a couple of factors and contingencies determine whether a knife with a non centered blade will be returned to the seller by me, or operated upon, to attempt centering it, on my own - in the extremely unlikely event i am unable to perform successful surgical centering on my own, then it's going back to whence it had come - because even if i am able to convince myself it is merely cosmetic (unless the blade is making contact with any part of the knife, placing undue stress upon a bushing or in any way likely to cause latent damage), i will inevitably come home drunk one evening, and teach that non centered blade a lesson in symmetry the hard way - ask my crkt m16-zsf, which met an untimely demise, in this manner - i used that relatively soft aus8 steel to perform tasks it had no business attempting - i woke up to a demolished blade - reparable, maybe - but i prefer to keep it in its beaten condition, as an explicit reminder, that no matter how much i rationalize i can accept a non centered blade, i simply can not - lol -
first and foremost, if i am very desirous of a knife and i have no choice but to purchase it online from a reputable seller, i will start the process by purchasing 2 of same exact knives in every respect - in doing so, i am taking advantage of the law of averages, to some extent, by increasing the likelihood of a centered blade, having 2 to examine, instead of 1 - if either is centered, i will immediately return the non centered or less centered knife and keep the centered one, unless exigent circumstances apply - end of story, right ? not quite - lol -
in the event either of the 2 knives are, with the exception of the non centered blade, absolutely PERFECT in every other respect, i will then immediately send the non perfect one back to the seller and perform surgery on the otherwise perfect knife - when i use the term "perfect" in this respect i mean
- zero blade play of any kind, whatsoever
- the knife is aesthetically perfect, having no scratches, no issues with the blade coating, if applicable
- the non centered blade must not be dented, chipped, etc., in any manner or degree, no matter how small and hard to notice it may be
- the symmetry and proportionality in connection with the grind and edge, must be perfect
- a clean bill of health is the result of a thorough inspection of every other aspect of the knife
if one of the 2 knives meets ALL of the above criteria, i will then immediately perform surgery, in an effort to center the blade, which, i must say, is rather easy in most instances - i thus far have a 100% success rate - the biggest pain in the ass, by far, was the benchmade 757 vicar - the blades on both of the 2 purchased by me were shockingly pressed against the side of the linerlock side of the liner, but it was most pronounced and visible, close to the tip of the blade, when closed, of course - all my skills and tools that successfully centered many a non centered blade, initially failed to work - no matter what i would do, when the pivot was tightened to achieve the sweet spot, the stubborn blade would move at the same tempo and de-center itself, again - i finally figured out the culprit, rectified the issue and now enjoy a perfectly centered blade on a knife that was now perfect, in every respect, including a perfectly centered blade - the other vicar was sent back to the seller -
nevertheless, a knife for which the msrp is $300.00, but purchasable online for approximately $250.00, should not have left the factory with an OBSCENELY, DISGRACEFULLY and MASSIVELY non centered blade - what in the world are they thinking ??? by the way, it is not an original production model -
i will only perform surgery, if the knife is absolutely perfect in every other respect - otherwise, both knives get returned, rightfully so - i'm not busting my hump or spending any time fixing a blade centering issue, when a knife has other shortcomings or defects -
the only reason i carve out an exception for an otherwise perfect knife and fix it myself despite the inherent wrongfulness of doing so, is that i have learned the hard way, that when you exchange your otherwise perfect knife, for a knife the seller has guaranteed will arrive with a centered blade after discussing the issue with them, you can almost rest assured that the knife will arrive as promised, with a centered blade, and at least one other non fixable defect of some sort, albeit possibly small -
thus, if final victory (absolute perfection) is within reach, go for it, center that blade yourself, and enjoy your perfect knife -
first and foremost, if i am very desirous of a knife and i have no choice but to purchase it online from a reputable seller, i will start the process by purchasing 2 of same exact knives in every respect - in doing so, i am taking advantage of the law of averages, to some extent, by increasing the likelihood of a centered blade, having 2 to examine, instead of 1 - if either is centered, i will immediately return the non centered or less centered knife and keep the centered one, unless exigent circumstances apply - end of story, right ? not quite - lol -
in the event either of the 2 knives are, with the exception of the non centered blade, absolutely PERFECT in every other respect, i will then immediately send the non perfect one back to the seller and perform surgery on the otherwise perfect knife - when i use the term "perfect" in this respect i mean
- zero blade play of any kind, whatsoever
- the knife is aesthetically perfect, having no scratches, no issues with the blade coating, if applicable
- the non centered blade must not be dented, chipped, etc., in any manner or degree, no matter how small and hard to notice it may be
- the symmetry and proportionality in connection with the grind and edge, must be perfect
- a clean bill of health is the result of a thorough inspection of every other aspect of the knife
if one of the 2 knives meets ALL of the above criteria, i will then immediately perform surgery, in an effort to center the blade, which, i must say, is rather easy in most instances - i thus far have a 100% success rate - the biggest pain in the ass, by far, was the benchmade 757 vicar - the blades on both of the 2 purchased by me were shockingly pressed against the side of the linerlock side of the liner, but it was most pronounced and visible, close to the tip of the blade, when closed, of course - all my skills and tools that successfully centered many a non centered blade, initially failed to work - no matter what i would do, when the pivot was tightened to achieve the sweet spot, the stubborn blade would move at the same tempo and de-center itself, again - i finally figured out the culprit, rectified the issue and now enjoy a perfectly centered blade on a knife that was now perfect, in every respect, including a perfectly centered blade - the other vicar was sent back to the seller -
nevertheless, a knife for which the msrp is $300.00, but purchasable online for approximately $250.00, should not have left the factory with an OBSCENELY, DISGRACEFULLY and MASSIVELY non centered blade - what in the world are they thinking ??? by the way, it is not an original production model -
i will only perform surgery, if the knife is absolutely perfect in every other respect - otherwise, both knives get returned, rightfully so - i'm not busting my hump or spending any time fixing a blade centering issue, when a knife has other shortcomings or defects -
the only reason i carve out an exception for an otherwise perfect knife and fix it myself despite the inherent wrongfulness of doing so, is that i have learned the hard way, that when you exchange your otherwise perfect knife, for a knife the seller has guaranteed will arrive with a centered blade after discussing the issue with them, you can almost rest assured that the knife will arrive as promised, with a centered blade, and at least one other non fixable defect of some sort, albeit possibly small -
thus, if final victory (absolute perfection) is within reach, go for it, center that blade yourself, and enjoy your perfect knife -
