blade not centered - help!

[harrydog]

I've owned Sebenzas for several years now, and never had this happen before.
I just disassembled, lubed, and reassembled my small Sebenza. It's smooth and works perfectly except the blade is now not perfectly centered between the slabs. When open it seems perfectly centered, but when closed, it is definitely not. In fact, I can feel it ever so slightly rub against the slab when I close it as it nears the closed position.
I took it apart again and reassembled, but it is still the same.
What could I have done to cause this and how can I fix it?

 

[Scott Dog]

It's not re-assenbled correctly. I had the same problem with my Mnandi. Make sure that the washers are on the correct side and that everything is snug before you re-assemble. Do a search for the thread where I think it was Ted decribed in detail how he re-assembled his Sebenza. Good luck!

 

[harrydog]

Thanks Scott. I found Ted's thread (I now remember reading it in the past). Followed his directions and the blade is now perfectly centered, but...it is now very hard to open and close when the pivot screw is tightend down. Apparently I crimped the washers.
Is the only solution to order new ones?

 

[Scott Dog]

Harry:
You still don't have it "just right". It has to be re-assembled perfectly. The tolerances on the Sebenza are very tight and there is no room for error. Try again, you'll get it right. Believe me I've been there done that.

 

[TedV]

harrydog,
That's odd that you got a crimped washer using the method I described.
Are you sure the screws in the stoppin and the backspacer were completely tight before you inserted the blade assembly?

 

[harrydog]

Ted,
I don't know for sure that I crimped the washers - just speculation on my part. Hopefully I didn't. I don't have the knife with me at the moment, but I'll try it again tonight.
Maybe I've just been lucky in the past, but I've reassembled this Sebenza 2 or 3 times in the past and never had a problem.

 

[harrydog]

I tried again and this time I must have done it correctly, since the action is now smooth and the blade is perfectly centered.
The only thing I did differently last time was that the srews in the stop pin and backspacer were not completely tightened down before I slid the blade in. Amazing that that makes such a difference!
Thanks Scott and Ted.

 

[TedV]

Harry, just so that I understand correctly.

When it didn't work, you didn't had the stoppin/backspacer-screws down tight, and the last time, when it worked, you had them screwed down tight?

Glad it worked out for you.

Ted

 

[harrydog]

Right, I had them screwed down tight, then I slid the blade into place, and everything now works perfectly.

 

[Ed T]

Glad this thread came up again. I had taken my sebenza apart and was having some difficulty getting back together correctly. All good now.