Loose closed blades... what to do?

Kiro

Kiro

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Mar 17, 2017
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I now have two GEC knives with blades that are loose when closed, but not when open. I'm not sure if there is anything to be done. I don't necessarily view it as a defect, so sending to GEC seems overkill. I'm wondering if anyone else is seeing this occasionally, and what my options are to reduce or eliminate it.

Also, what causes this? Uneven blade tang? Misaligned bolster / pin?

1st is a new Chestnut 99. The blade can be pushed back and forth in the blade well and will stay toward either side. But it doesn't rub. The tradeoff seems to be that it has by far the least wiggle when open of any of my 4 GEC lock backs.

2nd is a 68, with a clip main and pen secondary on a single spring. The pen is so loose that it will rattle when I shake the knife with the clip open. However, the pen is perfectly tight when open. I adore the size and look, but often don't carry it because the loose pen drives me bonkers.
 
I have had this happen a few times, I think there are a couple of things that could cause this but in my case it seems to be an uneven tang as you mention. Not sure if that can be fixed...
 
Kiro said:
I now have two GEC knives with blades that are loose when closed, but not when open. I'm not sure if there is anything to be done. I don't necessarily view it as a defect, so sending to GEC seems overkill. I'm wondering if anyone else is seeing this occasionally, and what my options are to reduce or eliminate it.
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It certainly IS a defect. If they're new knives, I'd return them for an exchange or refund :thumbsup:
 
Jack Black said:
It certainly IS a defect. If they're new knives, I'd return them for an exchange or refund :thumbsup:
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Thanks for the feedback, man. Maybe I should adjust my expectations on it. The 99 is new, but second hand. The 68, is very second hand.
 
Kiro said:
Thanks for the feedback, man. Maybe I should adjust my expectations on it. The 99 is new, but second hand. The 68, is very second hand.
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Sorry to hear that. If those knives were sold without the fault being listed, I'd say that they were sold unfairly :thumbsdown: I hope you can get your money back, at least for the 99 :thumbsup:
 
Send the knives to GEC. It shouldn't matter that they are used. Any well made knife should not do that even with as designed use. Even the knives I've used heavily and have shown here in the Traditional forum have not displayed the type of blade movement you described.
 
I should add that the knives where I have seen this are either very old or far cheaper than a GEC.
 
I recently purchased a Case Swayback that was loose in the same manner (usually this pattern is spot on), it's in Bradford now on the repair bench. No way is that acceptable.
 
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Thanks for the comments, everyone. I guess I wasn't sure about the "defect" designation because both knives operate safely and work perfectly well when open. I'll contact GEC and see how it goes.
 
Do they rattle around or something? Or can it be pushed? I have custom knives that can be pushed a bit back and forth but land fairly centered. I don't see how that can be fixed personally. To me it says stuff wasn't good and flat or holes weren't drilled strait before it was put together. Hope they get ya fixed up.
 
I find it bizarre that a Pen blade could rattle when closed and yet be tight and functional when open? I mean the 68 is a Penknife with single spring so there won't be much room inside the well for any movement :confused: A short video could be sent to GEC for their comments.
 
I don't consider side to side movement in a lock back while closed a defect. Like ccsavage, I have a custom knife with that same attribute, plus a Case-Bose, Camillus and Queen-made Winchester. The movement is slight, has no effect on function and the blade doesn't rub on the liner. Now my modern lockbacks, Spyderco, don't wiggle.
 
brownshoe said:
I don't consider side to side movement in a lock back while closed a defect. Like ccsavage, I have a custom knife with that same attribute, plus a Case-Bose, Camillus and Queen-made Winchester. The movement is slight, has no effect on function and the blade doesn't rub on the liner. Now my modern lockbacks, Spyderco, don't wiggle.
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Yeah, it's a little more than just wiggle on the lock back. When I close, it can land in a different spots. I can push the blade back and forth in the well and it will stay wherever it gets pushed. But as you say, no real effect on the function.
 
Will Power said:
I find it bizarre that a Pen blade could rattle when closed and yet be tight and functional when open? I mean the 68 is a Penknife with single spring so there won't be much room inside the well for any movement :confused: A short video could be sent to GEC for their comments.
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I know! It's weird. As soon as I get the pen blade about 1/3 through it's opening rotation (around 60 degrees), it's tight. Less than that and I can feel wiggle. I can put my finger on the closed tang and move the blade. Rattling is from the blade hitting the closest liner.
 
Ah, the video really helped. On the 68, the catch bit is holding the spring higher than the blade tang in the closed position. This is either from the factory that way, or the tang on that pen blade has worn down enough to produce a gap. The tang on the pen blade is not uniform between the open and closed position, that is why it's tight when open, sloppy when closed.

PS. check to see that the catchbit is not askew in the frame, that could be making the spring ride higher than usual. Is the spring flush with the liners in the closed position?
 
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