Play or centering?

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NetshadeX

Joined
Oct 17, 2013
Messages
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I'm going back and forth with this. If I tighten the pivot on my Millie just enough to eliminate play, the blade is slightly off-center. If I loosen up juuust a bit it's perfect but a bit of play can be felt (with the blade open and liner disengaged).
Both options bother me somewhat but I'm leaning towards eliminating all play because that actually affects function.

I'm curious if you guys have that "problem" with some of your blades and what you opted for?
 
Tighten it down, as long as the blade doesn't rub the liners IMO it's better than loose when locked. I really never paid any attention to blade centering before reading so much about it here. I just noticed you said loose when liner disengaged? Again, something I'd never even check for.
 
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Like you said play affects function. If the centering is not causing functionality to suffer then it is a non issue. Come down to function over fashion.
 
Pick your poison. Play that minor isn't going to really have an effect on functionality, but neither is the centering issue if it isn't rubbing. Figure out which bugs you more and eliminate that.
 
jill jackson said:
I just noticed you said loose when liner disengaged? Again, something I'd never even check for.
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Well imo it's the best way to check for play, since an engaged liner or lockbar clamps down on the blade masking any play.

Insipid Moniker said:
Play that minor isn't going to really have an effect on functionality
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Not with light cutting tasks but yesterday I used my Military to cut through a foot wide tightly rolled roll of carpet. I'd classify that as functional hard use. It required reasonable pressure to pierce the roll and at some point I could feel some mild instability in the pivot point. At that time I didn't have it fully tightened down to allow for that perfect centering. But thanks for your replies guys. I've decided to live with a slightly off-center blade.
 
NetshadeX said:
Well imo it's the best way to check for play, since an engaged liner or lockbar clamps down on the blade masking any play.



Not with light cutting tasks but yesterday I used my Military to cut through a foot wide tightly rolled roll of carpet. I'd classify that as functional hard use. It required reasonable pressure to pierce the roll and at some point I could feel some mild instability in the pivot point. At that time I didn't have it fully tightened down to allow for that perfect centering. But thanks for your replies guys. I've decided to live with a slightly off-center blade.
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Yeah, what most consider blade play doesn't bother me, but if you're feeling it in use that's much more of a problem.
 
Well both issues bother me too. Fortunately with knives like this its a bit easier to center a blade and have good lockup. Something to try that may help is to loosen the pivot and all the screws in the handle. With the blade in the closed position take a folded up piece of cardboard and wedge the blade in the opposite direction in which it is leaning. with the blade in that position now tighten the screws back down from the the butt of the knife up to the pivot. With any luck this will have realigned the parts and straightened the pivot just enough to center the blade. It may take a couple tries to find the sweet spot. If this does not straighten it out then I would simply keep it locked down and deal with the off center blade. The centering as long as its not severe is not a safety hazard but the loose blade could be.
 
Funny, I was thinking of posting a thread like this a day ago. Both of these issues bother me, as well. But I've learned to live with a slightly off center blade on some knives. It's not as big a deal as we enthusiasts make it out to be. As long as it's not rubbing, it's fine.

Now blade play? Well, that is just entirely unacceptable. I can't stand lockup that isn't solid and secure.
 
My Military is off center by a little because the blade was ground off center. The blade itself is not actually off center but it looks that way because of the grind. It's noticeable to me but it's fairly minor. You might see if the blade on yours is similar. Either way I'd take better lockup over centering.
 
Just a note on the millie. Just a fraction of a turn on the pivot screw can dramatically change the tightness and centering. There's a sweet spot there where it will be tight and centered. I heard this before I disassembled mine and sure enough, when I put it back together just an 1/8th of turn made all the difference between loose or off center and tight AND centered.

That said, it's entirely possible you have one just a little off. It happens. Wouldn't bother me much to be honest. WAY off center...that's something else.
 
