Folder Blade Centering

Lance Leon

Lance Leon

Joined
May 3, 2017
Messages
900
Hey guys, so I want to know if anyone else has ever experienced this with their knives, and how they dealt with it. I'm hoping this is the right area to post this.

Most of the time, I don't deal with off center knives; they'll be returned for a refund or I'll send them to a maker/modder to get them fixed. However, there are a couple of exceptions where they don't come off center, and it seems I've messed something up after disassembly/reassembly. This is the case with my Sharpwerks Framehorns. I have two of these, and it seems that they came from David centered...but after disassembly I could never get it back to perfect without tightening the pivots down to the point that they can't be opened.

It's probably not an issue with the tolerances, since they don't come off center, but what am I doing wrong that won't let them go back together right? I've tried assembling the screws in different orders, tightening down the pivot before the body screws then slowly releasing tension, reassembly with the blade half open and not locked, and assembly with the blade pushed away from the side it leans to. I feel like this is something that tends to happen with folders on washers, and isn't so much of an issue with bearing pivot systems. Any info or tips are welcome, or you can just share any experiences.

Here's a photo or two of one of my Framehorns:
Framehorn1.jpeg Framehorn2.jpeg Framehorn3.jpeg

*yes, I know centering isn't a big deal to some...but my neuroticism is intense :D
 
Are the washer the same size ???? Have you tried to swap the washers ?
Have you tried to flip the washers? Sometimes if you don't put the washers exactly back, that will throw the center off.
Have you tried to flip the pivot male/female assembly and tighten from the opposite side the blade is favoring ?
Can you order new washers ?
From the pics, IMO, it's not that far off and if you're that anal about it, maybe a fixed blade would be a better choice.
 
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I had a problem with centering on one of my homemade flippers and found a really old post on some obscure forum that fixed it. I'm not sure if it'll help, but it turned mine from rubbing a scale to dead center.

Tighten the pivot and loosen the backspacer screws. Stick a piece of folded paper between the blade and the scales that you want to move it away from and then tighten the backspacer screws.

Good luck and I hope this helps!
 
Looks plenty centered. :confused:

Is it rubbing? If not, stop worrying about it. It doesn't look that off to me at all from the picture. Trust me, I've seen (and not given a second thought to) much worse.

Talk to your loved ones a while. You'll miss them later on and feel like an oaf because you were too busy worrying about your blade being .0001 off center.
 
Ajack60 said:
Are the washer the same size ???? Have you tried to swap the washers ?
Have you tried to flip the washers? Sometimes if you don't put the washers exactly back, that will throw the center off.
Have you tried to flip the pivot male/female assembly and tighten from the opposite side the blade is favoring ?
Can you order new washers ?
From the pics, IMO, it's not that far off and if you're that anal about it, maybe a fixed blade would be a better choice.
Click to expand...

SharkStomper said:
I had a problem with centering on one of my homemade flippers and found a really old post on some obscure forum that fixed it. I'm not sure if it'll help, but it turned mine from rubbing a scale to dead center.

Tighten the pivot and loosen the backspacer screws. Stick a piece of folded paper between the blade and the scales that you want to move it away from and then tighten the backspacer screws.

Good luck and I hope this helps!
Click to expand...

I've tried these methods, unfortunately with no results. The bit that confuses me most is how Mr Sharp can get it perfectly centered but I can't seem to; there must be something I'm missing.
 
There's a Blade HQ youtube video called "How to Maintain a Pocket Knife with Lucas Burnley". There's a trick they mention that might help. The part I'm talking about is at around 9:57 in the video.
 
Lance Leon said:
I've tried these methods, unfortunately with no results. The bit that confuses me most is how Mr Sharp can get it perfectly centered but I can't seem to; there must be something I'm missing.
Click to expand...

Not trying to be an ass or anything, maybe, just maybe, the knife isn't meant for just anybody to take apart. I know some makers discourge their customers from taking their knife apart. That's why I like my fixed blades and CRK's. They come with the tools to take it apart.
 
AntDog said:
Looks plenty centered. :confused:

Is it rubbing? If not, stop worrying about it. If that thing is "off center", it's to such a degree that it's almost imperceptible from the picture you posted. Trust me, I've seen (and not given a second thought to) much worse.

Talk to your loved ones a while. You'll miss them later on and feel like an oaf because you were too busy worrying about your blade being .0001 off center.
Click to expand...
You're probably right. Still though, I find enjoyment in discussing these things and working them out. Maybe it's because solving problems in my hobbies is easier satisfaction than real problems in life. Anyways, I'm not too bent out of shape about it, but if I could fix it that'd be great.
 
Ajack60 said:
From the pics, IMO, it's not that far off and if you're that anal about it, maybe a fixed blade would be a better choice.
Click to expand...
Ajack60 said:
Not trying to be an ass or anything, maybe, just maybe, the knife isn't meant for just anybody to take apart. I know some makers discourge their customers from taking their knife apart. That's why I like my fixed blades and CRK's. They come with the tools to take it apart.
Click to expand...
Fixed blades are good and all, but I know folders can be centered even to my (admitted probably high) standards so why not try? Plus, taking apart folders is fun, y'know?

orangejoe35 said:
There's a Blade HQ youtube video called "How to Maintain a Pocket Knife with Lucas Burnley". There's a trick they mention that might help. The part I'm talking about is at around 9:57 in the video.
Click to expand...
Interesting, I'll try that out.
 
:)
Lance Leon said:
Hey guys, so I want to know if anyone else has ever experienced this with their knives, and how they dealt with it. I'm hoping this is the right area to post this.

