All About Pocket Knives

On occasion I see blades that are fully open where the spine of the blade (or the whole blade) is slightly angled off the spring... the only example I have which is kinda funny is my only Case knife attached -
Nonetheless this is a visual and I have seen others - the question is why? Is it just how it was made and how the bottom of tang meets the spring - or is this an issue? Note the blade snaps well and it is tight on the Case. I had another example but sold it - a Thomaston Jack where master and pen blade angled off the spring but again the blades were functioning perfectly - hard snap and tight.

Curious what others think? I was thinking it was just how the tang and spring were ground and how they meet but maybe there is more to it ..

I have a Robeson tickler that opens like that. I don't like that in a knife but what can be done. The issue is the run up; if one were to remove 1/32" from the end of the blade spine the problem could be solved. That's sort of a general dimension, but the point is it would take very little to make it right.
It just didn't happen in the manufacturing process and when the knife is assembled the issue becomes evident.
It wasn't practical to take a almost perfectly good knife apart and grind the end of the spine to make it fit properly.
So, it went out the door.
That's my take on it, anyway.

Thanks Joe ... your explanation makes sense and was what I was thinking.... maybe not worth the time or effort to pull the pins and grind it to make it right... other thoughts anybody? How. Bout from a users standpoint??

I have made many replacement blades for folders with broken blades that I bought cheap to rebuild, and fitting the new blade to the rest of the knife is a lot of trial and error work. You can imagine that if you had 25 people doing this with the same exact set of parts to begin with would end with 25 different results. You have the "human element" involved here, with the one you have shown being the person who says to themselves "that's good enough, on to the next one". Your point in saying "it would take very little to make it right" is correct, but it would take very little too much to ruin it completely. So they let it go as is.

Hey Lee,

From the picture, I assume the blade tang does not line up flush with backspring? In other words be there is a gap when blade is fully open? Is that correct?

Jerry

OC - that makes good sense ...

Jerry - I don’t have a photo but where the blade tang meets the spring is flush - ie no gap or space.. One of the reasons I am asking is because I can’t find any issues other than the blade angles when fully open.. thanks for bringing that up as a possibility ..

I have and have had knives with this problem, it's kind of irritating.

An angled blade is not something that I like. I can understand what Joe is saying about it being the result of a very small machining error. BUT, why is it that cheap knives like Colonial from the past, or cheap knives from China today, never seem to have that problem? Surely Case is capable of doing just as good of work as Colonial or Rough Rider. Here is the Case with an angled blade that I own, maybe not as off as Lee's.

I once fixed a Case whittler with that very problem. Nothing that filing the end of the spring down couldn't fix, but irritating that it was released into the wild like that in the first place.

It is frustrating and IMHO inexcusable. In my observation it seems more prevalent in some Case patterns but not seen in others at all. Most I’ve seen were knives made in the late 1980s and 1990s. I’ve also seen it on a few other brands, like Schrade, but I’ve seen more Case than others (maybe I’m just seeing more Case knives because that’s what I’m looking at. ).

I don’t think it affects function, just appearance. The few I have handled had good walk-and-talk, tight blades, etc. Still no excuse for it.

Ken

I’d rather have it like that. Opening too much would be much worse.

I've had numerous knives with this problem. Knives with this problem often have the spring sticking up above the knife frame. I usually file the back of the knife blade or spring down til I get the knife where it needs to be. This doesnt always work because of the design of some knives doesnt allow you much access to the back of the blade or spring to file. Some must be taken apart to fix correctly. Im sure this was a time saving effort by the manufacturer to cut corners and save money. It takes more time to properly fit a knife together.

eveled wrote:I’d rather have it like that. Opening too much would be much worse.

I’d rather have it done right, but I hear what you’re saying. Opening too far would be even worse.

Ken

Thanks all for the replies - I definitely have a better understanding and perspective now when I see it in the future ... I guess the problem occurs across multiple companies and while I thought it was just the old days I find it interesting that it still happens in more modern knives... I guess quality control is no better today....

What gets me is all the footage of them assembling Victorinox SAK knives. They just reach in the parts bins drop them on the jig and press them together. No fitting whatsoever. I’ve never seen a SAK with these types of issues. They also have very consistent snap. No nail breakers and none that are weak. I’ve also never seen a broken spring on a SAK.

I had thought that this angle was intentional to put the blade into optimal functional position. I based this one the blade spine/spring meeting being perfectly aligned. I have not had 2 examples of the same knife in which the blade angle differed.
With the Case knives shown above, are there examples of the same pattern with blade lining up straight to the handle when open ?
kj

eveled wrote:What gets me is all the footage of them assembling Victorinox SAK knives. They just reach in the parts bins drop them on the jig and press them together. No fitting whatsoever. I’ve never seen a SAK with these types of issues. They also have very consistent snap. No nail breakers and none that are weak. I’ve also never seen a broken spring on a SAK.

I’ve watched those videos too. They do lots of high tech CNC machining and pressing. It’s all very impressive and precise. As much as I love my traditionals, it’s amazing how inexpensive the quality of a SAK is.

As to the OP knife, I’ve had those too, some worse than others. It’s a shame.

I've always thought that ideally a well fit and constructed folding knife should have the blades on a plane close to but never past 180 degrees when opened. Blades that fall far shy of the 180 degrees or go past 180 are signs of bad fit and construction, rough use, tampering or poor repair work.