Is blade wobble normal?

flipe8

flipe8

Joined
Oct 24, 2005
Messages
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Hi guys. Lately, I've noticed that my small Sebbie has some lateral blade play when I disengage the lock bar. It's also very slightly noticeable when locked up, probably due to me scutinizing it now. When you hold the lock bar off the blade(like when you're disengaging the lock), do you also notice this wobble? It also seems that the blade is slightly off-center. I'm going to take it apart and reassemble, but I'm a little stressed by this:confused: . Am I being far too anal about this, or is this something that sounds out of whack?
Thanks for any input.
 
I dont think that sounds normal for a Sebenza, none of mine seem to have any blade play in any direction and all the blades seem to be centered when closed. I'd disassemble it, clean and relube it, put it back together. See if that helps, if not, send it into CRK, they'll make it right.
 
flipe8 said:
When you hold the lock bar off the blade(like when you're disengaging the lock), do you also notice this wobble?
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Yes this happens on all of my Sebenzas.

Your blade being off centred is a different issue though. I would say try taking it apart and putting it together again and if that doesnt resolve the issue send it back to CRK. They'll do you right.
 
I don't think I have a perfectly 100% centered blade when closed seb. I think that is normal.

I just checked two sebs I have here handy, absolutely no wobble side to side witht he lock bar off.

Check to see you pivot is tight, I would consider it not normal.
 
I have a sebbie! They are and should be centered and wobble free in either direction. Have disaassembled it lately ? Improper assembly will cause this. The bushings have to be in correctly relative to the bearing inside the blade.
 
The wobble was also present on my version, a small regular one.
You could only feel it when the lockbar was held disengaged, but nonetheless it bothered me.

The cause was the pivotbushing which was a few microns to long, i solved it by gently polishing both sides of this bushing on a fine Spyderco benchstone.
Just put the cleaned bushing upright on the stone, put the tip of your finger on it (without too much pressure) and slowly make circles with it.

Do this very carefully however, just a little polishing and then reassemble the knife.
If not allright, dissassemble the knife again and continue to polish a little, then assemble again and try it out.
Mine is now absolutely playfree in all directions.

By the way, i had to follow the same procedure on my plain jane Umfaan, as it had exactly the same problem.

Good luck and be very sensitive when using this procedure, too much polishing will cause the blade to stick when opening it.
You will have to correct this then by polishing the washers a little.
 
I'm a little suprised actually about the bladeplay not being normal when the lock is disengaged. All my sebs (including an annual edition) have had that same trait.

I wonder what CRK's take on this is.
 
I don't see why it should wobble when the lock is disengaged if it doesn't when the lock is engaged. The lock should have no effect on the pivot bushing, which is what prevents bladeplay in the first place. If reassembly doesn't fix it, I would contact CRK. You should not have to settle for second best - CRK has the reputation of perfect fit and finish for a reason. My Sebenza has no blade play locked or without lock pressure, and is perfectly centered when closed. Maybe you got a fluke.
 
You shouldn't have ANY play whatssoever..seems to me someone slipped up on there QC,If it was me I'd send it back and have them check it out,call Heather first she'll let you know what to do and she'll call you when its on its way back home..just my 2 cents worth.:D

Dave
 
Thanks for the input guys. I think I'm gonna send to the factory as there is play-enough that you can hear it and certainly feel it and the knife is off-center to the non-lock side when the blade is closed.I'm tempted to attempt fixing it as the thought of sending it away and having to wait for God knows how long really doesn't do much for me, especially when you add the worries about border problems in. Any idea how long the wait might be?

I just reassembled the knife and didn't tighten the screws as much on the back of the knife while tightening the pivot a bit more and the blade appears to have centered a bit better. I can live with the slight play while unlocked as long as that's where it ends. I just contacted CRK and was told while it isn't really "normal", as long as there isn't any play while locked up , it shouldn't be an issue. That is, unless I feel it is bothersome. If so, I was told to send it back for some TLC. Good to know they're behind whatever I choose to do.
 
flipe8 said:
Thanks for the input guys. I think I'm gonna send to the factory as there is play-enough that you can hear it and certainly feel it and the knife is off-center to the non-lock side when the blade is closed.I'm tempted to attempt fixing it as the thought of sending it away and having to wait for God knows how long really doesn't do much for me, especially when you add the worries about border problems in. Any idea how long the wait might be?
I just reassembled the knife and didn't tighten the screws as much on the back of the knife while tightening the pivot a bit more and the blade appears to have centered a bit better. I can live with the slight play while unlocked as long as that's where it ends. I just contacted CRK and was told while it isn't really "normal", as long as there isn't any play while locked up , it shouldn't be an issue. That is, unless I feel it is bothersome. If so, I was told to send it back for some TLC. Good to know they're behind whatever I choose to do.
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If I recall, you bought this Sebenza on the secondary market- so there is no way to really know what it went through before you got it nor how many guys had it and used it before you finally did get it.

