Is Blade Play really such a bad thing?!?!

Deibiddo

Deibiddo

Joined
Oct 4, 2012
Messages
427
Hey guys. I have owned alot of knives in my life and I was just wondering if a little blade play in your knives are really such a bad thing? Seriously, does it ruin the knife or affect any of it's function/intentions? I've owned, Sog's, Benchmade, and Chris Reeve knives that don't have any at all. I've had some Sog's and Benchmade's that have em only if I loosen the pivot a little to make it buttery smooth open and closing. But I tighten those knives pivot all the way for no play, it makes the knife harder to open. I understand it may vary model to model, so if theirs anyone who's an expert on knives hit me up! Thanks :thumbup:
 
To me the slightest amount of bladeplay on an expensive knife is absolutely unacceptable. It's really more of a personal preference thing though. Some people don't care if their knife has a bit of bladeplay but most here do.
 
A little won't hurt anything in a quality knife. It's about people wanting good tolerances and have a solid feeling knife IMO. So it's more of a cosmetic or emotional problem rather than a safety or mechanical issue.
 
So in most knives, it's acceptable. I'm used to my Chris Reeve's Starbenza which has none. But I have some flipper knives that have a tad. My friend just purchased a $150 Sog Spec Elite Auto that if he loosens it enough for the button to pop back out after deploying, then it has some blade play. But when he tightens the pivot to where no blade play, the button sticks a little on popping back out. Sometimes wiggling his blade up or down makes the button slowly pop back out. Is sticky buttons like that normal in autos? or are autos supposed to have a lil play?
 
dshunti28 said:
So in most knives, it's acceptable.
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Well maybe not acceptable, but to be expected in a certain price range. Some people are OCD about knives and want every knife from $60+ to be 100% perfect, which might happen if you're lucky. But don't expect it.
 
I hate blade play! My endura is right at the point where I need a wrist flick to open it because any looser and it would lock rock.
 
This is purely speculation, but blade play may lead to uneven or accelerated lock wear. I personally dislike it because I'm OCD about the condition and quality of my knives.

A liner or framelock with blade play is just worrying. I always feel like it's going to slip the lock. Blade play is why I sold my PM2 - it's inherent in the design, and that's just not okay with me. My $35 Tenacious doesn't have it, my $50 Endura Wave only has a tiny amount of front to back after a year of being a beater, my $40 Skyline doesn't have it, my $50 Speedform doesn't have it, none of my SanRenMus or Enlans have/had it... So why should a $120 Paramilitary? Why should most?

It's a sign of slacking quality control and tolerances. Also, side-to-side play and front-to-back play could lead to less precise cuts, depending on what you're doing. I often use my knives to dig out splinters, trim my fingernails and cuticles, or preform minor surgery. Having an absolutely rigid blade is very nice in those circumstances.
 
Is it actually a bad thing?

Not really. 99.99% of the time, it doesn't have any effect whatsoever on the function of a folding knife (like so many other nitpicky fit-and-finish issues, like rough edges, uneven bevels, or machining marks).

That said, I would expect that an expensive knife be blade-play-free. If I spend 12$ on a cheap chinese knife, I kind of expect that it'll have blade play, and that won't really affect my use of that knife as a beater or whatnot so I could care less. If I spend 120$ on a nice knife, I expect that I'm getting a knife that's made better than that 12$ cheapo - I'd expect tighter tolerances, better machining, better materials, etc. If I got a 120$ knife that wobbled all over the place and had a bunch of those fit and finish issues, I'd be kind of pissed - why were they charging 108$ more than the cheapo company when they were just as sloppy with their manufacturing process?
 
I've been reading/posting in knife related forums/groups since around 1997 with some breaks for a couple years here and there. Its only in the last couple of years that I've noticed lots of concern over blade play, lock rock in every other post. Even sellers are commenting on blade centering in item descriptions.

Either quality has dropped in the last few years or folks are demanding higher levels of perfection. I think a vocal minority that do have problems with blade play are causing a lot of folks to look for phantom problems in their new knives.

I can't say I've ever owned a modern production knife with a wiggly blade but then I don't go jiggling my blades looking for problems.
 
blade play shouldn't effect the mechanics or safety of the knife more then it does the buyer. Personally i HATE any kind of blade play, it drives me crazy. i feel that if i buy a quality knife it should be made to no blade play standards.
 
Sharpnessis said:
I hate blade play! My endura is right at the point where I need a wrist flick to open it because any looser and it would lock rock.
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Lock rock is (I thought) in liner or mostly frame locks. Regardless it's a vertical blade play. Tightening the pivot is to remove side to side play. Have you considered that wrist flicking a back lock is what caused the "lock rock"?