Most of the time, I don't deal with off center knives; they'll be returned for a refund or I'll send them to a maker/modder to get them fixed. However, there are a couple of exceptions where they don't come off center, and it seems I've messed something up after disassembly/reassembly. This is the case with my Sharpwerks Framehorns. I have two of these, and it seems that they came from David centered...but after disassembly I could never get it back to perfect without tightening the pivots down to the point that they can't be opened.

It's probably not an issue with the tolerances, since they don't come off center, but what am I doing wrong that won't let them go back together right? I've tried assembling the screws in different orders, tightening down the pivot before the body screws then slowly releasing tension, reassembly with the blade half open and not locked, and assembly with the blade pushed away from the side it leans to. I feel like this is something that tends to happen with folders on washers, and isn't so much of an issue with bearing pivot systems. Any info or tips are welcome, or you can just share any experiences.

Here's a photo or two of one of my Framehorns:
View attachment 1016807 View attachment 1016808 View attachment 1016810

*yes, I know centering isn't a big deal to some...but my neuroticism is intense :D
Click to expand...

This should make you feel better :D

crook.jpg
 
Maybe contact the maker and see if he has any ideas? Also, stop taking knives apart unless you absolutely have to.
 
It annoys me too, I think in part because I deal with a lot of "uncentered" little stuff at work. Where things aren't maintained well/often enough (or more accurately we either often lack the right parts of aren't given the time due to bad logistical planning), so I do like the idea of at least keeping my knives properly maintained. Or maybe that's just an excuse for being slightly OCD with that kind of thing.
Ultimately it depends on the knife at times, I can live with a fidgety slightly off cente Para 2, but a straight forward Framelock I want as centered as possible. If it isn't rubbing and is pretty center I don't get too obsessive, as others have stated, there are more important things you can do with your time.
 
The paper method that SharkStomper described works.

Another trick I do is to tighten the pivot with the blade closed and then loosen the scale/liner screws. Now loosen the pivot just a tiny bit and use your hands to 'slide' the scales against each other and you can watch the blade tip move to a more centered position. Now holding the scales in this position under tension, tighten the scale screws one by one. When all the screws are tight and you release tension the blade may fall back a bit, but the position should be improved.
 
mt666tm said:
The paper method that SharkStomper described works.

Another trick I do is to tighten the pivot with the blade closed and then loosen the scale/liner screws. Now loosen the pivot just a tiny bit and use your hands to 'slide' the scales against each other and you can watch the blade tip move to a more centered position. Now holding the scales in this position under tension, tighten the scale screws one by one. When all the screws are tight and you release tension the blade may fall back a bit, but the position should be improved.
Click to expand...
The paper thing hasn't worked for me on this particular knife, unfortunately. I'll try the scale sliding/pressure tip later today. Thanks.
 
I never paid attention to off center folder blades until I started looking at reviews online. If the blade didn t touch the side of the frame, I didn t pay attention to it being off centered. Then I started to look at the centering and found the blades to be completely centered on only about half my new knives. The centered ones usually drifted off center after using them for a while. I was a little bothered by this.
Then, at Blade one year , I was able to get one of the last Sebenza 25s at the Chris Reeves table shortly after they first came out. They were scarce and I was delighted to get one. I noticed that the blade was off center about 55-60/45-40. Otherwise it felt extremely well made. Over the years of light use, but many openings and closings, the blade position hasn t changed one bit. I ve never disassembled it. But I decided it doesn t really matter whether this blade or any blade is completely centered as long as the knife is well made. At least to me it doesn t.
 
whp said:
I never paid attention to off center folder blades until I started looking at reviews online. If the blade didn t touch the side of the frame, I didn t pay attention to it being off centered. Then I started to look at the centering and found the blades to be completely centered on only about half my new knives. The centered ones usually drifted off center after using them for a while. I was a little bothered by this.
Then, at Blade one year , I was able to get one of the last Sebenza 25s at the Chris Reeves table shortly after they first came out. They were scarce and I was delighted to get one. I noticed that the blade was off center about 55-60/45-40. Otherwise it felt extremely well made. Over the years of light use, but many openings and closings, the blade position hasn t changed one bit. I ve never disassembled it. But I decided it doesn t really matter whether this blade or any blade is completely centered as long as the knife is well made. At least to me it doesn t.
Click to expand...
I can totally understand why some people don't care much about centering. If everything else about the knife is fine, centering is just a minor aesthetic disturbance, if anything at all. However, I know that blades can be centered, and when I'm paying the premium prices of customs, midtechs, and high end production knives, I expect the minor details to be perfect, even if there's little to no practical/functional value in those aspects.

What's more annoying to me in this case is that I know it can be centered, I just can't seem to do it myself. I love these Framehorns enough that I can live with the centering being a wee bit off, but why not fix it if possible, yeah?

As for the centering drifting you mentioned, I would suggest loctite to keep the pivots and body screws in adjustment so that they don't come loose over time. Unless the tolerances on the knife are very poor, loctite should be able to keep things in place without issues.
 
Maybe? I would imagine the makers knives probably start out just off center. Manipulate to center and ship. Then when said user takes the knife apart, bang. Knife is back to how it started. Maybe?
 
Put all the screws in loosly then tighten the screws down in different ways. I generally start with the rear screws then the pivot and or back again. Sometimes I'll try the reverse.

Another way is the hinderer method. Open the blade 45deg iirc and then do the adjusting. I think Shabazz has a video on this.
 
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