Minor "blade rub" - is it normal??

[v_roomy]

Hi all... I just began collecting recently. Three of the knives I own - two stockmans and a multi-tool, all bought brand new - either came with, or have developed, what I would describe as minor rub marks on some of the blades. By this I mean surface marks where the front edge of one blade has rubbed against the side of another blade as it opens and closes. The marks are minor, and polish out fairly quickly with a Cape Cod cloth, but I was kind of surprised they occurred at all. One of the knives is a cheap (but - in my view - nice quality) "Rough Rider" stockman, one is a Case Medium stockman, and the other is a Victorinox Spartan multi-tool. On the latter, the *very* minor marks appear to come from the blade rubbing against the liner.

Is this common? Is it accepted as "one of those things"? Or should I be dissatisfied with the knives and ask for examples where this doesn't happen?

Thanks in advance!

Mike

[remington collector]

I would say that with the examples you listed, I would consider it common. They just don't make knives like they used to. In a pre-40 Remington knife, I would consider it very uncommon for any of the blades to rub against each other or the liners. With the modern knives, I'd just take it with a grain of salt.

[v_roomy]

Thanks for the response. I'm glad I got *one* - I was beginning to wonder if this blade-rub thing was abnormal, and people were just being kind by not saying anything!!!

Cheers

Mike

[olderdogs1]

I have a lot of knives, several hundred, mostly bulldogs. Most have some what I call minor blade rub. It is more prevalent in some patterns of Bulldogs than others. Most bulldog sowbellys have it on the same location on the same blade which would indicate to me that it was the way it was made. A lot of the other patterns, some do and some don't. When you see one that has some age on it and doesn't have any blade rub, to me that is a sign that the knife was put together right and makes it more desirable. When I sell a knife on Ebay, I always point it out if it is there. I'd rather have a happy customer and a few less dollars than surprise someone when they open it.

[v_roomy]

Thanks, that's good to know.

I guess I was a little surprised that the Case stockman in my collection also suffered from it, as my understanding is that these are considered decent knives. Having said that, all of my knives are small - 4" or under, and quite narrow - and there really isn't a lot of room for three or four blades to squeeze between those liners. Plus, the blades are subject to a certain amount of flex anyhow... so I guess it's not so surprising that it happens.

Ironically, I have a Schrade "Old Timer" small stockman that doesn't suffer from the problem in the slightest.

So long as I know it's a common issue and not something to worry about, then I'll forget about it and get on with the job of enjoying my knives

Cheers

Mike