I was trying to order the 500 Eagle Scout knife. I requested through customer service that the lock bar be flush while opened and closed and that the blade be centered when closed. The lady from customer service called me (she was super nice, by the way) and said they tried to find me a knife that met my requests, but couldn’t. The tech told her that it is impossible to have the lockbar flush open and closed while simultaneously having a centered blade on the 500 due to the build/structure of the 500. I’ve had many lockbacks that met these criteria, so I didn’t really understand the tech’s explanation. Often too much is made over blade centering, but I have also bought knives from the 500 series sight-unseen where the blade was rubbing the liner, so I just wanted to request a centered blade in advance. Can anyone explain this to me? I’m not complaining; I just want to understand this better. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
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Question about 500 build
- Thread starter EagleIH
- Start date
MT_Pokt
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2014
- Messages
- 2,490
For what it's worth...
Blade centering when closed is no more a concern than whether a fixed blade knife is centered in the sheath. It's not a quality that is measured beyond "is it rubbing the frame".
Lock bar flush open and closed should be pretty easy to pick as the lion's share are this way inherently.
Because these knives are finish ground and polished after assembly, it is possible that one isn't perfect while the other is.
The response that they couldn't find what you were asking for was more than likely a polite way of telling you "we don't make those kind of promises on knives that are hand ground and finished".
I wish I had better news, but the reality is that while those 3 points may be realistic for knives that are assembled from finished parts, there's potential for falling short on one or all points when a regular production knife is assembled and hand finished.
These knives with peened assembly are more susceptible to minute variations compared to something that is screwed together.
Besides, if it's ever going to be used - the chances the blade stays perfectly centered every time it's opened and closed is unlikely. If it's never going to be used, which of the 3 criteria is the most important if it's merely displayed?
That's my $0.02.
Blade centering when closed is no more a concern than whether a fixed blade knife is centered in the sheath. It's not a quality that is measured beyond "is it rubbing the frame".
Lock bar flush open and closed should be pretty easy to pick as the lion's share are this way inherently.
Because these knives are finish ground and polished after assembly, it is possible that one isn't perfect while the other is.
The response that they couldn't find what you were asking for was more than likely a polite way of telling you "we don't make those kind of promises on knives that are hand ground and finished".
I wish I had better news, but the reality is that while those 3 points may be realistic for knives that are assembled from finished parts, there's potential for falling short on one or all points when a regular production knife is assembled and hand finished.
These knives with peened assembly are more susceptible to minute variations compared to something that is screwed together.
Besides, if it's ever going to be used - the chances the blade stays perfectly centered every time it's opened and closed is unlikely. If it's never going to be used, which of the 3 criteria is the most important if it's merely displayed?
That's my $0.02.
- Joined
- May 21, 2019
- Messages
- 51
I have called Buck before about this on a 110. It had a low lock bar. The spine of the blade and handle are sanded and blended in the open position so it will be flush when open and using the knife. This can cause a lower lock bar when closed. There is a standard for how much is acceptable.