Blade play - who cares!?

I don't see the appeal of expensive folding knives. If I were frequenting deeper waters, I could see expecting more of a folding knife.

My main concern is performance while I'm using the knife.

If the handle is uncomfortable during prolonged use, the knife has little value to me and I get rid of it. I'm not overly concerned about the action/how it flips, etc. as long as the blade locks in place well. If blade play is excessive or could become excessive after time, it concerns me because of reliability. If it's pretty minor though, I don't care.

I would imagine I'm in the minorityhere, but I'm not a collector. I only have 3 or 4 folding knives. The only reason I have more than one is so I can always have a sharp edge, even if I don't feel like stropping/sharpening right away.
 
I can tolerate slightly proud or sunk joints, or less than musical walk n talk, but blade play on a new knife is a no go for me as well. If it loosens a little over years of work then it’s earned it. Last new Case I purchased was a single blade trapper from DLT and it was terribly wobbly.
 
I think the discussion so far affirms my earlier points. We all have different ideas on not only what qualifies as "blade play" but also what is acceptable or not.

On my desk right now, is a spread of 19 various slip joints. It's a hodgepodge of GEC, Case/Bose, Albers, Opinel, LionSteel, A. Wright, and Rhidian. All of the GECs (except one, a 82 stockman) and the Albers have perceptible wiggle when I gently move the blade at the tip. They make up about 50% of what is on my desk. Everything else is pretty solid with no detectible wiggle or movement. All of these knives are safe to use, functional, and are constructed correctly but that is strictly a matter of my own opinion and tolerances - very much subject to disagreement.
 
Pàdruig said:
I think the discussion so far affirms my earlier points. We all have different ideas on not only what qualifies as "blade play" but also what is acceptable or not.

On my desk right now, is a spread of 19 various slip joints. It's a hodgepodge of GEC, Case/Bose, Albers, Opinel, LionSteel, A. Wright, and Rhidian. All of the GECs (except one, a 82 stockman) and the Albers have perceptible wiggle when I gently move the blade at the tip. They make up about 50% of what is on my desk. Everything else is pretty solid with no detectible wiggle or movement. All of these knives are safe to use, functional, and are constructed correctly but that is strictly a matter of my own opinion and tolerances - very much subject to disagreement.
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Is there play (clearance) in the joint, or is the blade flexing like a spring when you apply the force?
 
HEMI 49 said:
Is there play (clearance) in the joint, or is the blade flexing like a spring when you apply the force?
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I do not apply anywhere near enough force for the blade to flex. Anyone doing that is sure to be inviting trouble.

To answer the first part of your question, it depends on the knife. In most cases, it is more the feedback from the gentle movement than anything visual. But yes, it feels like clearance in the joint, minute as it is. I won't feel it if I use the knife as intended but it's perceptible when you wiggle the blade from the tip while in the open position.
 
That's good information, and your observations are exactly how a slipjoint should function.... The fit between the tang sidewalls and the liners can range from metal to metal contact (no clearance) to a gap you can throw a cat through.... The builders shoot for metal to metal to ~.002/.003.. (A human hair is ~.003)

Since the joint is held together with a lightly peened pin, the durability and ability to maintain the manufactured tolerance is a crap shoot.... A threaded pivot would be a much better way to set and maintain the clearance of the pivot..... But then, it would become a modern folder and not a traditional....
If it's not obvious why the old time knife builders used pins instead of threaded fasteners, it's because screw machines hadn't been invented yet.... We can thank the World Wars for the advances in machine tool technology.......
 
EngrSorenson said:
Blade play drives me nuts. I do a bit of carving, and there's no less satisfying feeling than when you put the blade to wood to shave off a piece and the blade moves as you apply pressure.
It's most pronounced then, because it keeps happening repeatedly throughout the carving session.

nothing makes me feel less secure than a floppy blade.
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This is my experience as well. Before I started messing around with carving I don’t think I was such a stickler for it.
 
calm said:
will anybody, given the choice between two otherwise identical knives, choose the one with more blade play?
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Only if the one with less blade play has a stiff or otherwise poor snap and action. I would choose the better walk & talk over blade play.
 
black mamba said:
Only if the one with less blade play has a stiff or otherwise poor snap and action. I would choose the better walk & talk over blade play.
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Me to 👍

Poor walk and talk and weak snap is a bigger deal breaker to me than a tiny bit of blade play.
 
so, if one is pink, or loose, or stiff, or dirty, or broken and so on, and the other one is not then they are not identical
 
I don't like it at all, and I think the idea that blade play is necessary for (or ensures) a "smooth" or "snappy" action is a poor excuse. I've returned knives for it and either gotten them repaired or received my money back. If a $50 Buck can be delivered without blade play then I'm not going to accept it on a $200 GEC or a $2,000 custom.
 
This discussion has taken a weird turn.

Given a box full of brand new, identical knives I'm going to choose the one I like best. I can't honestly say that 'blade play', however it's being defined here, is way up the list of deciding factors for me. It's important to note that my evaluation process is hampered by the fact that I've never been presented with a box full of identical knives from which to choose.

All pocketknives will have blade play, it's just a matter of degree. You cannot have moving parts that have no clearance on the most finely machined mechanisms. You certainly can't have zero clearance in something that's chunked out by the hundreds or thousands. I've done a little watchmaking, I cut my teeth on the Seiko 7S26. I've never torn into a Rolex or an Omega, but the principles are the same. Movement requires clearance.

Most of what I buy are knives that were made by firms that are remembered only by very old men, or whose names live on in China. If I'm looking at an old Robeson, or a Russell, or a Schatt and Morgan, certainly I'm going to notice if the blade has play. I'm probably going to ignore it, I may fix it. I'm not going to pass on an otherwise intact knife with some blade wobble.

So what?

So, the point I'm trying to make is this: Not all rules apply to everyone and in all circumstances. If the question is asked, "Does this bother you?" and you get varying answers, why does this bother you? Getting an answer that varies from your opinion doesn't really mean you have to defend your opinion, nor does it mean the other guy is a clueless boob.

It's just talk.
 
Is it actual movement or perceived movement? Back in my day we used wooden pencils - eraser on one end and a sharpened lead/graphite point on the other end. If you held one end of the pencil between the thumb tip and finger tip of one hand and between the thumb tip and finger tip of the other hand and gently wiggled your fingers up and down/back and forth it would appear that the pencil was bending/flexing when in fact it was only a delusion.

I could post a picture of a wooden pencil for you guys/gals/youngsters who are too young to know what one is. Here's one.

1725651811909.png
 
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Modoc ED said:
Is it actual movement or perceived movement? Back in my day we used wooden pencils - eraser on one end and a sharpened lead/graphite point on the other end. If you held one end of the pencil between the thumb tip and finger tip of one hand and between the thumb tip and finger tip of the other hand and gently wiggled your fingers up and down/back and forth it would appear that the pencil was bending/flexing when in fact it was only a delusion.

I could post a picture of a wooden pencil for you guys/gals/youngsters who are too young to know what one is. Here's one.

View attachment 2655261
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I still get a kick out of doing that Ed.
 
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