Expectations (or am i just ocd)

Rsmith_77

Rsmith_77

Joined
Jun 4, 2010
Messages
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I am sitting here pondering my collection of pocket knives. A collection that I believe is too small and my wife believes is way too large :D

What I am noticing is that, while i don't use any of my pocketknives hard, they all seem to have some flaws. Either the blades have some minor side to side wobble, or gaps in the liners or lazy springs that don't snap, SOMETHING. Granted I don't buy expensive knives, most are case, or buck or rough riders (which is a whole different issue for me, we all know what it is, and we all know its not appropriate for this forum so we will leave it at that).

Is it too much to ask for your production knives to be perfect, blades line up correctly in the closed position, no wobble, no gaps in the liner whatever? Or am i just being OCD. I am not sure that any of these flaws will actually affect the use of these blades, but i fear that over time with use they will get worse.

This is not a thread about whether or not you demand perfection in your knives so much as, do these flaws actually affect the use/life of the knife or am i just being a combination of OCD and paranoid?

My favorite knife is probably either my case mini-trapper. Perfect size, perfect shape, love the CV steel etc etc. But there is a gap in the liners you can see light through, the spey blade has a bit of side to side wobble and when closed the blades nearly touch the liners (although i don't see any rubbing yet). My wife thinks i am nuts and need medication, maybe she is right, i just worry that if i carry it and use it, the gaps and the wobble will get worse.

oh and the exception to this rule is my SAKS, my wenger SI, my tinker and my classic, no wobble, no gaps, nothing, they are perfect, but they lack the soul of a traditional, so we will just move on :P

anyways, thoughts?
 
I don't think you are paranoid. The blade wobble will likely get worse but the gaps shouldn't.

Have you, by any chance, tried something from GEC?
 
I have not, while i LOVE the look of some of the GECs
they are, unfortunately out of my price range..ESPECIALLY since i am still out of work :/
 
Well, I know what you mean... The same to me. Just bought a Case Medium Stockman with yellow Delrin and CV. Just have for about one-and-a-half-month but it has already blade wobbling. Maybe I gonna send it in for repair...

I don´t think you are paranoid, but what means OCD?

Kind regards
Andi
 
Alright... Thank you for explaining. No, I don´t think, that´s the problem. :)

Andi
 
Rsmith_77 said:
I am sitting here pondering my collection of pocket knives. A collection that I believe is too small and my wife believes is way too large :D

What I am noticing is that, while i don't use any of my pocketknives hard, they all seem to have some flaws. Either the blades have some minor side to side wobble, or gaps in the liners or lazy springs that don't snap, SOMETHING. Granted I don't buy expensive knives, most are case, or buck or rough riders (which is a whole different issue for me, we all know what it is, and we all know its not appropriate for this forum so we will leave it at that).

Is it too much to ask for your production knives to be perfect, blades line up correctly in the closed position, no wobble, no gaps in the liner whatever? Or am i just being OCD. I am not sure that any of these flaws will actually affect the use of these blades, but i fear that over time with use they will get worse.

This is not a thread about whether or not you demand perfection in your knives so much as, do these flaws actually affect the use/life of the knife or am i just being a combination of OCD and paranoid?

My favorite knife is probably either my case mini-trapper. Perfect size, perfect shape, love the CV steel etc etc. But there is a gap in the liners you can see light through, the spey blade has a bit of side to side wobble and when closed the blades nearly touch the liners (although i don't see any rubbing yet). My wife thinks i am nuts and need medication, maybe she is right, i just worry that if i carry it and use it, the gaps and the wobble will get worse.

oh and the exception to this rule is my SAKS, my wenger SI, my tinker and my classic, no wobble, no gaps, nothing, they are perfect, but they lack the soul of a traditional, so we will just move on :P

anyways, thoughts?
Click to expand...

As long as they are made by humans and not divine beings, yes. Try building one yourself some time, just so you will know what those makers are going through.
 
I think you, and your experiences and thoughts, are pretty normal. That doesn't really answer your questions or solve anything, but FWIW you're in good company around here.
 
lol i thought someone might focus on the "perfect" adjective

and i have a ton of respect for the makers of slipjoints, its a skill i certainly dont possess

perhaps a couple of clarifying question might help. When our fathers, grandfathers etc bought their pocket knives, did they have these gaps, wobbles and lazy springs and just sucked it up and dealt with it? If so, that may help me realize I am expecting too much. Or were they mechanically superior to the models we are getting today?

Honest question there, not sarcasm
 
I believe that many of us here on the blade forums are knife enthusiast. Knife companies make knives for peoples general use. So, most people would purchase a knife, use it and not examine it as I or you might do. So, the things that we find issue with, I imagine most people don't see or have issue with if they do see it.
 
Considering the price range you're buying in, I think your expectations are way too high. If you want your knives to be perfect, you'll have to save up or something. That's why people buy customs.

Have you considered selling some knives that you're not satisfied with to fund a nicer one?
 
