Small wobble.

H

Hjalmar69

Joined
Aug 3, 2019
Messages
172
If my one favorite slipjoints has a small, almost unnoticeable wobble on the main blade, can it still be used reasonably?
 
Many slip joints will loosen up over time. You can continue to use them as a cutting tool...not a prying tool :) A small wobble won't have any issues.

You can also attempt to tighten them up by peening the pivot pin (or on some, tightening the screws). Of course, there are some that you really can't tighten up without taking the knife apart. But wouldn't shy away from using them regularly.

Good luck!
 
Hjalmar69 said:
If my one favorite slipjoints has a small, almost unnoticeable wobble on the main blade, can it still be used reasonably?
Click to expand...
Here is the solution:
Take a stick about 1 inch in diameter and strip the bark off it. Sharpen one end of the stick, then cut a notch in the other end. If you didn’t feel the blade wobble doing all that, it’s fine. Try not to keep wiggling the blade to check if it wobbles.
 
Just Tom. said:
Here is the solution:
Take a stick about 1 inch in diameter and strip the bark off it. Sharpen one end of the stick, then cut a notch in the other end. If you didn’t feel the blade wobble doing all that, it’s fine. Try not to keep wiggling the blade to check if it wobbles.
Click to expand...
Wonderful, I actually will do that. Great answer. It is a 34OT.so nothing to hit with a hammer, I think.
 
Hjalmar69 said:
Wonderful, I actually will do that. Great answer. It is a 34OT.so nothing to hit with a hammer, I think.
Click to expand...
If its a USA Schrade from the mid (?) sixties on, it has Swinden key construction and you are correct - nothing to hit. As you describe it, I'd keep using it and start looking for a back-up ;)
I don't know if the Chinese Schrades are Swinden keyed or not.
 
mbkr said:
If its a USA Schrade from the mid (?) sixties on, it has Swinden key construction and you are correct - nothing to hit. As you describe it, I'd keep using it and start looking for a back-up ;)
I don't know if the Chinese Schrades are Swinden keyed or not.
Click to expand...
I have two stainless versions bought in Scranton 04. When I realized that my first pocket knife was an Old Timer 80OT.which I gave to a friend, was in carbon steel I was bummed out. Alas, two years ago someone sent me a nos from the seventies, free of charge, as a present.. He had read about my missing having an Old Timer in 1095. What a guy. So I carried one stainless version from 2004 to 2019 so the sawcut delrin became smooth and now I carry the old timer carbon. I have a drawer full of possible substitutes, however the 34OT is one of few I really carry. They are all American I believe
 
Well buddy I’ll tell ya, if it was me I’d use it till its blades are wore down or it falls apart. I’d just be careful not to put any lateral play on the blades as you’re cutting with it and it ought to last a real long time

Edited to add; meant to say lateral PRESSURE
 
Last edited:
Wait a minute now
Wobble baby, wobble baby, wobble baby, wobble (yeah)
Wobble baby, wobble baby, wobble baby, wobble (yeah)
Get in there, yeah, yeah

Many a slip joint has some. A little is no big deal. If you buy a custom, I would say unacceptable, but the knife would still function.
 
The peanut in my pocket has a little wobble. I don’t notice when I’m using it. It’s probably been that way for years and I never checked.

It is of no consequence, just like the gap in the liner and the patina on the blades. That said, I understand why knife nuts worry about it. I bet my great grandpa would never have checked or cared.
 
Last edited:
rishma said:
That said, I understand why knife nuts worry about it. I bet my great grandpa would never have checked or cared.
Click to expand...
That’s a very good point and I agree 100%
I’ve seen knives in use by older generations and/or non-knife guys and the amount of blade play and wear would have most of us needing a straight jacket.
 
I have a 80yo Schrade stockman that’s been beat to hell and back. Sharpened on a grinder and brutalized. It’s as tight as a submarine. In my experience, with a slipjoint, if you use the knife, the wobble will get worse. Custom makers consider wobble a flaw and will fix it for free. I don’t buy new knives with wobble
 
brownshoe said:
I have a 80yo Schrade stockman that’s been beat to hell and back. Sharpened on a grinder and brutalized. It’s as tight as a submarine. In my experience, with a slipjoint, if you use the knife, the wobble will get worse. Custom makers consider wobble a flaw and will fix it for free. I don’t buy new knives with wobble
Click to expand...

I bet it often does get worse with use, but maybe not always. Just thinking, once there is a little compliance in the joint system, it might just settle out and not change anymore. I’ll check my peanut again in 5 years to see if it got worse and report back 😉
 
I have had good luck by doing this:

Wrap the pivot with multiple layers of newspaper.

Place the pivot end carefully in a bench vise.

Very, very lightly tighten the vise a tiny bit. Check the blade for results.

If needed, try again.

Do not overdo it! A tiny bit is all you need, as you take the risk of over tightening.
 
MolokaiRider said:
I have had good luck by doing this:

Wrap the pivot with multiple layers of newspaper.

Place the pivot end carefully in a bench vise.

Very, very lightly tighten the vise a tiny bit. Check the blade for results.

If needed, try again.

Do not overdo it! A tiny bit is all you need, as you take the risk of over tightening.
Click to expand...
I don't believe this will accomplish anything with Swinden key construction.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top