I'm obsessed with blade-play...can anyone tell me why?

VermontEdge

VermontEdge

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Jun 10, 2015
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Pretty simple topic. I fiddle with my pivots all the time, tightening...loosening...and then staring off contemplatively as I wiggle the blade back and forth to see if there's even the slightest bit of play.

Am I crazy? I mean, I know that to a certain extend I am but...is there any real benefit to a rock solid and play-less blade? Or is it something that people focus on rather because it's an indicator of the overall quality of a knife?

Any other pivot freaks out there like me?
 
VermontEdge said:
Pretty simple topic. I fiddle with my pivots all the time, tightening...loosening...and then staring off contemplatively as I wiggle the blade back and forth to see if there's even the slightest bit of play.

Am I crazy? I mean, I know that to a certain extend I am but...is there any real benefit to a rock solid and play-less blade? Or is it something that people focus on rather because it's an indicator of the overall quality of a knife?

Any other pivot freaks out there like me?
Click to expand...

Probably.
 
It's a marker of quality to me. One of the reasons (but not the primary reason) that I've fallen out of love with OTFs is the inherent blade play in production OTFs. I understand that it's a high-quality knife that will not fail me, but there is a part of me that screams bloody murder when I realize I am holding a $350 knife that has a blade that wiggles when "locked" open.

On cheaper knives, I feel as if it signifies impending failure. On premium knives, I feel like it represents poor quality control.

It's very much in line with the fixation some people have on blade centering or lockup percentage. You can argue that it represents a danger or poor manufacturing standards, but about 90% of the time it's just the owner suffering from hobbyist-perfectionism syndrome, which is a disease I just made up.
 
Kind of on the same note as Comeuppance, It depends upon the knife. If you are obsessed with Blade Play on a $10 flea market knife then you have a problem. If you are obsessed with it on $150 plus knives, I understand it. You pay a premium and expect and want it to be perfect. The question I have is at what point of serious usage and wear do you expect some blade play to become possible on any folder, no matter the price?
 
I always check a knife for excessive blade play, but it is not practical to expect a folding knife to have absolutely zero blade play. If I need a real knife I grab a fixed blade, folders are all about convenience and concealment for me.
 
I am almost compulsive on this. I will flip a knife for hours, periodically feeling the lockup for play. If any appears, I flip the snuff out and grab the torx bits and go to town. I do it to every knife I own.... I need help.
 
Lateral blade play (and lock rock), on a new folder, is an absolute disappointment in my book. It is an indication of poor fit and/or poor QC. That's why I tend to buy cheaper folders over the counter : test them, if OK... buy them. On a 100 $ and + knife, it deserves an immediate return. The most important (and most stressed) part of a folder suffers no approximation, IMO. And it will develop play under use over time anyway ! So why start with a weak build from the start ? What boggles my mind is how many expensive folders I received with blade play ! (I did hammer the pivot on some, I confess, because I was bored with sending them back...). It worked. I'm less picky on other F&F issues, if not excessive. So I guess, I'm not that crazy...
 
Years ago, I never thought about it. But honestly, it was never really a problem that I noticed. Even some of the inexpensive Gerbers had little blade play. The worst knives that I purchased with blade play were a couple SOGs that I picked up as work knives. They didn't last long and I didn't replace them.

Blade play is just another measure of manufacturing tolerances and QA/QC. I check even inexpensive knives for blade play at this point and usually don't buy them as a result. Blade centering is less important to me as long as the blade does not rub the liners.
 
I've come to experience in the knife world, you get what you pay for. Inexpensive knife equates to inefficiencies that include blade play. There are knives that don't have that trait, but you pay for that level of quality. It does not bother me a bit that some of my knives have blade play, I've come to expect it in some of my knives.
 
Some folks say that a folding knife is a broken knife. I disagree with that although I could to a degree accept a folding knife is a potentially broken knife.
But as far as I'm concerned a folding knife with bladeplay IS a broken knife. I would no more use a folder with bladeplay as I would a hammer
with a head that wiggles or a screwdriver with an end that wobbles. I don't consider bladeplay to be some esoteric quality about knives that warrant
any deep analysis. Fix it or return it.
 
I hate blade play- up, down or sideways.
If I'm looking at a knife to purchase and there's ANY play I immediately reject it.
If there's any play in any of the knives I own and it can't be remedied it goes into the parts bin.
It is a deal breaker for me. Can't tolerate it. There are no excuses.
 
It depends. Something like a lock back knife is prone to blade play so realizing that going in, it's not a huge deal in my opinion. On a $300 lock back, if everything else was perfect, I wouldn't have a problem with a little blade play. Almost all of GEC's lockbacks have significant blade play and those are 70 to 120 dollar knives.
 
It would definitely bother me on a brand new knife but If I use a knife for a few year and it develops some play its not a big deal.
 
I can't stand blade play either, however, 'play' can be causes by many factors....

A pivot being too loose has an obvious fix, and I have yet to own a knife, regardless of the price, that won't exhibit play when the pivot is too loose.
It can be argued that some knives exhibit play if you just make the pivot a touch looser, and that is annoying.

Blade play caused by poor lock bar geometry, an improper angle on the tang, or a combination of both is what drives me crazy......
 
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