PURPLEDC said:
Well both issues bother me too. Fortunately with knives like this its a bit easier to center a blade and have good lockup. Something to try that may help is to loosen the pivot and all the screws in the handle. With the blade in the closed position take a folded up piece of cardboard and wedge the blade in the opposite direction in which it is leaning. with the blade in that position now tighten the screws back down from the the butt of the knife up to the pivot. With any luck this will have realigned the parts and straightened the pivot just enough to center the blade. It may take a couple tries to find the sweet spot. If this does not straighten it out then I would simply keep it locked down and deal with the off center blade. The centering as long as its not severe is not a safety hazard but the loose blade could be.
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I am also bothered by both issues and want all my knives centered and to have no blade play. I do the same as PURPLEDC is suggesting any time I get a blade that is not centered. It works perfectly every time (for open back handle designs). My latest was my Benchmade 761 that arrived aligned to one side. After 15 minutes and some patient adjusting, it is perfectly centered with no blade play and ultra smooth and fast opening. So, if your frame is an open design with stand-offs follow PURPLEDC's instructions and you'll be really pleased about gaining this new ability to make your knives perfect. Depending on the specifics of the knife design, this will not work on some knives that have a solid back or a large G10 spacer between the handles. The handles (or sides of the frame, depending on design) have to be able to move slightly when the screws are loosened.

You'll need a set of mini Torx drivers. Hardened ones are worth the extra few $$ FYI...
 
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NetshadeX said:
I'm going back and forth with this. If I tighten the pivot on my Millie just enough to eliminate play, the blade is slightly off-center. If I loosen up juuust a bit it's perfect but a bit of play can be felt (with the blade open and liner disengaged).
Both options bother me somewhat but I'm leaning towards eliminating all play because that actually affects function.

I'm curious if you guys have that "problem" with some of your blades and what you opted for?
Click to expand...

Slightly off-center does not bother me on a production knife if it is solid and cuts well.
 
An off-centre blade is a cosmetic thing. It doesn't affect the function of the knife as long as the blade isn't making contact with the liner. That said, it is possible to centre the blade on the Spyderco Military without having any bladeplay. There are a number of threads that address this and there are even You Tube demos that show you how.
 
grownstar said:
Funny, I was thinking of posting a thread like this a day ago. Both of these issues bother me, as well. But I've learned to live with a slightly off center blade on some knives. It's not as big a deal as we enthusiasts make it out to be. As long as it's not rubbing, it's fine.

Now blade play? Well, that is just entirely unacceptable. I can't stand lockup that isn't solid and secure.
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the thing that bothers me about centering that cant be adjusted out is that it indicates (at least to me) that something in the knife is out of spec. Whether its a improperly milled bearing race, a out of spec washer or out of spec handle slabs tilting the pivot. And even if the blade isnt rubbing It still makes me wonder which part is it causing it and why is it "good enough" for the company. I see plenty of companies that can consistently make a knife with a centered blade in all price ranges. So when i get one thats not I feel like I got the lazy build of the day.
 
PURPLEDC said:
the thing that bothers me about centering that cant be adjusted out is that it indicates (at least to me) that something in the knife is out of spec. Whether its a improperly milled bearing race, a out of spec washer or out of spec handle slabs tilting the pivot. And even if the blade isnt rubbing It still makes me wonder which part is it causing it and why is it "good enough" for the company. I see plenty of companies that can consistently make a knife with a centered blade in all price ranges. So when i get one thats not I feel like I got the lazy build of the day.
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Well put. I honestly hadn't thought of it like that, but I can get behind your process on it.
 
Agree with blade play not mattering when the blade isn't even fully opened, lock engaged....unless it's obsessive like something is actually wrong with the knife.

If you can't wiggle the blade at all when it's not fully opened, lock engaged...pivot is probably too tight and you are just adding wear on the perfectly normal folding knife.
 
I'd rather get rid of the play than fix the centering, but that also depends on the smoothness as well.
 
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