Is this knife defective? SUPER weak/nonexistent detent

M

mbp

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Jan 26, 2015
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Hey everyone, need your input. I purchased a custom knife from one of my favorite makers on the auction website. Price was great and the seller didn't disclose any issues. The knife arrives and it has basically no detent. The knife is easily shaken open, and the one time I tried to carry it, it opened in my pocket. The knife is hard to flip because the lightest pressure on the flipper will push the blade out. I tried tightening the pivot and it made no difference.

I don't want to try to tune the knife up a lot more because at this point I'm wondering if this could be described as defective. I have had a number of knives from the maker and the fit and finish has always been perfect, but I have no idea what this knife's history is, so I can't be sure of whether the knife came this way or was modified or damaged.

I already contacted the seller (who also made an error in the specs on the listing that I'm not happy about) and he is adamant that the knife is fine, my disagreement is just a matter of taste, and he won't take a return and will fight a dispute.

What do you guys think? Is this knife defective or does it just have a light detent that's within normal range? See video below.

[video]https://goo.gl/photos/fjjkhBHMvEjbUxKF6[/video]
 
I agree with blues bender it looks OK to me also .
Seems like you have to shake it pretty hard and fast to release the blade. As far as not as described correctly on specs I guess that depends on what to determine its severity.
 
I shot another video that I think shows the issue better. The first time I was using my left hand, so I was more awkward. This time I was using my right. I think it's easier to tell that it requires very little to get the blade out.

https://goo.gl/photos/uf5SK6BskjjMctqk9
 
Have you contacted the maker?
I've seen a certain Benchmade model that came with a very light detent. It has the detent ball and it has the hole in the blade, but I believe the hole in the blade is manufactured too small to give the amount of detent that is normal today. So maybe there is a manufacturing problem with your knife.

Personally I don't require knives to have a lot of detent but I like a reasonable amount. I have a ZT 0561 that has a LOT of detent. I cannot open it using my thumb on the thumb stud, but the flipper works well. Once I put enough pull on the flipper to overcome the detent, there is enough force to make the blade open very fast. From this I can see where a flipper needs a lot of detent. But I'm not a true flipper fan.
 
Hard to tell from that video .
Really would have to handle it to tell . Some knives do have a weaker detent but doesn't necessarily mean it's defective. The ones with a weaker detent you just have to use a little wrist flick when opening .

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It does look rather weak in that second vid, especially for a flipper. I'm not familiar with that knife, so I don't know if it's a defective knife or just a design flaw. I've got a couple mid tech flippers that have a weaker detent than I'd prefer, but I think it's a characteristic of the way those were designed. I suggest trying to contact the maker, if possible, and see what they have to say.
 
I would agree that there isn't much of a detent, especially after watching the second video...

I certainly would not be happy with that.
 
I'm not so much upset by the bad flipping action, I'm more actually worried about carrying the knife. Like I said, I pocketed it once and it was open in my pocket when I went to get it out.

The maker's knives usually have a lighter detent but nothing like this at all. I thought about contacting him, but honestly I want to return the knife to the seller at this point, and I'm just trying to get a sense for whether I'm in the right or wrong since I'm going to need to file a dispute. The seller's listing advertised it as a 3 1/4" blade as well when it's actually 3 1/2".
 
The discrepancy on length could be one person measuring from the tip of the blade to the handle and the other just measuring the cutting edge length. I've seen manufacturers and retailers use different measuring standards many times. As far as the detent, I wouldn't like it either, but I wouldn't necessarily place the blame on the seller until I found out from the maker if that's how he designed it.
 
I bought a 0560 that had really weak detent like that, I sent it right back to ZT for work.
 
I wouldn't own a knife that opens that easily, but I only buy Cold Steel folders and they are hard to open, if anything.
 
Looks good. I have two knives with detents that light. If you want, send it back to the maker and have him re-drill and put a bigger bearing in that is not pressed in so deep, or to the "right" amount. Even the same size not so deep is possible, maybe. It is not defective by any means!! I don't mind a light detent at all, but if you do, I definitely suggest you talk with the maker and see if you can fix it, should be very very easy!
 
This might be a little off topic but I will give a try in case it is something you want to try if you really like the knife and want to avoid the hassle of waiting to get another.

First off I have no flippers. Compared to these guys I don't have a lot of knives.

I do have and like frame locks and have several.
I bought a Titanium handled knife with a frame lock that was some what notorious for developing looseness in the lock but not necessarily from traveling too far. The knife had a blade material I wanted to try so I bought the knife with eyes wide open.

Turns out I got play in the lock. The knife has a ceramic ball that drops into a detent to hold the knife closed. So that is where it is similar to your knife.

I was able to take the knife apart, bend the Ti frame lock bar over some and reassemble. Now the lock / blade have zero play. Perhaps doing the same would put more holding power on the ball / detent hole and so hold your knife closed safely.

It didn't take much force to bend mine and it can be over done so maybe some trial and error is in order. I was happy with my first attempt but didn't bend it much.

PS: another thought; make sure the detent hole is cleaned out and the ball lubed.
 
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Lock bar tension looks to weak, take the knife apart and bent it just a little more inwards :)
 
Looks too light for my taste. I want to see more detent than that. I had a XM-18, just about lik e that in detent, which opened several times in my pocket, and I sold it quickly.
Some may like that light detent; I don't.
What's with the builder that he won't look at it and try to "fix it" for you? I'm not happy with that...
 
Sonnydaze said:
Looks too light for my taste. I want to see more detent than that. I had a XM-18, just about lik e that in detent, which opened several times in my pocket, and I sold it quickly.
Some may like that light detent; I don't.
What's with the builder that he won't look at it and try to "fix it" for you? I'm not happy with that...
Click to expand...
I believe the seller and maker are two different people if I read his first post correctly .

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