Does the Manix have blade play?

Ming65 said:
My Manix seems to have develeoped less blade play over time. It started with vertical play that I could feel if I pulled the blade hard up and down, now it's almost undetectable. I wonder if it is possible for a lock to 'wear in' like that?
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I don't have a Manix, but I've also noticed that some lockbacks develop less play over time. I think that a tiny amount of dirt, pocket lint, dust and/or various kinds of gunk build up in the notch in the tang and effectively close the gap between the tang and the lockbar, thereby preventing vertical play. It might look like the notch in the tang is pretty clean, but you just need a very thin layer of stuff in there to change the lockup.

You can experiment by placing a small strip of Scotch tape in the notch where the front of the lockbar presses against it. The tolerance is so close that even a really thin, see-through piece of tape is thick enough to stop blade play in most cases.
 
Sal meantioned that they were engineered to have a small amount of vertical bladeplay. He said that in tests it turned out that the locks with a small amount of play actually tested stronger and more reliable than the the ones that didn't.

I don't think that it is really a tolerance issue as much as the shape of the cutout in blade an lock bar. I would have suspected that they would match perfectly, but when I opened mine up I noticed that they are actually kinked to each other substantially, so that there is quite a bit of space in the cut out of the blade that is not filled by the lockbar when the lock is engaged.

If I really pull on the tip of the blade of mine, I can feel some movement.
 
Is there any explanation why they are stronger or more reliable?

I mean, i can stand a knife with sligth play if there is proof that it is build this way willingly. I couldn´t stand a knife with play if i have to see, that it was just a poor qc or less standard.

But again: Are there any explanations why lock backs with slight play are more reliable?
 
Blop said:
Is there any explanation why they are stronger or more reliable?

I mean, i can stand a knife with sligth play if there is proof that it is build this way willingly. I couldn´t stand a knife with play if i have to see, that it was just a poor qc or less standard.

But again: Are there any explanations why lock backs with slight play are more reliable?
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Maybe it goes along the lines of bending before breaking? A little give may be like a cushion?
 
I have owned a Manix for about Four months now and yes it did have some play in the blade at first. So, I (no,no) took it apart and cleaned it well and applied some miltec and re-tightened and viola no play. I don't understand why no play but there it is no play. I love this knife and even if play were noticeable I will still own it. It is an absolute monster and joy to use and carry. :D
 
Side-to-side play can be easily adjusted by adjusting BOTH pivot and lockbar pin. The vertical play, can't not be adjusted, I think.

Sal just stated that in one post that they tested stronger. He didn't give any explanation why. More reliable, I can easily see. When you open up a spyderco lockback, you can see that there lots of space between lockbar and the notch in the blade. So you can accumulate, quite a bit of dirt in the lock mechanism without effecting lock up at all.
 
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