A few observations about the Spyderco Starmate

[Bugout Bill]

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to handle my buddy's Spyderco Starmate. I had bought it for him as a birthday present back in July, but I hadn't really taken a good look at the knife. Over the course of his visit, I made a few discoveries about the knife.

- He had been having an issue with some grittiness in the action, but a quick lubing of the pivot and detent ball seems to have fixed that completely.

- The pivot was a bit overtightened from the factory, but an eighth of a turn loosened it to its optimal point.

- The knife is sharp, and not in a good way. The liners and handle scales could use some chamfering, which is kind of unfortunate as the ergos are otherwise excellent.

Anyway, has anyone else had these issues with their Starmates? Thanks for any input.

PS: Some obligatory pics

 

[Liquid Cobra]

There have been many threads in this forum and others regarding the various issues related to the Starmates fit and finish. If you don't get any responses I would suggest a search. It's a shame really, this was on my must have list. Thanks for posting.

 

[FTR-14c]

I was looking into the Starmate but went for the Gayle Bradley instead.
Very happy with my decision, the GB is awesome.

 

[Bugout Bill]

There have been many threads in this forum and others regarding the various issues related to the Starmates fit and finish. If you don't get any responses I would suggest a search. It's a shame really, this was on my must have list. Thanks for posting.

I've heard about the F&F issues, the only real one that this one exhibits is the rattling lanyard tube, along with a small gouge at the base of the blade.

If the liners were chamfered, this would probably be the best tactical folder Spyderco made.

 

[mattmanyam]

you can knock the sharpness of the liners with a Sharpmaker stone, just a couple swipes will make a notable difference.

Your description of this as an "issue", is misleading, as many makers are proud of the crisp edges, as many feel it is a sign of quality and skillful construction. (it's ready to knock them down to your preference, tough to keep that precision throughout the manufacturing process...)

 

[Bazillions]

I've been trying to trade mine for a while. The knife is just too large for my needs. The unfinished part at the base of the blade didn't bother me as the rest is mirror clean. I also liked its "sharpness" in the hand. Not jagged but not rounded either; it's not gonna slip away. The knife also had some of the smoothest action I've encountered too. If it were scaled down a bit I'd be using it, but it's just too much blade for me.

 

[Bugout Bill]

you can knock the sharpness of the liners with a Sharpmaker stone, just a couple swipes will make a notable difference.

Your description of this as an "issue", is misleading, as many makers are proud of the crisp edges, as many feel it is a sign of quality and skillful construction. (it's ready to knock them down to your preference, tough to keep that precision throughout the manufacturing process...)

If that is a sign of quality, then why do the cheaper Tenacious line (with arguably just as good of quality control) come with smooth liners?

 

[fielder]

I like my Starmate. Yes the lanyard sleeve rattles, yes I had to sand the edges of the G10, yes there is that unfinished spot at the start of the blade. These things should not be like that, but somehow I still like it.

 

[Barman1]

I remedied my Starmate issues.
Filed the sharp liner edges with the fine triangle Sharpmaker rod, swaged the lanyard tube, and sanded the rough blade edge with a die grinder.
There is nothing really noticeable with these small mods, just rounds out an otherwise great solid knife.

 

[Bugout Bill]

I remedied my Starmate issues.
Filed the sharp liner edges with the fine triangle Sharpmaker rod, swaged the lanyard tube, and sanded the rough blade edge with a die grinder.
There is nothing really noticeable with these small mods, just rounds out an otherwise great solid knife.

How exacly did you file the liners? Did you have to disassemble the knife?

 

[Barman1]

How exacly did you file the liners? Did you have to disassemble the knife?

I did take it apart. Figured sanding the blade would shoot the warranty down and I needed to disassemble to repair the lanyard tube properly anyway. No glue on my knives.
It's a real simple knife, nothing hidden inside to jump out at you or anything and simple to reassemble. But remember it's at your own risk.

 

[the kid]

Barman1 did you change the blade and edge near the handle as well?
Yours is very different from Bugout Bill's picture which looks very strange.

 

[Barman1]

Barman1 did you change the blade and edge near the handle as well?
Yours is very different from Bugout Bill's picture which looks very strange.

No, I simply ground it with a rotary bit. No other modification and didn't touch the sharpened edge at all. Took like 30 seconds.
In the other photo it looks like a file was used maybe. That could be why it looks squared.

 

[RevDevil]

you can knock the sharpness of the liners with a Sharpmaker stone, just a couple swipes will make a notable difference.

Your description of this as an "issue", is misleading, as many makers are proud of the crisp edges, as many feel it is a sign of quality and skillful construction. (it's ready to knock them down to your preference, tough to keep that precision throughout the manufacturing process...)

I agree. Folks forget that one production company that uses various manufacturing facilities across the globe has differing standards. This is a great knife, it's very well made and is pretty close in terms of overall package compared to the base custom.

Barman1 did you change the blade and edge near the handle as well?
Yours is very different from Bugout Bill's picture which looks very strange.

I don't that there is that much difference aside from the part that has been ground out clean and smooth on Barmans knife. It's a before and after. I'm not understanding your confusion.

 

[the kid]

I agree. Folks forget that one production company that uses various manufacturing facilities across the globe has differing standards. This is a great knife, it's very well made and is pretty close in terms of overall package compared to the base custom.

I don't that there is that much difference aside from the part that has been ground out clean and smooth on Barmans knife. It's a before and after. I'm not understanding your confusion.

Because he wrote: "Filed the sharp liner edges with the fine triangle Sharpmaker rod, swaged the lanyard tube, and sanded the rough blade edge with a die grinder."

Which indicates to me he didn't do anything about the part of the blade near the handle. But it looks very different from the OP's picture.