Did I create gaps on my slip joint?

[SteelSnob]

I have a case swayback jack and I don't recall it having gaps when it was new. I have carried it in my backpocket and I squeezed the bolsters pretty hard once to tighten up the pivot.

I looked at a new model of the same knife fresh from case and it has no gaps. Did I cause the gaps?

 

[yablanowitz]

Lateral loading on the blade is generally the culprit, but it is also possible the pins did not get swelled enough when they were set.