Mr Smith, you simply do not have enough knives if all of them have at least 1 problem that really should not be there. Get more knives. I use ebay very successfully. You have to actually study the pics and ask if info on function (action) is not clearly stated. Then you watch and bid at the very end for the good ones that might be getting overlooked. With time you can get thousands of knives for very little money each. If you select well, most will actually not have any problems.
Then if you present the knife well, you can likely sell the ones you don't want for more than what you paid. Now you have an income as well as a bunch of good knives.
You sound much less OCD than most of us here.
Remember: "acceptance is the answer to all my problems" i.e. you accept that your wife doesn't see things as you do.
my regards to the Missus as well,
roland
 
ok, so what i am getting is

that my experiences are normal for everyboy, unless they shell out for a much more expensive knife (custom)
that ultimately I am just being paranoid, and these knives will work fine in the long run, they just arent gonna to be pretty (which is ok, if i know they will last)

although I am curious about my last question. Are these issues that go back, or are they a symptom of the modern era? Did our grandfather's have the same issues when they bought their pocket knives and just didnt care enough to worry about these issues? Or were the knives actually better built "back in the day"
 
Give them up if they're troubling you and send them to me.:thumbup::D

What you are experiencing is the insatiable appetite of the knife hunter: this is is good, it could be better,another one will be better still, knife nirvana is somewhere other than here.:eek:

I'm sure you have decent knives, use them more worry less.
 
Remember ever time you see a "flaw" that's just you trying to justify the purchase of your next knife.........


Anal retentiveness and OCD the traits of a knife collector...............
 
To answer your question: there are many currently made knives from both USA and China that do not have any blade play and liners/springs are too tight to see light, and will work properly in all areas.
The USA made knives were better made than now up to about 1960. Generally speaking, there always are exceptions.
I have lots of pre WW II USA made Traditional folders that have no flaws, and have good snap, smooth action and a 100% solid lockup on all blades.
I also have lots of current production knives that are all 'right-on' as well as many with minor issues. To me blade play is a major issue. Very slight gap between liners/springs, minor & acceptable if rest of knife is all 'right-on'.
I don't see myself as OCD, but you do have to apply discriminatory skills to be an accomplished collector. If you have no standards, you'll end up with all the crappy knives.
Is this a help ?
roland
 
^ Mostly agree. Personally, if there aren't any functional/safety issues with the knife (lock problems, blade play, etc.) and I didn't pay a crapton of money for it, I don't worry about it. Fit and finish is where a lot of the extra money goes to in high end knives, that's why NKPs think people who own Sebenzas must be crazy or something.

If nothing else, consider it a good thing that you have an eye for quality craftsmanship, but maybe adjust your expectations to the price tag :)
 
well, all blade play is (so far) minor
you wouldnt notice it unless you are looking for it (well, with one exception, its pretty wobbly but its sorta special anyways for other reasons)

i've tried to show my wife and she thinks i am absolutely nuts, so perhaps there is something to me being a knife nut and having expectations that are too high
i think that, once i find a new job, i'll just save up and try me a GEC (i love the 2 blade trappers and the single lockback..72 and 73 i THINK?)

until then, i'll just keep doing what i am doing, and to be fair, the knives i have haven't failed yet, i was just worried they would

oh and Boggs, i like that
Remember ever time you see a "flaw" that's just you trying to justify the purchase of your next knife.........
Click to expand...
i think thats what my wife thinks, and there may be a little truth in that :p
 
Rsmith_77 said:
lol i thought someone might focus on the "perfect" adjective

and i have a ton of respect for the makers of slipjoints, its a skill i certainly dont possess

perhaps a couple of clarifying question might help. When our fathers, grandfathers etc bought their pocket knives, did they have these gaps, wobbles and lazy springs and just sucked it up and dealt with it? If so, that may help me realize I am expecting too much. Or were they mechanically superior to the models we are getting today?

Honest question there, not sarcasm
Click to expand...

As with production knives made today, I think the answer is, 'some were perfect, some nearly perfect, some were good, others not-so-much'; for exactly the same reason (built by imperfect human hands). I've thought about this a lot, and there are some stellar examples of the older knives to be held up as examples of how much 'better' the old ones supposedly were. I'd be willing to bet most of the perfect older knives we see posted here today, were no more the 'norm' than the perfectly-executed modern ones we occasionally see nowadays. A lot of us 'collectors' (read: obsessive perfectionists) go specifically looking for the 'best' examples we can find of the vintage knives, pretty much ruling out all the other 'less-than-perfect' knives of similar vintage that are found everywhere, but don't get noticed by collectors, because they're just 'average' or 'typical'. I myself have quickly dismissed a lot of older, but essentially mint, knives on the 'auction site', because it had that one particular 'flaw', like a warped blade (not centered), or wobbly blades & weak springs, or unevenly-matched stag scales, or cracks in the scales, or whatever else. I think, as with many today, the 'less-than-perfect' ones probably got used, and used hard, for a long time. And, some of the 'perfect' ones were noticed as such, and carefully set aside for us to enjoy at a later time. :)
 
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