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Is SOME blade play acceptable on CRK's???

lemmuhj

lemmuhj

Joined
May 2, 2010
Messages
3,058
I don't think anyone likes blade play, but when does it become obsessive and a problem if one can feel SLIGHT play on your Sebenza or Umnum?

My Sebenza is 99.9 tight in all directions. There is super slight movement up and down, but i'm letting that go because i feel i'm using such force, that i'm actually moving the entire ti, making it feel like it has play. Any thoughts?

My umnum on the other hand has slight play up and down...NONE side to side.

thoughts?
 
There should be no play in the pivot and I don't think you have a problem in your knife judging from what you are saying.
 
If it doesn't bother you then I wouldn't worry about it. None of mine have up and down play, but if I hold the lockbar in the open position and wiggle the blade sideways I feel the slightest bit of play ever. And I mean very slight. It can only be felt with the lockbar isn't puting tension on the blade though. Its so small it doesn't even bother me.
 
What you feel is probably the hand holding the knife moving. When you really try to wiggle the blade, you might not notice your other hand moving around, if that makes any sense...
 
For the Umnumzaan, try squeezing the lock-bar over a bit more and see if the up and down wiggle disappears.
It may be due to the lock not engaging quite enough to compress the o-rings, especially if you're opening it slowly.
I tweaked the tension of the lock-bar on mine to get it the way I like it...solid in all directions.:)
 
My small sebenza is more solid than my xm18 was. If it wasn't however I'd send it in and have it fixed free of charge.
 
Here is what they had to say about blade play in the FAQ's
I was wondering if any Sebenzas have been returned for blade play due to wear
between the area of the blade tang and the surface of the liner that makes contact
with the blade? If so, would it be possible to purchase a lock side scale from you?

This is not something we have experienced because of "wear" - it can happen for some other reasons - after market modifications or screws not being tight or dirt in the lock or similar things.
We would not send out a lock side scale (or blade or other knife parts!) - we would ask that the knife be returned to us so that we can put right whatever it is that is not correct.(There may well be a charge for the repair, however and we would be in touch with the customer about it.) Part of what you get when you buy a Chris Reeve Knife is "service". It is important to us that the knives work the way they were intended and we will gladly work on any knife that needs it.

- Anne Reeve, 10/09/98

Just to clarify a point here, the pivot pin on the Sebenza is not asymetrical and is also not the part that you are thinking of in terms of rotation! The stop sleeve, against which the blade rests when the knife is open, can be rotated it necessary to get just a tiny bit of take-up.
If you go to our website at www.chrisreeve.com you will see detailed diagrams showing the relationship between the blade and pivot, the stop sleeve and the lock.

Lateral movement in the blade is not acceptable in a Sebenza. If there is play, there is something wrong and the best thing to do would be to send it to us so we can put it right.

- Chris and Anne Reeve, 10/09/98
 
Send it in of it has play in any direction. Especially of you didn't damage the knife or mis treat it and cause the play yourself. I'm pretty sure they will take care of it free of charge.
 
Some people (no-one here specific) can find play in any knife, what they sometimes do is actually flexing the blade by applying to much pressure. One should not be mistaking flexing of a blade vs actual blade play.

If there is blade play, then something is wrong. I had some bladeplay after my Sebenza fell 3m onto bricks, but that turned out only to be screws loosening.
 
I bought the mentioned Umnum off of ebay, and basically, got screwed.

When i received it, there was up and down play, so i sent it in to CRK. They sent it back, and it was far better than when i received it.....just not 100%(IMO, that;s why i'm asking)

I'm waiting on an email from CRK to see what they say. I talked to another member on another forum about it, and he said the lockbar might be out of whack?

No more buying expensive knives off of ebay for me
 
It's less noticeable on some than on others, but any framelock can be made to wiggle up and down if you give it enough force; one of the things that makes titanium so suitable for a leafspring locking mechanism is that it has that bit of give to it.
When first got my Umnumzaan, I noticed that I could force a bit of vertical play if I really, and I mean *really* tried to. I'm not even sure I could feel the play, I just noticed a slight but distinct separation of the thumbstuds from the frame. I spoke with CRK about this, and eventually sent the knife in for evaluation. A short while later I got a phone call from Chris himself, who explained over almost fifteen minutes that the phenomenon I had observed was normal. They sent my 'Zaan back with a bit more tension in the lockbar, which has made the issue almost unobservable. Before I sent it in, I was almost afraid to carry it for fear it might be defective, but since I've carried it almost daily, and used it, sometimes hard, with no problems at all. Very happy with the knife, and with CRK's service.
 
I'm thinking theres something a bit off with your thumb stops or the ceramic ball on the lockbar of your umnumzaan is worn down and not properly contacting the tang of the blade. Nothing to do with your lockbar because its not actually the lockbar contacting the tang of the blade but the ceramic ball. Maybe the previous owner liked to hammer with $400 knives. The ceramic ball is know to crack and fail under such usage as chopping, spine whacking, hammering nails, and batoning :rolleyes:. Just make sure its actually blade play and not just you moving the lockbar by cranking on the blade so hard. There's no way that should count as play.
 
missin_hobo said:
It's less noticeable on some than on others, but any framelock can be made to wiggle up and down if you give it enough force; one of the things that makes titanium so suitable for a leafspring locking mechanism is that it has that bit of give to it.
When first got my Umnumzaan, I noticed that I could force a bit of vertical play if I really, and I mean *really* tried to. I'm not even sure I could feel the play, I just noticed a slight but distinct separation of the thumbstuds from the frame. I spoke with CRK about this, and eventually sent the knife in for evaluation. A short while later I got a phone call from Chris himself, who explained over almost fifteen minutes that the phenomenon I had observed was normal. They sent my 'Zaan back with a bit more tension in the lockbar, which has made the issue almost unobservable. Before I sent it in, I was almost afraid to carry it for fear it might be defective, but since I've carried it almost daily, and used it, sometimes hard, with no problems at all. Very happy with the knife, and with CRK's service.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what i'm feeling when i *really* try to force vertical play....especially when you described slight seperation of the thumbstuds from the frame. Thanks for your post because this is exactly the explanation i was looking for!!
 
kawr said:
I'm thinking theres something a bit off with your thumb stops or the ceramic ball on the lockbar of your umnumzaan is worn down and not properly contacting the tang of the blade. Nothing to do with your lockbar because its not actually the lockbar contacting the tang of the blade but the ceramic ball. Maybe the previous owner liked to hammer with $400 knives. The ceramic ball is know to crack and fail under such usage as chopping, spine whacking, hammering nails, and batoning :rolleyes:. Just make sure its actually blade play and not just you moving the lockbar by cranking on the blade so hard. There's no way that should count as play.
Click to expand...

This is what i thought initially when i started cranking on the blade, that maybe i was moving the lockbar, but i tried different grasps to see if maybe i was doing that...thanks for the reply
 
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