Skeletool Blade Play When Closed

[Old Boy]

Like the blade is closed or down, but you press 1 last time and it clicks down a smidge. Is this some wondrous, unheard, hidden function that will miraculously change my life? The blade edge seems to be fine, I shone a flashlight and can't tell if it's hitting anything since the housing is curved. Cant post a video just yet. What do you all Skeletool owners think? I already had it returned for warranty service so not really looking forward to doing this again.

[Gerhard Gerber]

Nope, sorry, just checked mine and no movement.

The bump at the bottom of the ricasso stops against the chassis, so the only way I can imagine what you describe happening is if that bump is missing and you then push passed the detent?

[WoodsDuck]

Mine is pretty squarely planted on the kick when closed too. Sounds like you might have a defect there.

[Old Boy]

Ok so all my videos suck, never mind. The movement is so small you can't see it, just tactile noticeable.

The bump on the ricasso is there I think. Detent doesn't seem to be impacted from what I could tell from Google Images. Most likely the last post was correct it's a defect. A wondrous defect that no one else has and will make everyone fiercely jealous.

If it is it seems harmless. Except for the fierce envy it instills. The only reason why this even happened that I could think of was that this was the 1st version with PE blade, and when I sent it to be warranty fixed I told them to keep the PE. What they did instead was upgrade the blade with a PE with better steel, probably from a CX or Free Style. Maybe the tolerances are slightly different.

It's all good, I still look sexy using it.

[Blackbeard]

looking at mine I don't have any play, do you have a picture of the main blade while it is open? I would think the issue is the side of knife(the one that is adjacent to the star screw and  the circular outer washer) on the same side of the cutting edge and the lock, might have been ground down too much.  enabling it to move when you close it, whereas a normal version would hit the retaining wall under the leatherman logo. post a pic so I can compare it.

[Poncho65]

If you do send it in make sure to write a note that you have already had this in once for warranty and you are not happy that it has to be sent in again I am pretty sure there should not be any movement as well LM will make it right I am sure though

[Old Boy]

Appreciate the help guys. Here is what I got. If the history helps I had it warranty repaired due to vertical blade play when locked open (it had side to side play but I fixed it by tightening the pivot). Thanks!

[Blackbeard]

to start: I have no writing of the steel type on my blade, the 154cm on yours does not appear on mine. also the printed word leatherman on mine is much darker, but that could be a camera trick, so I'm not saying its reality, but my printing looks almost black and yours grey.

Gonna grab some coffee and take another look at the area you described with magnifying glass. I definently think we have different year runs, due to the blade markings.

[Blackbeard]

actually, i think I see the issue, now, that 1/2 circle at the end of the blade where it meets the base, directly under the 154cm, but on the cutting edge side: that is huge, that must be the issue, on my copy that 1/2 circle is negligble almost not even there, I can post a pic later, bt I dount that even looks the same as pic from a new one on sale

[aurabattler]

Looks like you changed the blade, right? 
It's a original skeletool with 154cm pe blade so I think the blade is changed.

It looks like the problem of the blade to me more than the tool itself.  I circled the problem part.  The knuckle which stops the blade from hitting the base is too shallow. It should be way deeper. I also took a picture of mine for your reference. You may also find some pictures online or borrow one from a friend to compare that little part.  I am pretty sure this is the cause of your problem.  If you really have the blade changed, try to get back to the blade source.

[Blackbeard]

agree, that seems to be the area that looks visually different to me as well, suspect it was ground or sanded down too much. aurabattler's version and mine have more meat on them in those pics, also if you jump to the leatherman forum, and look at some other skeletool pics, you see a wide variety to compare yours to.

[Old Boy]

Ok I think I understand. Good eyes folks. I can tell I'm talking to some Engineers 😀 The back stop is a bit shallow. What I think LM did when they repaired the blade was replaced it with a PE from a CX or Free Style which happens to be a better grade steel. One of the reasons why I love this tool, a kinda company approved mod. They may have also ground up too much metal as I had asked them for a solid lock up.

In your opinions, is this a bad thing? I tried finding out by putting some gun oil on the edge and ricasso then closing it. It left oil in the bottom of the housing at the ricasso only which I think is a good thing (blade edge not impacted), but it's possible that it just dripped down on its own.

Just seems a waste of good return postage for something that could be aesthetic only in nature. But I would consider returning it for repair if say the blade edge was getting dulled (looked it over and I can't tell).

Thanks much!!!

[pomsbz]

Are you sure this isn't just a problem of screw tightness? When I installed a new blade onto my skeletool I had to adjust the screw subtly to stop it slightly catching as it closed and stop the click down you are mentioning.

[aurabattler]

Just seems a waste of good return postage for something that could be aesthetic only in nature. But I would consider returning it for repair if say the blade edge was getting dulled (looked it over and I can't tell).

Thanks much!!!

You may try to close the blade a few times with some excessive force. If the blade hit the base,  it will be dull after a few times open and close with force. If it doesn't hit the base, it won't affect the blade. Use a strong flash light and look closely,  the bottom of the blade will tell you the truth. 

If it doesn't dull the blade,  I think it doesn't worth sending it back.   

The blade will still be save despite the little movement.  There is a bead at the top of the liner lock which sneak into the upper hole of the blade to avoid it from swinging out itself.  If the bead is in place when the blade is closed, it should be save and good.

[Old Boy]

Thanks autobattler and pomsbz for the tips as well as giving me a chance to say those names as part of the English language   I can cross this off my bucket  list. 

I feel somewhat dumbo, I was closing it forcibly several times (by the way the edge seems fine), and I realized that if I open the handles up to expose the piers there were additional cut outs that give you a better view. Not 100% but there are enough cutouts (gotta love that design) that shows me that about 70% or so of the edge has several mm clearance before hitting the bottom. More than enough to compensate for that slight last closing movement. It's possible that it's still hitting something but the whole design follows a regular curvature so I'm just going to assume that all is well and that I have cool mysterious LM feature that I can lord over the common peeps

I soooo appreciate all the feedback. It has let me think outside the box, given me direction, and pushed me to resolve this. Honestly without this forum  I would have just given up long time ago and spent money on postage, and possibly gotten a warranty fix that may potentially cause more problems. I just joined this forum so I'm just overwhelmed by everyone's participation and patience. Again my heartfelt thanks.
When I get a chance I'll try to take a picture of what I'm trying to describe, but for you Skelly owners you know what I'm talking about. It's the 4 cutouts on the other side of the blade housing, just open those pliers up. I don't know exactly what's stopping the blade when closed, maybe someone can rephrase that post, I'm still mulling that over. Thanks!!!

[Old Boy]

Here is the pic I promised. As you can see there is some clearance. I'm positive now the extra click came from the ricasso. When I shone a flashlight through that part at first stop there was a slight ray of light that shone through, when I pressed down harder  for that click the light was blocked.