Blade centering . . . .

STAK · #41

unit wrote:Glad to share.

You are right about perfection. Nothing is. If you think something is perfect, it is an illusion cast by your inability to perceive the flaws. It is a grand quest to seek it though!

Machining is all about tolerances, and if you stack a few tolerances together you get a fit that is (sometimes) visibly skewed...you can go crazy trying to minimize tolerances. It seems that your ability to gauge error always grows faster than your ability to control error Ask anyone who does FINE work...they can tell you everything that is wrong with a piece (and the rest of us would perhaps NEVER even spot a single flaw )

:spyder: I totally agree with you . . . . Example: German rifles WWII, too tight for Russia, many jams . . . . The environment and the use that is made for, is the spark for a designer to create the tolerances of a tool . . . . SPYDERCO manufacture many great tools and if some of them are off center when closed :confused: , it is not the end of the world :eek: , it is a reason to create a thread :D . . . . :spyder:

Toyz · #42

I used to sweat this early on in my knife collecting, but after buying many knives at many price points I don't let it worry me any more.

If the lock up is solid, and the blade doesn't rub the sides - I use the snot out of it.

I ruined one or two knives trying desperately to get the blade centered. Not worth it IMHO.

It's one of the disadvantages to buying on-line - you can't really get to inspect the knife before buying.

STAK · #43

:spyder: I like alot buying on-line :) . . . . I have no access to many shops here selling SPIDIES and the prices on-line are GREAT :D . . . . Years ago i used to buy directly from SPYDERCO (on-line), but the SPIDIES are a little too pricey :eek: compared to other on-line shops, as i think you already know

. . . . If i want to send a SPIDIE back when receive it, i can do it but i do that only if it has something "real" wrong, not just for a blade not be centered (and of course not scraping the handle)

. . . . Thanks for your opinion :) . . . . :spyder:

enduraguy · #44

Does it affect how the knife functions, or cuts?

STAK · #45

enduraguy wrote:Does it affect how the knife functions, or cuts?

:spyder: I already covered that issue :cool: . . . . No, it is just for collectible reasons

. . . . Thanks for posting :) . . . . :spyder:

Shike · #46

Don't want to add salt to the wound but an off center blade would bother the heck out of me. On a cheapo knife .........Who cares! On a good knife like :spyder: yeap, it would bother me. So far it has never happened :D

STAK · #47

Shike wrote:Don't want to add salt to the wound but an off center blade would bother the heck out of me. On a cheapo knife .........Who cares! On a good knife like :spyder: yeap, it would bother me. So far it has never happened :D

:spyder: Lucky you

. . . . I purchase a lot of SPIDIES so some of them are "workers" and i do not mind if the blade is not centered :eek: i just want them to work properly :cool: . . . . . Off course i do not like that issue :cool: but OK . . . . The thing is my "Safe Queen" blue MANIX2 S30V FFG that also have a collectors # on the blade 068V . . . . FORTUNATELY THE BLADE DOES NOT SCRAPE THE INSIDE OF THE HANDLE :D . . . . Thanks for your post :) . . . . :spyder:

Slash · #48

^did you even try to fix any of your off centered blades yet?

I'm no mechanic and it's rather easy for me with a little bit of patience and time.

STAK · #49

Slash wrote:^did you even try to fix any of your off centered blades yet?

I'm no mechanic and it's rather easy for me with a little bit of patience and time.

:spyder: Unfortunately no :rolleyes: . . . . Because of too much work these days

. . . . Hopefully i will try to fix my blue MANIX2 S30V FFG next month :confused: . . . . I will update the results :eek: . . . . Thanks for your concern :) . . . . :spyder:

jackknifeh · #50

Slash wrote:^did you even try to fix any of your off centered blades yet?

I'm no mechanic and it's rather easy for me with a little bit of patience and time.

STAK wrote: :spyder: Unfortunately no :rolleyes: . . . . Because of too much work these days . . . . Hopefully i will try to fix my blue MANIX2 S30V FFG next month :confused: . . . . I will update the results :eek: . . . . Thanks for your concern :) . . . . :spyder:

Just so I understand, when you say the blade is off-center you are talking about when it is closed. That's right isn't it? That is what I've been thinking. My first Manix was the Manix2 M4 (April 25). I got the black one with 154CM blade about a week ago. Both have a little blade play when closed but the blade doesn't hit either liner in either knife. The blade is centered if you just close it and leave it alone. When these knives open and lock they are the most solid feeling knife I own. I'm just at a loss as to why the position of the blade when closed is that big of a deal. Don't get me wrong, I have a problem with an edge that has a bevel that is wider on one side that the other even though the knife is still razor sharp. That is my "thorn in my side". Still I am interested in how you fix the blade centering issue. I'm always concerned that if I change one thing it may affect something else that I am happy with.

