Brad Southard Avo detent play?

A

AndrewBR04

Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
144
Hey guys, I recently purchased a Southard Avo and love the knife. One thing that I have noticed is that when the knife is closed, there is a small amount of detent play as if the detent hole in the blade is too big for the detent ball. I am able to shake the knife when closed and visualize and slightly hear movement of the blade. Is this something I should be worried about? The knife still flips great but I can't quite be completely happy with it because of this. Is this common on the Avo? I am new to flippers so I would appreciate any input! Thanks.

Andrew
 
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Hey andrew, the play is on mine as well it does slighty tick me off but it is nothing to worry about. The knife will function perfectly. Since youre new to flippers you should know that this does not happen to just flippers, it can happen to any knife. My other flippers do not have this problem and I dont know if other avos have this problem either, maybe a few got through brads fit and finish check, he did make a lot and I think this was his first midtech run, not 100% sure though.
 
Hi,

I don't have a southard avo but that is not supposed to happen. There are many ways you can make the detent hole geometry for desired feel, like slightly overlap, control the depth of the detent into the detent hole, flatten the detent etc. I would contact Brad and let him know. When you go into mass producing these things can happen, but that is not a common thing for a high quality folder. You should have zero play.
 
Im wondering who brad is using for these knives because this is an issue i usually see on overseas production pieces. Now i cant promise anything but i have had really good luck tuning detent play out of knives. You have to loosen the pivot and handle screws and have the blade half open but not locked up. This will give your parts some room to wiggle. I usually use a dresser drawer to hold the knife. The point is to sorta use the drwer to push the locside vertical and the scale side in the opposite direction. So if the knife was open you would be pushin the lockside towards the tip and the scale towards the butt of the knife. With it under that pressure you tighten down the handle screws and then the pivot. Wi any luck you will have changed the point where the detent ball interfaces with the hole in the blade just enough that he play will be eliminated or greatly reduced. If its worse try pushing e scales in different directions using the same process. The only thing is if the parts move too much the detent ball may not even be able to find the hole in the blade. Whether that happens or not depends on how good the tolerances are on the knife. If the knife cant be adjusted and the issue persists the only fix i know of is to install a slightely larger stop pin. Which in turn may require he lockface to be ground again if severe enough. Another thing i would do is inspect the stop pin. Some makers are using stop pins that are asymetrical and need to be installed facing thre right way. If they rotate it will cause this issue too. But in most cases i have seen asym pins they arent able to spin.
 
Thanks for the replies guys, I simply tightened the pivot and it seems to have eliminated most, if not all of the play. It was negligible in the first place so i'm happy!
 
Just checked my AVO. Rock-soled detent and lockup with ~15% lockbar engagement of the tang. I got this folder very close to the start of this year, and have carried it every day since then. I generally go thru lots of knives, back and forth, but never carry them. When I find one that is "perfect," it becomes my EDC until/unless a better one comes along. The knives I've carried in the previous three years were two Zaans and one large Classic Sebenza. This AVO has replaced them. It takes a darned good knife TO DO THAT.
Happy Days...
 
I've got a wiggly blade on close as well. Just sent Brad a message through his website about it. Detent seems a bit stiff too :(
 
I like this knife a little too much to just deal with it:
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