I know that Emerson knives are supposed to be made with tolerances that other knives are not, in the way that an AK-47 is, but my knife (CQC7 Karambit) has some vertical blade play-- When in the open and locked position I can rock the blade back and forth so that it's making contact with either the stop pin or the liner lock. It has never failed to lock up, but It still makes me very nervous. Especially as a 'hard use' knife. Did this one slip through Quality Control? Thanks guys.
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Vertical Blade Play Normal?
- Thread starter rottwang
- Start date
thebladerunr
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check your stop pin and see if it has a flat spot on it from waving it open. If not the lock may be starting to wear. If so, send it in Emerson will make it right for you.
Try tightening the central pivot point screw. The tighter it is the harder it becomes to flip it open, the bits and pieces of the knife tend not to rattle around as much though.
Personally I wouldn't have used the AK-47 as a comparison. It was designed to be a cheap gun, made fast by essentially unskilled labor quickly trained using readily available low capital investment machinery. A fast food gun, a disposable terror weapon. Which is why in the third world you can pick them up for so very little money nearly anywhere. They are not a precision weapon but cycle lots of bullets.
i've had problems with the detent/pivot before. it came open too easily and slashed a hole in my pocket as i was waving it open. i loc tite-ed the pivot screw in a good position. i don't think it has anything to do with the vertical blade play. I guess it's the lock. I'll send it in. Thanks guys.
I wouldn't trust my life to an AK47. but i still think the AK is a good comparison in terms of the weapon having a high tolerance for fist fulls of sand. Sure the emerson i have is not mass-produced, but it sure looks rather poorly put together when placed next to a knife by a high quality manufacturer. sorry it's the truth. i have told people how much i paid for it to recieve comments like "why was it so expensive?" or "it doesn't look like it's worth..." My Emerson came with a detent that barely worked, vertical blade play and a stop pin that rattles like a musical percussion instrument.
As for the AK47 being "a disposable terror weapon". That sounds silly. They were designed for War not Terrorism. Are M1 Carbines or Lee Enfields disposable terror weapons because the U.S. exported them to Vietnam/Afghanistan?
I wouldn't trust my life to an AK47. but i still think the AK is a good comparison in terms of the weapon having a high tolerance for fist fulls of sand. Sure the emerson i have is not mass-produced, but it sure looks rather poorly put together when placed next to a knife by a high quality manufacturer. sorry it's the truth. i have told people how much i paid for it to recieve comments like "why was it so expensive?" or "it doesn't look like it's worth..." My Emerson came with a detent that barely worked, vertical blade play and a stop pin that rattles like a musical percussion instrument.
As for the AK47 being "a disposable terror weapon". That sounds silly. They were designed for War not Terrorism. Are M1 Carbines or Lee Enfields disposable terror weapons because the U.S. exported them to Vietnam/Afghanistan?
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It could be one that got out or it could simply be worn. Sometimes the lock will indent from the harder blade. Other times which in my experience are rarer the stop will wear a flat spot. Both can occur though. I'd rotate the stop anyway.
It may also be that the lock itself is not sprung enough to move farther out and self adjust as it should which is a simple fix. Note where the lock is now with the folder put together. Mark it on the blade with a pencil. Take the knife apart. Put the lock side washer back on with the pivot barrel in place and slide the blade over it. Now see how far out the lock comes on its own with no stop in the knife but have the blade in the normal open position just long enough to see how far out the lock comes.
If it is the same spot just bend it out a bit so it springs out as it should and reassemble. Don't get too carried away with it muscling it. I usually use an adjustable cresent style wrence and slide it so it fits snug but not tight over the lock at the point right in front of the bend in back right in front of the point where the cut ends a the long cut out for the lock. Now tweak the wrench just a wee bit to bend out the lock a small amount more. Thats about the easiest way to do this but if you snap it or get carried away you can actually put a set in the lock that is too sharp. You don't want that. Note that its a gentle bend the way EKI did it and thats what you want to keep. You just want to coax it out a bit more so it self adjusts as its supposed to.
STR
It may also be that the lock itself is not sprung enough to move farther out and self adjust as it should which is a simple fix. Note where the lock is now with the folder put together. Mark it on the blade with a pencil. Take the knife apart. Put the lock side washer back on with the pivot barrel in place and slide the blade over it. Now see how far out the lock comes on its own with no stop in the knife but have the blade in the normal open position just long enough to see how far out the lock comes.
If it is the same spot just bend it out a bit so it springs out as it should and reassemble. Don't get too carried away with it muscling it. I usually use an adjustable cresent style wrence and slide it so it fits snug but not tight over the lock at the point right in front of the bend in back right in front of the point where the cut ends a the long cut out for the lock. Now tweak the wrench just a wee bit to bend out the lock a small amount more. Thats about the easiest way to do this but if you snap it or get carried away you can actually put a set in the lock that is too sharp. You don't want that. Note that its a gentle bend the way EKI did it and thats what you want to keep. You just want to coax it out a bit more so it self adjusts as its supposed to.
STR
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Not to sling off at you mate..but that is ridiculous...especially the part about putting it next to "high quality manufacturer". Emerson is a high quality manufacturer. Emersons ooze quality. They are just subtle. In fact, in the last 12mths I have had about 40 different high end production knives and have since sold off most of them to buy more emersons. I have shown pictures of Howard Clarke L6 Bainite katanas and they wanted to know why they cost $5k more than the $100 chinese 440 knock offs.