Jack

DeathBySnooSnoo · #51

Me too. It seems to be very common with the Manix 2...and while they don't rub and so it shouldn't bother me, it still does. So I'd like to find out what you guys do and what the results are.

STAK · #52

:spyder: All MANIX2 variations have a little blade play when closed, because of the bushing pivot's tolerance . . . . All MANIX2 variations comes razor sharp :eek: . . . . I have four MANIX2 154CM HG, one blue MANIX2 S30V FFG, one MANIX2 CTS-HXP FFG, four MANIX2 STAG-ARMS S30V DLC FFG :D . . . . Only one MANIX2 154CM HG have that problem with "an edge that has a bevel that is wider on one side that the other", and that MANIX2 is my EDC (haven't reprofile it yet) . . . . That happens on HG blades but doesn't affect the function and the use of the SPIDIE . . . . As i already posted "Hopefully i will try to fix my blue MANIX2 S30V FFG next month . . . . I will update the results", because i have too much work these days . . . . Nice talking to you two, jackknifeh and DeathBySnooSnoo :) . . . . :spyder:

DeathBySnooSnoo · #53

Yeah the play doesn't bother me. It's that off center blade that does...and I haven't wanted to take them apart and play around, especially on the sprint runs, so I haven't yet. But if you make it better on your blue one, I's love to see the results!

jackknifeh · #54

OK, you twisted my arm. Tonight I'm going to take my M4 Manix apart and use the Dremel to grind away at the tang (pivot) area of my blade. It must not be flat so I'll flatten it. I love to see sparks fly when grinding metal so I'll probably do it with the lights off. :eek: :eek:

I just remembered I'm not that stupid.

:D

Jack

Slash · #55

try google blade centering or look up on youtube. it's just a matter of loosening the pivot and handle screws. tweek the handle scales and retighten. I've fixed many blades from various knife manu. in that manner. blade play is something that's mostly just part of the design and can't be fixed no matter what you do.

STAK · #56

jackknifeh wrote:OK, you twisted my arm. Tonight I'm going to take my M4 Manix apart and use the Dremel to grind away at the tang (pivot) area of my blade. It must not be flat so I'll flatten it. I love to see sparks fly when grinding metal so I'll probably do it with the lights off. :eek:

I just remembered I'm not that stupid. :D

Jack

:spyder: "Dremel" ???? :eek: :eek: . . . . "grind away at the tang (pivot) area of my blade" ???? :eek: :eek: . . . . You know what i mean :D . . . . :spyder:

STAK · #57

Slash wrote:try google blade centering or look up on youtube. it's just a matter of loosening the pivot and handle screws. tweek the handle scales and retighten. I've fixed many blades from various knife manu. in that manner. blade play is something that's mostly just part of the design and can't be fixed no matter what you do.

:spyder: I already covered that issue :cool: . . . . The MANIX2 has a bushing pivot so it is impossible to cure the "blade centering" issue by loosening or tightening the pivot

. . . . I agree with you about MANIX2 blade play when closed, because of the bushing pivot's tolerance

. . . . I will "search and/or think" some other solution (if there is one) :) . . . . :spyder:

JNewell · #58

jackknifeh wrote:OK, you twisted my arm. Tonight I'm going to take my M4 Manix apart and use the Dremel to grind away at the tang (pivot) area of my blade. It must not be flat so I'll flatten it. I love to see sparks fly when grinding metal so I'll probably do it with the lights off. :eek: :eek:

I just remembered I'm not that stupid. :D

Jack

Phew. I was having a heart attack on your behalf.

JNewell · #59

The posts by Unit in this thread and this thread are worth reading. The suggestions worked for me, with a little trial and error.

Slash · #60

STAK wrote: :spyder: I already covered that issue :cool: . . . . The MANIX2 has a bushing pivot so it is impossible to cure the "blade centering" issue by loosening or tightening the pivot . . . . I agree with you about MANIX2 blade play when closed, because of the bushing pivot's tolerance . . . . I will "search and/or think" some other solution (if there is one) :) . . . . :spyder:

you don't play with the pivot. pivot is only for speed of deployment and blade play tolerances. sure it does move the blade a bit side to side on some knives. but, that's something you'll have to figure out on your own when making the adjustments.

for centering you adjust the handles as already discussed earlier in the thread. like I said look it up and find a demo. on youtube or something.