Time is the most accomplished thief there is. It's the major contributor of age and wear known to man. We all get those joints that after a certain age, don't work quite the way they did in our younger more salid days. knives are no exeption.
I've got some knives that don't have any blade play, but I have some that do. The ones that do have some side to side blade play are older knives, have seen the passing of years, and the blades, like thier owner, are now grey with the passing of said years. But it does not seem to affect them much.
I only think of this because I was carrying a very old knife for the past few days. When a very old and dear friend passed away a few years back, he left me his Peterson pipe collection and his stag handled pocket knives. Bill was a very old fashioned guy, and even though he was a famous bladesmith in his own right, he loved pocket knives. Espcially if they had nice stag handles. Old Bertram era Hen and Roosters, an old handmade pocketknife made from a piece of crown stag that had been split and the knife made to the shape of the stag.
I've been using these knives, and even though they do have some blade play, it seems to not affect their ability to zip open a bag of top soil, cut a piece of twine, slice a snack off something in the fridge, cut open a cardboard box, break down said box for trash. And in a weird way, the little bit of blade wobble seems to add to their charater. But I wonder if a little side to side wobble is maybe not only not a bad thing, but a case made for it being maybe a little bit of a good thing.
Can a knife be too well made?
Okay, please bear with me here, I don't think I'm quite ready for the rubber knife club yet. You're opinion may differ.
I was using a sak to open lots of bags of top soil when I was doing some work on the back yard a while back. Some dirt got into the hinge, and I had a rough sak, and it was hell to get it right again. Repeated washings with warm water and Dawn dish detergent, lubing, then repeat the process. it took days till it was right again. I love Victorinox for the flawless way the make knives. Their fit and finish is consitantly higher than anyone else in the industry, maybe because they make more knives than anyone else in the business. But under dirty conditions, maybe their too good.
I did a dirty job recently, and I had a pocket knife that had a good bit of sideplay wobble. It was an old knife of Bill's, but I used it and it got the rough hingle feel. Only this time it rinsed right out with a bit of water. I held the knife under the tap and wiggled it a bit side to side, and it flushed right out. After, a little gun oil in the joint and its back to normal.
I keep thinking of the old G.I. issue 11911A1.
When I was in the army, that was the issue sidearm one got. I've seen them dropped in mud, gritty with sand, neglected, taken down and quickly wiped off with a bandanna, and then go through a whole 7 round magazine with no problems. But hold it up and shake it, and it would rattle like a bucket of bolts.
I think of that old knife that way. It may have some blade wobble, but it works at it's intended use just fine, and if things get really dirty, it cleans out in a jiffy. And in my private theroy, with a little slop in the action, and a drop of oil now and then, there should be, in theroy anyways, less wear on the surfaces. Less preasure should mean less friction.
With a slip joint pocket knife, it's not like there has to be tight tolerances for things like well fitting liner locks, or lockback style lock bars. Heck, a slippy is just one step from a primitive friction folder. Or the penny knives of the 16th century. The actual mechanical design is far from rocket science or high tech. It's roots are in a hard working tool for cowboys, farmers, laborers, peasants, depending on how far back you go.
I rescued an old Camillus scout knife from a yard sale, mostly becasue it was like the one dad gave me when I was 12. it was a little rusty, has some wobble, but the old carbon steel sharpened up like an Opinel. Maybe by modern standards its kind of old and wobbly, but it's sort of like finding an old '67 Goat in a barn, with the paint cracked and faded, but while the 389 may smoke a little, you know it's still going to be a running S.O.B.
I doubt most people these days use their pocket knives as hard as our grandfathers did. According to the latest figures, the vast majority of people now live in suburban, if not out and out urban areas. Hunting is at an all time low, according to the Maryland D.N.R., and most people now work in an office type of environment. Yet I look at the old knives, and they all have wobble. Didn't seem to matter much to the owner.
I guess Iwouldn't want to have a great deal of wobble on a brand new knife, but if there was just a skoash, a tiny bit, I guess I'd accept that. If its used like a pocket knife should be, as a tool instead of a cult worship collectors piece, it's going to develope wobble in time anyways.