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It seems that longer folding blades, that really were not common in the past, exacerbate the issue. A 4" long blade will wiggle a lot at the tip if it has the smallest wiggle at the pivot. As for as it causing issues cutting (like minor surgery) that seems unlikely. Everyone wants a perfect knife though. I do get complaining but we must remember that every knife has some play even if only the tiniest imperceptible bit.
 
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I don't want anything loose even with a slipjoint. If a folder is locked up tight and solid it seems logical that chances of pressure or shock causing a disengagment will be less. I don't think it is coincidence the locking folders that often don't pass a gentle spine-whack test are ones likely to have some measure of blade play. Same as it's not a surprise when loose or poorly engaging ones by design or manufacture get even worse from use in tough jobs.

I check how much jiggle and wiggle a blade has while the folder is opened and closed. Can't confuse flex from pressure with play and pinch the tip of a 4" blade.
 
Dorito Monk said:
Is it actually a bad thing?

Not really. 99.99% of the time, it doesn't have any effect whatsoever on the function of a folding knife (like so many other nitpicky fit-and-finish issues, like rough edges, uneven bevels, or machining marks).

That said, I would expect that an expensive knife be blade-play-free. If I spend 12$ on a cheap chinese knife, I kind of expect that it'll have blade play, and that won't really affect my use of that knife as a beater or whatnot so I could care less. If I spend 120$ on a nice knife, I expect that I'm getting a knife that's made better than that 12$ cheapo - I'd expect tighter tolerances, better machining, better materials, etc. If I got a 120$ knife that wobbled all over the place and had a bunch of those fit and finish issues, I'd be kind of pissed - why were they charging 108$ more than the cheapo company when they were just as sloppy with their manufacturing process?
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x2 on this
 
My Skyline now has a considerable amount of vertical play now, but it has never folded on me once, which is ok, my interests in a knife are in the overall feel,
and the Skyline has been my most used and abused folder ever.
I got it early in my knife hobby "Career", so I did a bunch of things people say you don't do with it and folders in general:
Batoned with it a great many times for the fun of batoning, never folded, actually never got play from this.
Cut extremely thick cardboard, thick to the point where my arm got sore, that definitely must've done something to the lock.
Spine whacked it too many times to count, and only after all these things over more than a year and a half did the liner move all the way to the right and
was able to be heard by simply shaking the knife. I have thrown this thing, struck the handle with other knives, still has never once folded when I did not want it to.
Even then, since the thumbstuds are the stop pin, I could probably put a small o ring over them or put a little amount of epoxy on the handle where it meets the thumbstuds to remove the play.
For a knife out of the box, play is unacceptable, for a knife very well put through stuff, it should not be a surprise.
 
I don't like blade play in any direction, on any kind of knife.

I have a few traditional folders that have a tiny bit of side to side. I will normally do a fix on these my self.
 
I don't think a well designed knife should have blade play. A folding knife is supposed to mimic a fixed blade. I want my folder to inspire confidence.
 
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Mephtyrm said:
My Skyline now has a considerable amount of vertical play now, but it has never folded on me once, which is ok,
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Just remember, it only takes one failure to make it an expensive mistake :P Be careful brother.

And for me, it all depends. I had a Spyderco Techno that I traded away because of some vertical play in the blade/lock. I let the tradee know of the play and valued it accordingly, but it bothered me enough to trade it. Especially one a liner/framelock, up and down play for me is a deal-breaker. On backlocks, I find it more acceptable due to the nature of the lock and can deal with it.

And if I can fix side-to-side play by tightening the pivot, I do not mind, I do not ever need a blade that quickly and can always take the time for a two-hand opening. But different strokes for different folks I guess.
 
blade play doesn't bother me unless I can feel the blade wobble without my help, at that point I will retire the knife for safety reasons. I don't trust it after that point or I will fix the lock so there is no play anymore. Never had a knife I liked enough to fix the play though. If it has just a little then I don't care. I've never bought a quality knife that came with play though, my para 2 only just developed a hair of up side to side and its solid up and down maybe the slightest play that I can't feel after a year and a half of it being a utility/work/outdoors folding knife. Blade play is also part of some designs, I think it was bob terzula (spelling?) I'm not sure my memory isn't nice most of the time at my young age, but I think one of his designs is supposed to have play. I think it was gavkoo from youtube talking about it.

I could go on with examples of knives that have this and not that, but to me, if I bought it to use; it'll develop play anyways and it still won't bother me. If I bought it to just look at, then I really don't care because I'm not using it at all. The lock strength and quality is irrelevant at that point.
 
So all you guys, the sog spec elite 1 auto, supposed to have any either direction or not? Anyone have experience with Sog's? Or autos having any? Are they designed to have some because of all the moving parts?
 
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