if it's too much, I think it reflects poorly on the standards of the maker or manufacturer.

(That doesn't mean it won't work well.)
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I agree with the minor off centering but if it's looking like it might rub, it's unacceptable to me.
 
Every Griptilian I have ever owned (except one) has come with a centered blade. The exception I received used and it appears to have been disassembled at least once before I got it.

The Griptilian I use the most has a perfectly centered blade with the black OEM scales. I swapped those for a pair of used orange factory scales and the blade is off center no matter what I do.

You would think that if CRKT can center blades, BM and Spyderco should be able to as well. It is not rocket science.
 
Blues Blues and a lot of others here know that I bought all of my modern folders in about a month (12 total). I told each vendor explicitly that if it showed up and the blade wasn’t centered that I’d return it immediately. It must have worked and they took me at my word and all are dead center.

The two Shirogorovs were no exception….but they were perfect as you’d expect.

Make it clear to the vendor up front. Put it on them. It works.
 
I’ve never had a Benchmade arrive off center. I have had a few Spyderco’s. It’s really not a fair comparison for me, because I own over 20 Spyderco’s and only a handful of Benchmade’s. I’ve always been able to center the blade after a bit of tuning.
 
jbmonkey said:
not really. it's more visual than functional on the blade off center. different sized shoes is different sized shoes....ones loose and one fits.
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No, my point is that it’s about laziness in retail, be it knives or shoes.

You place an order for a knife, they go pull the box off the shelf, pack it, ship it.
 
The only BM that has ever been off center for me is my 910 Stryker. And that's with daily use and carry since about 2004. All others were pretty dead center.

On the other hand even my other blades have wandered off center from time to time. My ZT 0350 and Emerson Mini 15 have even been off center from time to time.
 
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shane45-1911 said:
I used to obsess over blade-centering. I switched my spending habits to fixed-blades many years ago, Now I sleep better at night, the air smells fresher, food tastes better and the stars shine brighter. Life is good.
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A few years ago, I bought a fixed-blade custom from an online knife store. It was off center.

The blade angled off to one side, so there wasn't a straight line down the blade and through the tang.
 
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