Salt 1 blade play

[Jesting Devil]

Hi all,
A couple months ago I got my Salt 1 as a beach and EDC knife to take to college. It's my first Spyderco (there will be more) and I liked so much that both my dad and girlfriend are now carrying :spyder: 's :D

Recently though I noticed a very slight amount of play in the blade when I hold the tip and press up on the blade and it's also noticeable when cutting (through packaging and boxes and things). The amount of play isn't enough to be visible but I feel it through my thumb on the spine...

So im wondering if this is normal for a pinned knife to develop a little play and I shouldnt worry or if I should send it in to spyderco and see what they can do

Thanks a lot in advance!

[dsmegst]

Welcome to the forum.

Since Salts are not steel lined, they do exhibit a little side to side play. Also, pretty much every lock back knife I've owned has a TINY bit of movement when the blade is pressed while the knife is locked open. Any sort of slack built into the pivots, locks, etc. will shift if pressed. Sounds normal to me.

[dirtpig67]

I have both a Salt 1 and a Pacific Salt and both have absolutely zero play in any direction and they have been used a fair amount. While a certain amount of play is not really an issue on factory built knives, if you are feel it while cutting I would say you may have a problem. That is my "line in the sand" when it comes to blade play but have never had that issue on a Spyderco.

However, it is really hard to tell from just a written description of how "bad" it really is.

[dsmegst]

I have both a Salt 1 and a Pacific Salt and both have absolutely zero play in any direction and they have been used a fair amount. While a certain amount of play is not really an issue on factory built knives, if you are feel it while cutting I would say you have a problem. If there is that much play in the blade, you might want to give Spyderco a call.

Hm, that's not been my experience. Most locking systems like linerlocks, framelocks, compression locks, BBLs, and CBBLs, will "pre-load" most of the slack in the pivots so that there's almost zero movement when you start cutting.

I don't think that's true for most lockbacks. I'm sure you can get a number of knives where the tolerances are so tight that they do lock up as close to perfection as is possible but I think the chances are greater for a tiny bit of slack to be in the system.

My most often used lockbacks, 2 Delicas, Salt 1, and a Native do have some slack. I'm not even going to use the term "movement" as that implies some problem with the knife.

[Jesting Devil]

Thanks for the quick advice, this forum really is an amazing place! This is my first experience with a lockback knife (previously carried CRKT linerlocks) so I'm still getting used to the design a little.

As to how "bad" the play is, its really very slight so I'm sure its just normal from what you guys are saying

[v8r]

I have several Lock back knives , and pretty much all of them have at least some vertical blade play. I personally don't think it's a problem until the blade can be moved a substantial amount.

[The CoPilot]

A couple months ago I got my Salt 1 as a beach and EDC knife to take to college. It's my first Spyderco (there will be more) and I liked so much that both my dad and girlfriend are now carrying :spyder: 's :D

My Salt 1 has the exact same condition. But it's never bothered me. Perfectly normal for back locks.

[dirtpig67]

I have several Lock back knives , and pretty much all of them have at least some vertical blade play. I personally don't think it's a problem until the blade can be moved a substantial amount.

Maybe I just got lucky with mine.

I have a Mariner Salt that has just a hint of slack in it now but both the Salt 1 and Pacific Salt have absolutely zero slack in them. The Salt 1 is still mint, but the Pacific has been used a fair amount and still has not even a hint of slack - at least none that I can detect by sight or touch.

[cosmo7809]

I have a SALT 1 I beat the heck out of and while there is some TINY TINY side to side, there is NO up and down play.

[araneae]

Sounds like fairly normal movement of the lockbar and blade to me. Many of my lockback knives exhibit this, some do not.

[Jesting Devil]

Ok thanks for the advice everyone. I think I'm going to leave it alone for now :)