Chaves 228 RETURN (need feedback)

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whitehat

Joined
Feb 11, 2015
Messages
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I recently overpaid for a "new" Chaves 228 from a fellow knife collector. The blade had not been used but it had horrible lock stick, it was off centered, had side to side play and it was so tight I could barely deploy the blade using the thumb lugs. I know! Theres a lot of problems there crammed into one knife. Long story short, I sent it in to C.A.M.K. and it was returned to me within two weeks except its a BRAND NEW knife altogether. Awesome right?
Here is where I have some questions with this knife... It is centered and has absolutely no lock stick and it deploys with such ease and is so smooth it is almost hard to believe. The knife is seductive now. I thought the 228 needed a breaking in period. Do they? This knife is so smooth out of the box on the bearings and the lock bar is prefect. I don't see how it could possibly break in any more.
Also, I was originally going to sell this knife because I have doubts that it can with stand the test of time. Can anyone out there vouch for this knife and it undergoing hard use and still functioning correctly? (sorta like a Sebenza 21 or a FFKW Fortis A) I want to trust the knife in my pocket and if I don't I'm not going to keep it. I want nothing more than to keep this blade but I have some doubts. Feedback please...
 
In the words of the old Yiddish proverb, Iz di kalle tsu shein? Is the bride too beautiful? You got a knife so perfect, enjoy it. :)

From your description, they picked out the best they had for you.
 
Imo breaking-in a knife is nonsense. Sure, there are small moving parts that may experience some form of wear and tear over time, no doubt. However, I've never bought a knife and found that it "broke in" over time.

I have many knives; custom, production, flipper, auto, slipjoint. They all get used, a lot, and they feel the same after days, weeks, months, years of use.

The only way a knife will go from having tight lockup, a centered blade, perfect action, etc. to being a wobbly-jiggly mess is if it was abused, or it was just a terrible knife to begin with.

If that Chaves is perfect in your eyes, then it will remain that way years down the road granted that you don't go stabbing into sheet metal or prying thing with it.
 
I know nothing of Chaves but it sure sounds like they did you a solid and made everything perfect. Why look for trouble? I just had a new roof put on my house, I'm not worrying that it may leak down the road. Keep it and enjoy the he'll out of it and quit worrying about it.

Mike
 
I must say that I am pretty excited to have this knife functioning the way it is. My only experience with the 228 was the one with problems that I sent back... so I'm having a hard time accepting this blade being perfect but it is though and I am going to enjoy it. "Is the bride too beautiful?" I love it! I have a few really nice knives right now and the Chaves really stands out and I'm not talking about the clip. It is a unique blade and that clip just makes it even better. It's awesome and I am happy to testify that.
 
I have had knives perfect out of the box and then get crappy. I have had knives that were crappy out of the box and in fact did wear in and become quite acceptable. But I have also had knives that had perfect action and lock up right out of the box and stay that way and those are the ones I like. I dont really know how to feel about the whole break in thing. Part of me has witnessed that it can happen but another part of me thinks if properly made they shouldnt need a break in.
 
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