Do I have valid complaint???

Originally posted by bob_glassman
Since this is obviously unacceptable from everyone's standpoint, I think it only prudent to provide as much information on the forum so that other knife buyers do not experience the same problem.
Click to expand...

The maker offered to fix the knife (he would have to replace the liner probably) but also said he did not make the liner locks the way I wanted (eg: they would not touch the blade with its full length). So I decided not to return the knife again and had it fixed here - the result was more than satisfactory. If I were in US I am almost sure the problem would be resolved to my satisfaction.

If you want the maker´s name, please e-mail me. There are many people here that have his knives and are perfectly happy, there are a few of his knives for sale and I do not want to hurt the sellers.

David
 
My experiences with J. W. Smith is that he almost insists on paying for the shipping costs when he looks to fix something on one of his folders. This man is honesty and integrity squared.

Regarding the thread-starter's situation:

I would think most folks would like their locks with full contact, rather than the tenuous high-wire act appearance of tangential contact, regardless how strong it might be in actuality.
 
i've never seen a liner lock like that as usually most if not all of the surface of the "tang" touches the surface of teh line lock. But then again it doesn't really matter how it looks like as long as it works. So if it works then it works
 
I would bet it was just fine the way it was, believe it or not it only has to touch on the top end of the blade to lock properly, i know most think it has to touch the whole surface like a Sebbie, which is not true at all. Sure it looks better if it's touching the whole surface, but not necessary at all if it locks up like a vault in the first place!

Klotzli, a leading designer of fine knifes uses a lock like that one in the past and his knifes lockup like a vault, i have used one of my Swiss Klotzli's for years with a lock like yours David and it has never had one problem with it's lockup at all!

James
 
From what I can tell from the pictures the lock appears to be fit correctly. Does the knife lock up correctly and not rock side to side or up and down? I build liner locks and mine are pretty much the same as the one in your photo. Some have bigger gaps than others but mine are all rock solid. When you look at any liner lock, upside down and if you look hard enough you will always have a little angle/space on the back of the lock. If there isnt any angle the blade wont lock up solid and has a tendency to rock up and down. There are 3 points of interest in a liner lock. One is the pivot pin, the other is the backstop pin. The last one is where the liner lock meets the back of the blade bevel. For manual knives I use an 8 degree bevel on the back of the blade. The liner is cut out at a 90 degree angle. You only want the very top of the liner lock touching the back of the blade bevel. Thats creates a pinching effect locking the blade in place. If the contact point is lower than on the very tip you will get blade rock. That is usually the problem for the begining knifemaker. I am using my own experiances here. YMMV.
 
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