Should I send a knife back?

S

Scottcc

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Jan 5, 2016
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[/URL][/IMG]From reading the forum, I found out that lateral blade play is an undesirable defect. I have a Santa Fe Stone Works mammoth tooth collectable, that was gifted me and is a keepsake. I see the warrenty covers defects for the original owner only, which is me. Would it be worth while to get the knife fixed or would it be considered normal by the knife maker? I'm planning to contact SFSW tomorrow to find what they could do for me. I'm asking, what should I expect, being the knife is around five years old?
 
I was able to contact SFSW, warrenty service. The lady was very nice and I questioned if it can be tightened up. She made it sound like it will most likely be replaced and the mammoth scales are not salvageable. I really like the look of the orange and red on this and it maybe a bit rare, since most I see are green and blue. She told me, that she will email examples to me choose from if they cannot repair. I display the knife in its flip open box and don't use it, but I also want it to be right. I don't think they make the knives themselves, so they probably don't have the ability to fix it. Is there any other option?
 
Its a lockback with lateral bladeplay which is pretty common, also you mention its a display piece, given that I'd suggest just keeping it unless the lateral play is extreme.
 
It's border extreme, I can see between the bolsters and the blade. The lock is loose too, I can make small 2mm circles with the tip.
 
It's a display knife not a user for you, so if you like the scales keep it. If you were going to use it then the play would be a potential issue.
 
send it back, if they can fix it, great, if not have them send it back and live with it. Unless there is another one that catches your eye.
 
I can completely understand you wanting the knife to be "right", even if you never use it. Pride of ownership goes up when we know a knife is as good as it can possibly be. And we like to know that if we ever did want to use it that the knife would be ready for it. Side-to-side blade play is not a requirement of owning a lockback. I own several lockbacks with zero play.

It sounds like the blade pin just needs to be re-peened to tighten the bolsters down. Then the bolsters would need to be buffed. That's a pretty simple procedure.

I have to believe that there are people on this forum with a lot of experience in such matters and would be willing to accept the job. I have a lot of experience in such matters but I don't accept work over the internet.

Perhaps if you ask in the "Maintenance, Tinkering, & Embellishments" sub-forum you can find someone with a lot of experience, and a good reputation, who would be willing to do the job.

It's a nice looking knife.
 
You should detect no blade play with normal use in a back lock knife. That means pushing the blade through tough material. A slight amount of up-and-down blade play can be present by grabbing onto the blade and really forcing it up and down. That is normal for a back lock. There should be zero side-to-side blade movement, no matter what design.

According to your post information, your knife is defective. Even though you may never use it and it's only for display, the blade play diminishes the value, both in monetary terms and in pride of ownership. In my opinion, you should return it for that reason. The manufacturer seems to be willing to work with you on this. The other side of the coin is the fact that the knife was a gift as "a keepsake", as you stated. Considering this fact, you need to determine if the intrinsic value of the gift is worth more to you than the monetary and pride values of the knife itself. Tough call when you consider the manufacturer can't guarantee they can repair the knife and may have to replace it.

I'm gonna let you decide this one on your own.
 
Thanks for the advice here, I'll write a detail note to send with the knife and see what happens.
 
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