Blade play - who cares!?

SnackPack

SnackPack

Gold Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2019
Messages
479
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I constantly see people asking about blade play and complaining about it but it simply doesn’t bother me that much. I have some high end traditionals that have a little perceptible wobble / play but snappy action. Ultimately it doesn’t impact use at all, and I’d personally have a tiny bit of play with a nice smooth action and snap than no play and a weak snap or lazy action bc the pivot is too tight.

Thoughts?
 
I'm with you, SnackPack, in thinking that blade play or wobble isn't a big deal. I much more prefer the snap and action.
 
I think perceptions of blade play are as subjective as preferences on pulls and snap (barring overly egregious examples, of course). I think it is largely to individual taste.

I have numerous GECs where I can wiggle the blade a bit. Some folks would find that unacceptable. To me, it doesn't impact the function of the knife and if it gets too bad over use and time, I know how to fix it.
 
Blade play drives me nuts. I do a bit of carving, and there's no less satisfying feeling than when you put the blade to wood to shave off a piece and the blade moves as you apply pressure.
It's most pronounced then, because it keeps happening repeatedly throughout the carving session.

nothing makes me feel less secure than a floppy blade.
 
I expect a traditional knife, like you’d whittle or work with, to be tight initially and gradually loosen to not quite so tight after use and time. Loose isn’t in the cards for me.
 
I agree with the opinions so far - there is a limit to play! A little wiggle I don’t care, but if it’s moving miles, I have some work to do. Thing is it’s easier for me to fix a wobble than no snap.
 
This issue comes up for discussion from time to time. Here are a knifemaker's thoughts on the subject.

KnifeHead said:
Blade play...one of my favorite subjects;):D
Beating_A_Dead_Horse_by_livius.gif


Seriously though, I don't think a knife can be made "too good". They should be made as tight as possible while maintaining good walk n talk. But, if the blade doesn't have some elbow room, the knife isn't going to work. It's maddening, I tell ya.

The tolerances are very close between great snap and sleepy blades....wobbly blades and no movement. I tiny bit of side to side play doesn't bother me. I would rather have that than have a blade that is sluggish.
Click to expand...

KnifeHead said:
...when folks talk about blade play, I think they need to quantify it in some way because I have seen varying degrees of it in hand made and production knives and I have no way to relate that to the subject of blade play as it is discussed in this or the other threads that exist on the subject. How much side to side blade play is acceptable? Some say "none" and some say "a little bit". How much is "none" and how much is "a little bit"? Oh, and...I almost forgot "wobble". How much is "wobble"?

I maybe think about pocket knives and how they work a bit differently than your basic knife lover since I have built a few. I think of blade play in terms of tenths of thousandths of an inch. You have to have that kind of blade play to make a knife work. That kind of "blade play" can't be seen or felt in side to side movement, but, can only be noticed in the way that the knife works or how some describe as "snappy". What I am saying is "blade play" is needed for a pocket knife to open and close snappy.

From my point of view, knowing every pocket knife that I put together is going to be slightly different, I don't know 100% how the knife will work until that last pin is peined or spun. That's really the point in which I know for sure how much play will be in the blade. At that juncture, I have to decide if the play is acceptable enough in my mind to pass on to a buyer or do I give it away.

I'm of the opinion that a knife isn't a total loss if you can feel a little play. As far as any knife that I would make, I strive for no detectable(play you can't feel in side to side movement) blade play. But, if I put together a knife and can FEEL some slight movement but the knife operates smoothly with good snap, I would rather have some detectable blade play and have a good working knife than have a sluggishly operating blade.

Whether hand made or production, the buyer needs to make the final decision on just how much is acceptable to them.

We could try to quantify acceptable play on a production knife as this; the blade tip can be pushed one way or the other 1/4 of the available space in either direction and it STAYS there. How much do you really like the knife? If you really like it, you might accept a wee bit more..maybe up to 1/3 play. I'd say anything over that would be too much in any knife and I would try to get it fixed or replaced.
Click to expand...
 
I have vintage knives where I can shake the knife and the blade rattles and flops. In my opinion, that is an unusable and unsafe knife.

I am of the mind that a slipjoint with no movement whatsoever is a rarer thing. Mike Latham sums it up pretty well whenever he chimes in on the topic. All of us can likely make the blade move, it's our personal perceptions though that determine whether that movement is acceptable or not.
 
Pàdruig said:
All of us can likely make the blade move, it's our personal perceptions though that determine whether that movement is acceptable or not.
Click to expand...
it's a catch 22 though- find out just what it takes to make the blade move, and you might have expanded the riveted pin and introduced blade play.
If I don't notice a knife blade moving when I'm using it, it's fine, and I suspect it's like that for most of us.
 
EngrSorenson said:
it's a catch 22 though- find out just what it takes to make the blade move, and you might have expanded the riveted pin and introduced blade play.
If I don't notice a knife blade moving when I'm using it, it's fine, and I suspect it's like that for most of us.
Click to expand...

That is part of Mike's point, if memory serves. A lot of fellas, particularly from the more modern pocket knife crowd, tend to be pretty ham-handed in their handling of slipjoints when testing all the markers (e.g. blade play, centering, etc.). It's important to remind them that it's apples and oranges in many respects.
 
Not many things bother me on a traditional knife. Blade rub? Slight gaps? Not a problem since it's getting tossed in a pocket and used. Blade play however drives me nuts. I don't know why, it just does. How much play is hard to quantify but I know how much pressure I use to check, and if I feel ANY it's too much.
 
Last edited:
Blade play doesn't necessarily bother me, but it would if I were doing something like whittling. Also, I recently had one that was so loose, it was rapping the blade even though the edge was nowhere near the backspring when closed. Tightened it up and no more blade rap.
 
I wonder how many guys/gals/youngsters have caused blade play in a perfectly good, acceptable, knife by pulling, pushing, yanking, and twisting the blade to see if there is blade play and blade wobble in the knife and have made the pivot pin show in the bolster as a glaring feature of the knife by doing so?
 
Modoc ED said:
I wonder how many guys/gals/youngsters have caused blade play in a perfectly good, acceptable, knife by pulling, pushing, yanking, and twisting the blade to see if there is blade play and blade wobble in the knife and have made the pivot pin show in the bolster as a glaring feature of the knife by doing so?
Click to expand...
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in the wind.
 
Modoc ED said:
I wonder how many guys/gals/youngsters have caused blade play in a perfectly good, acceptable, knife by pulling, pushing, yanking, and twisting the blade to see if there is blade play and blade wobble in the knife and have made the pivot pin show in the bolster as a glaring feature of the knife by doing so?
Click to expand...

this is why some people cant have nice things
 
I have old knives with blade play. I’ve never had a new knife with blade play to my knowledge. That’s true for GEC, Case, Rough Rider, etc. Just not a serious issue IMO. Not saying it’s not possible, and if I got one with noticeable wobble I’d be annoyed and think it subpar, but I also have no need to attempt to bend the thing 90 degrees to “test” it either.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top