De-Assist 350?

[kornphlake]

When removing the torsion I couldn't get the blade to have no play and also come out as a manual flipper...as now the blade center is totally off. Any tips??? Should I just send it in to kershaw and have them re set the blade etc.

keep in mind the 0350 was designed as an assisted opening knife, while it may be possible to operate the knife as a flipper without the assisting spring, the design intent was to have a spring open the knife, not inertia. If you can remove the torsion bar and open the knife as a flipper without any side to side play you are fortunate, there's no guarantee that this is possible with every specimen.

That said I've found the best way to re-assemble a knife is to tighten the pivot screw to the point the blade doesn't move freely, and thump the knife several times on a solid, non-marring surface, then back out the pivot screw until the blade moves freely. Some times the pivot and bearings don't align properly without a little bit of persuasion. I'd be surprised if you couldn't get the pivot screw tightened just right so that you have a freely moving blade and minimal to zero side to side play. Some times when you can't get rid of side to side play even with the pivot screw so tight that the blade doesn't open without significant friction, loosening the handle screws a tad can help, use blue loctite when you reassemble the knife and let it set for a few hours before you handle it too aggressively.