Blade play is not acceptable. I have NEVER had a Sebenza come in here that had any blade play whatsoever. As you all know, I only get my Sebenzas directly from CRK and they are all brand new.

Anyway, take it apart again- clean it and then bend the spring just a bit to the right before you re-assemble. I suspect that will correct the blade play that you are experiencing.

Concerning the tip being centered. Depending on how much it is off, this is also not right, but the factory does have tolerances and a slightly off center blade is ok, in terms of the performance of the knife. In addition, two people can disagree on what is off and not off.

Hope it works out for you.

Neil

3crom You shouldn't have ANY play whatssoever..seems to me someone slipped up on there QC,If it was me I'd send it back and have them check it out,call Heather first she'll let you know what to do and she'll call you when its on its way back home..just my 2 cents worth.
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3crom- Before you accuse CRK's QC, remember that if the knife was acquired new from CRK, I can almost assure you that their QC would have caught that. Get their DVD, The Exquisite Blade, and see their QC in action.

Neil
 
weird. you sure you guys got tight pivots?

I've never had that problem.
 
I just tightened the pivots on my large classic and small regular and there's still that bit of bladeplay. Just to emphasize again though, this is only when the lockbar is NOT engaged.

When the lockbar is engaged there is no play whatsoever in either direction.
 
Blade play on a Sebenza is not right IMO. I'd send it in and have CRK fix it up for you.

The blade centering issue, if it's a small error, is acceptable I think. My Seb's blade is just ever so slightly off to one side, barely noticeable. Doesn't bother me at all (it's still more precise then the other 98% of knives out there....and a good portion of the remaining 2% is made up of other CRK's) Now if it's really noticeable then that is also a reason to send it in though.
 
People having play (while the lock is not engaged) while some do not, can probably be explained by how much the knife has been cycled. The knife does wear. The lock bar does help tighten up the tiny bit of play.
 
Never had this problem with my sebbie. I have seen it in many linerlock knives though. Send it in and CRKwill fix it.
 
My large classic is absolutely bladeplay free, regardless of the lock. I also suspect that the bladeplay/offcentered blade is not normal. I also know that correct assembly is imperative to correct functioning. ALWAYS make sure that the washers and bearing are seated correct and that the washer has not lifted the bearing causing the problem you have.
 
NONE of my Sebbies have ever had any blade play!!! I would do what Neil suggested and/ or send it back to CRK for them to fix.
 
I've taken it apart and done a full cleaning and lube. The knife does still have that little wobble. I should state again that it's not there when the lock is engaged. Looking at the blade, it isn't that bad(very minor) and almost appears to be worse than it really is as it's hard to accurately measure the distance in comparison to the lock "scallops" on the other side. Overall, it's not really that bad, but I was more more less looking for input from the rest of you.
As Neil stated, I did buy this knife used, but to clarify, it came in pristine condition and it was about 3 weeks old, based on it's date of birth to the day I got it. Factor in a week or so travel time and you don't have much time to use the knife enough to damage it while still having it look pristine. So, that leaves me to draw the conclusion that the knife was new, as described.
Also, I would never send it back to CRK without them knowing I wasn't the original buyer and would have no problem paying for any repairs, if they were needed.
Thanks again guys for your input.
 
On Sebenza style knifes, the tightness of the pivot is determined by the thickness of the washers/thust bearings on each side of the blade. If they are too thin, the blade will wobble, and the thightness of the screw will not correct it. It can be fixed by making one or both of the washers SLIGHTLY thicker. As a test, try putting a piece of scotch tape on one of the washers, effectivly increasing its thickness, use an x-acto knife and cut away the tape in the center of the washer so the bushing passes through, and reassemlbe the knife to see it it is tight and wobble free. If this corrects it, you can get some appropriate thickness shim stock and make a permanent washer.

Bill Cunningham
Atlanta
 
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