Bladeplay in my Delica

[jh205]

Hi folks,

My Delica has developed a small amount of blade play (about 1mm) after just a few months of light use (cutting some thin rope, cutting up a few cardboard boxes, some paper cutting). I've been really impressed with the ergonomics and sharpness of the knife (particularly after sharpening on the Sharpmaker) but I'm somewhat disappointed about the bladeplay. Is bladeplay like this to be expected, and if not is there something I can do about it?

The difficulty is that I live in Australia and I don't think it would be economical to ship it all the way back to the States.

Thanks for your help in this,

Josh.

 

[The Deacon]

Is the play vertical or horizontal? Are you measuring at the tip or at the lock? Is it a Delica 4 or an older version? "Slight" amounts of vertical play are considered acceptable on front locks. I would consider 1mm at the tip slight, but would consider 1mm at the lock to be excessive.

If it's a Delica 4 you might check all the screws, anything that can unscrew will and any loose screw (aside from clip screws) can induce blade play.

On either version, if it is vertical play you might want to check the lock notch in the tang, a bit of crud in the wrong place can sometimes induce play.

If you've lubricated the knife heavily, you might want to degrease it, too much lube can sometimes induce play.

Paul

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[jh205]

Deacon,

Its a Delica 3 with a VG10 blade and pinned construction. There's nothing in the locking mechanism, and the knife has not been lubricated at all.

The bladeplay is vertical ie. when locked, the blade moves up towards the spine, probably 3/4 of a milimeter at the lock, but with a noticeable 'clicky' type noise. The play can also be easily felt when the knife is pressed against a firm surface.

 

[marthinus]

jh205

I can not find the post of STR but if I remember correctly STR said that the bladeplay, that you discribe, is a result of the pin holding the lockbar is usually smaller than the hole it is meant to go threw resulting in the whole lockbar moving slightly up. This however is not that big concern.

I hope STR would shine more light on the matter.

Marthinus