Nylon Washer squish Vs BladePlay

G

Gideons

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Dec 9, 2015
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Hello

Spending so much on a knife, especially a hard use knife I really hate bladeplay. All my ZT's have absolutely zero bladeplay, my domino has zero blade play. So, I expect nothing less in a XM-18. I was wondering, how can you tell the difference? It is very small movement, but I cannot tell if it is bladeplay or the nylon washer squishing. I know I've made a thread similar to this, but I was playing with my XM-18's and it was bothering me.

-Gideons
 
Many folding knives have a blade that can be slightly flexed side to side. This is not the same as bladeplay. As long as it is just flex and not bladeplayit should be fine.
 
Lapedog said:
Many folding knives have a blade that can be slightly flexed side to side. This is not the same as bladeplay. As long as it is just flex and not bladeplayit should be fine.
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How do You tell the difference? Both are movement
 
Gideons said:
How do You tell the difference? Both are movement
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If the knife is overall tight and you can use muscle to force a little side to side play then that is likely flex.

Bladeplay doesn't require as much force due to it being caused by looseness. There is no 100% way to tell but if it is enough that it bothers you then send it in.
 
Lapedog said:
If the knife is overall tight and you can use muscle to force a little side to side play then that is likely flex.

Bladeplay doesn't require as much force due to it being caused by looseness. There is no 100% way to tell but if it is enough that it bothers you then send it in.
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Can't really atm, Customs have been really strict so I can't take the risk. Ahh, okay, I may be feeling flex than, not side to side play. Wouldn't blade flex possibly cause unusual pressures on the knife during use that could be problematic? Is XM-18 known for blade flex?
 
I can only speak from my own experience. I have six Hinderers now & none of them have any blade play or flex unless I loosen the pivot. If the teflon washers worry you, there are phosphor-bronze washers available as aftermarket items.
 
Ironbut said:
I can only speak from my own experience. I have six Hinderers now & none of them have any blade play or flex unless I loosen the pivot. If the teflon washers worry you, there are phosphor-bronze washers available as aftermarket items.
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For me, maybe I just need some loctite, but it just seems to be extremely delicate that 1mm it gets flex, and 1mm the other way doesn't really deploy. Kinda surprised me how finicky they seem to be.
 
Gideons said:
For me, maybe I just need some loctite, but it just seems to be extremely delicate that 1mm it gets flex, and 1mm the other way doesn't really deploy. Kinda surprised me how finicky they seem to be.
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Where I live the Canadian customs are terrible about knives. Try and order those replacement pb washers if anything.
 
Gideons said:
For me, maybe I just need some loctite, but it just seems to be extremely delicate that 1mm it gets flex, and 1mm the other way doesn't really deploy. Kinda surprised me how finicky they seem to be.
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You can use blue loctite sparingly, purple would even be better. I'd avoid red loctite on pivots. Usually the difference between too tight, just right & sloppy loose is only a matter of a couple degrees pivot movement.
 
Could you ship it disassembled? We have a customer in Canada that has us send all his knives completely broken down. This guy orders a ton of knives from us and a couple of other dealers. Says he has never had a single problem even when customs has opened and looked them. Just a thought.
 
whitty said:
Could you ship it disassembled? We have a customer in Canada that has us send all his knives completely broken down. This guy orders a ton of knives from us and a couple of other dealers. Says he has never had a single problem even when customs has opened and looked them. Just a thought.
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True, I spoke to some people in PM, I think I will buy some PB washers are will see. Also, currently my XM-18 is at around 50-55% lockup. I assume, over the years it will continue to age. What happens when the framelock will be at 100%, does hinderer replace/sell them?
 
Gideons said:
True, I spoke to some people in PM, I think I will buy some PB washers are will see. Also, currently my XM-18 is at around 50-55% lockup. I assume, over the years it will continue to age. What happens when the framelock will be at 100%, does hinderer replace/sell them?
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Quit worrying about arbitrary problems and just use your knife.
 
Can't speak for Hinderer's blade play/flex, but I can say that nearly all of my knives have some sort of side to side flex if you apply enough force. It's not a big problem.

If your knife has some vertical play or wobbled when you tried to cut material, then I'd be concerned. Trust me you'd notice the wobble.
 
I'll never buy Teflon washer knives if I can help it. Not my thing. I think it's wrong. Pass on hinderer's. Zt does hinderer's better than hinderer IMHO.
 
Mo2 said:
I'll never buy Teflon washer knives if I can help it. Not my thing. I think it's wrong. Pass on hinderer's. Zt does hinderer's better than hinderer IMHO.
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For me, I prefer my knives to be between 3.5 - 3.6 just found for my usage the 0560BW a little large. If, the 0562 had the same traction as the 0560 or XM-18 I could agree. I do love ZT and own many of their knives however IMO hinderer still makes the better knife.
 
McFeeli said:
Can't speak for Hinderer's blade play/flex, but I can say that nearly all of my knives have some sort of side to side flex if you apply enough force. It's not a big problem.

If your knife has some vertical play or wobbled when you tried to cut material, then I'd be concerned. Trust me you'd notice the wobble.
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yeah haha, it doesn't affect anything. Sometimes when I fidget with knives a lot and the small stuff can start to bother me, isn't practical IK :P
 
Blues Bender said:
My point is that the knife will be fine. How many times have you heard of an XM with 100% lockup?

That's a rhetorical question, by the way...
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Oh, I know. Felt like replying anyways. I've never heard of that. I mean, it is no secret ti locks wear down. My lock in the knife I use has moved from about 35-50%. So, why should it stop the more I use the knife? It may take a lot of time, and use to get there - but wouldn't it be inevitable?
 
I think it is difficult to decribe the difference in words. If you really want to confirm, then i would suggest loosening your pivot so you can feel the blade play on the knife, then gradually tighten it back up checking how it feels along the way. but just know that most folding knives have a degree of flex that is not considered blade play. the best way i can desrcribe it is when it feels loose enough that you feel compelled to tighten the pivot. But too tight and it affects the opening of the blade.
 
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