Tribal lock blade play

P

Pollack

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Feb 28, 2021
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103
I recently picked up a Case Tribal lock. It is a beautiful knife, but I didn't notice it has some blade play when closed. The blade can easily be pushed side to side where it touches one liner and almost touches the other. It locks up fine and it doesn't affect how it will be used. I guess this is not that uncommon, but I'm hoping their might be a fairly easy remedy.

Best regards,
 
This is just how lockbacks are, not all but most of them in my experience. It shouldn't really affect anything.
 
Thanks for the reply Wheat_, that was my suspicion as well. I have a new found appreciation for traditional pocket knives and I have very little experience with them.

Best regards,
 
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No blade play when open. Also, I used a rag, magazine, and 3 inch c clamp and pet on it a little bit. It aligned the blade and took out some of the play. I bet if I continued it would be helpful; however, it is likely well within spec now. I don't want to cause any damaged, it has the carbine fiber scales. A bit disheartening for a new $80 knife. Thanks to all who replied.

Best regards,
 
Unfortunately this type of blade play is somewhat common for Case knives. I’ve had several non-lockbacks with this type of blade play when closed. Once opened the blade feels solid. If it really bugs you, you can send it in for warranty work.
 
To me blade play when closed doesnt matter. Play open is different. Be careful removing the closed blade play as it may tighten the open blade to the point that it becomes irritatingly difficult to open or close.
 
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Keep fiddle-fartin/squeezing around with it and you'll break the invisible seam between the pivot pin and bolster.:eek: Then you'll have the ugly pivot pin staring at you totally ruining the smooth, svelte, beauty of the knife.:rolleyes: Then you'll only have yourself to blame for having a less than attractive brand new $80.00 knife.
 
Personally, tend to agree with Ed on this one. If it displays no play when open then what's really the problem? I have a number of lockbacks that do this but I don't care, provided they lock up properly & don't exhibit blade play when in use. Have some French Laguioles that can move slightly from side to side when closed but the work correctly when open.

Just use your knife and revel in it. :thumbsup:
 
Just pulled my Queen Mountain Man out of my pocket and it does the same movement, it's been carried and used for years without interfering with it's performance and utility.
 
Pollack said:
I'm not disputing any of that post, jut trying to understand where the seam is.

Best regards,
Click to expand...

Around the circumference of the pin, centered(more or less) in the bolster.

When the knife is assembled the pins are peened over, mushroomed into a slightly chamfered hole in the bolster. Then ground flush and polished.

The grinding and polishing the pin and bolster together blends/somewhat smears the metal together and it makes an invisible seam where they meet.

Any time you adjust the pivot afterwards by squeezing the bolsters together, or even if you tried to loosen one and spread them, you change the distance from one side to the other.

But the pin can't shorten or lengthen with it.

This movement of the bolsters but not the pin will sperate them ever so slightly, and then you will see the line where they meet, usually about an 1/8" hair line circle on the bolster.

It only has to move a few thousandths of an inch for this to happen.

Go far enough and its a seem you can feel, where(with tightening the joint) the pin becomes a little proud of the bolster.

I'll see if I can find one of my knives with the pin visible and post a pic.. :)
 
Ice Tigre said:
Around the circumference of the pin, centered(more or less) in the bolster.

When the knife is assembled the pins are peened over, mushroomed into a slightly chamfered hole in the bolster. Then ground flush and polished.

The grinding and polishing the pin and bolster together blends/somewhat smears the metal together and it makes an invisible seam where they meet.

Any time you adjust the pivot afterwards by squeezing the bolsters together, or even if you tried to loosen one and spread them, you change the distance from one side to the other.

But the pin can't shorten or lengthen with it.

This movement of the bolsters but not the pin will sperate them ever so slightly, and then you will see the line where they meet, usually about an 1/8" hair line circle on the bolster.

It only has to move a few thousandths of an inch for this to happen.

Go far enough and its a seem you can feel, where(with tightening the joint) the pin becomes a little proud of the bolster.

I'll see if I can find one of my knives with the pin visible and post a pic.. :)
Click to expand...

Ha, Wow, have more of these than I thought I did!

This knife was disassembled, reassembled again with blended invisible pins, but was too tight, so it had to be loosened, thus the pin is recessed ever so slightly making it visible.

wp-1614681904311.jpg



This pin is also slightly recessed, so the knife is looser than it was when made, and as far as I know the knife has never been adjusted, its just natural from use--I might have tweaked the blade sideways when open at some point, levering the pivot open slightly.

wp-1614681904320.jpg



This one came to me with a blade bent and a loose pivot that I squeezed tighter;


wp-1614681904271.jpg


This one is interesting, I actually hadn't ever noticed before that you can see the pin, and it is dead flush, can't even feel with a fingernail. It's never been adjusted, and I doubt tweaked in use. I think the pin and bolster materials are just wearing/scratching at a different rate, making a shadow of pin visible.

Sometimes a knife adjusted ever so slightly too much will look like this, a barely visible difference. This could probably be polished and disappear again.

wp-1614681904302.jpg


This one is near 100 years old so no telling what its had done, but both pins are visible, one recessed a tad visually but you can't feel it. The other is dead flush feels smooth, and showing another interesting effect, where the pins are a different material than the bolsters, they patina different and then are visible.

wp-1614681904293.jpg


wp-1614681904281.jpg


This one is a little different, a full custom frame, bolster and pin, where it was all fit and polished seemless then the pin rotated during assembly of the rest of the knife. Its dead flush, but now the seem is visible because it moved.

wp-1614681904331.jpg
 
Ok I got it, thanks for taking the time to post some pics. I'm guessing it is of little consequence when you can see it or feel it. Can some 600 or 1K grit sand paper be used?

Best regards,
 
Thanks to Ice Tigre Ice Tigre for the explanation and pictures. Very good job.:thumbsup:

P Pollack - Yes, you can sand/polish it out. Don't fret about the minimal blade play when closed. As others have said; it is not uncommon and does not affect the knifes utility.
 
I know it, it really isn't that big of a deal. I am learning a lot though!

Best regards,
 
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