So, wobble or not wobble, how many accept a little wobble in a edc pocket knife?
I've got some knives that don't have any blade play, but I have some that do. The ones that do have some side to side blade play are older knives, have seen the passing of years, and the blades, like thier owner, are now grey with the passing of said years. But it does not seem to affect them much.
I only think of this because I was carrying a very old knife for the past few days. When a very old and dear friend passed away a few years back, he left me his Peterson pipe collection and his stag handled pocket knives. Bill was a very old fashioned guy, and even though he was a famous bladesmith in his own right, he loved pocket knives. Espcially if they had nice stag handles. Old Bertram era Hen and Roosters, an old handmade pocketknife made from a piece of crown stag that had been split and the knife made to the shape of the stag.
I've been using these knives, and even though they do have some blade play, it seems to not affect their ability to zip open a bag of top soil, cut a piece of twine, slice a snack off something in the fridge, cut open a cardboard box, break down said box for trash. And in a weird way, the little bit of blade wobble seems to add to their charater. But I wonder if a little side to side wobble is maybe not only not a bad thing, but a case made for it being maybe a little bit of a good thing.
Can a knife be too well made?
Okay, please bear with me here, I don't think I'm quite ready for the rubber knife club yet. You're opinion may differ.
I was using a sak to open lots of bags of top soil when I was doing some work on the back yard a while back. Some dirt got into the hinge, and I had a rough sak, and it was hell to get it right again. Repeated washings with warm water and Dawn dish detergent, lubing, then repeat the process. it took days till it was right again. I love Victorinox for the flawless way the make knives. Their fit and finish is consitantly higher than anyone else in the industry, maybe because they make more knives than anyone else in the business. But under dirty conditions, maybe their too good.
I did a dirty job recently, and I had a pocket knife that had a good bit of sideplay wobble. It was an old knife of Bill's, but I used it and it got the rough hingle feel. Only this time it rinsed right out with a bit of water. I held the knife under the tap and wiggled it a bit side to side, and it flushed right out. After, a little gun oil in the joint and its back to normal.
I keep thinking of the old G.I. issue 11911A1.
When I was in the army, that was the issue sidearm one got. I've seen them dropped in mud, gritty with sand, neglected, taken down and quickly wiped off with a bandanna, and then go through a whole 7 round magazine with no problems. But hold it up and shake it, and it would rattle like a bucket of bolts.
I think of that old knife that way. It may have some blade wobble, but it works at it's intended use just fine, and if things get really dirty, it cleans out in a jiffy. And in my private theroy, with a little slop in the action, and a drop of oil now and then, there should be, in theroy anyways, less wear on the surfaces. Less preasure should mean less friction.
With a slip joint pocket knife, it's not like there has to be tight tolerances for things like well fitting liner locks, or lockback style lock bars. Heck, a slippy is just one step from a primitive friction folder. Or the penny knives of the 16th century. The actual mechanical design is far from rocket science or high tech. It's roots are in a hard working tool for cowboys, farmers, laborers, peasants, depending on how far back you go.
I rescued an old Camillus scout knife from a yard sale, mostly becasue it was like the one dad gave me when I was 12. it was a little rusty, has some wobble, but the old carbon steel sharpened up like an Opinel. Maybe by modern standards its kind of old and wobbly, but it's sort of like finding an old '67 Goat in a barn, with the paint cracked and faded, but while the 389 may smoke a little, you know it's still going to be a running S.O.B.
I doubt most people these days use their pocket knives as hard as our grandfathers did. According to the latest figures, the vast majority of people now live in suburban, if not out and out urban areas. Hunting is at an all time low, according to the Maryland D.N.R., and most people now work in an office type of environment. Yet I look at the old knives, and they all have wobble. Didn't seem to matter much to the owner.
I guess Iwouldn't want to have a great deal of wobble on a brand new knife, but if there was just a skoash, a tiny bit, I guess I'd accept that. If its used like a pocket knife should be, as a tool instead of a cult worship collectors piece, it's going to develope wobble in time anyways.
So, wobble or not wobble, how many accept a little wobble in a edc pocket knife?
