Blade play until I squeeze the bolsters--problem?

[KennyB]

I have a Kershaw Wild Turkey that came just right, but it developed some play. I had heard a long time ago that a person could fix play like this with a few wraps from a rubber mallet, but that it caused some other damage if done too hard. Well not wanting to break it, I just squeezed it between my two thumbs as hard as I could, as if trying to press a snowball together really hard you know.

Anyway, it fixes the play right up, but then gradually over time it loosens up again. Is this a problem with the craftsmanship? Would you send it in for warranty for "manufacturing defect"?

It doesn't really bother me, but I just don't want to have to keep tightening it up every so often. Blade play really annoys me.

 

[immolatus]

If it's already loose I'd say give it a whack with the mallet. As long as you don't leave tool marks on the bolsters you could still send it in. I'm betting that wont be a permanent fix though. If It loosened up once it might again if you use it to pry on things.

 

[NoNameNomad]

If when it's at its worst it's only really mild play that never really gets too bad I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's an inherent problem with folding knives. Some knives don't come with play and some don't develop it, but some do, even from good manufacturers. You might get one that has play right off the bat, another of the same model/same everything that comes with no play but later develops some, and another of the same that has no play and never develops it. The amount of this varies from maker to maker and there should be less of it as you get into more expensive knives, but it's a natural risk for any knife that is essentially a broken fixed blade.

I'm fortunate in that I don't detect any play on my current knives (most of which are GEC, they build them tough), though I've had knives in the past with some minor play and it never bothered me. It would if it was significant and I paid a lot for a knife, but that's all.

 

[Campbellclanman]

DONT whack it with a mallet, we have discussed this problem quite a few times here in traditionals, there has been several conversations, but if you scroll down and see the Miller Bros Jack and see a description on how I dealt with the same problem...
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-some-neat-older-slippies-to-enjoy-(-i-hope-)

 

[mykel m]

Here is a great post & video on fixing blade wobble that forum member dogstar did last summer.squeeze & peen

 

[bonzodog]

I used the squeeze & peen method,worked a treat.