A hit on Spyderco

verisharp

verisharp

Joined
Jan 15, 2011
Messages
528
So lately, I've been looking at purchasing either a 2011 persian or a caly 3 or 3.5... I'm still going to buy one of these fine knives but I am baffled by the fact that these knives are pinned together with rivet type pins and not held together with "torx" screws... I realize that spyderco prefers that you not take your knife apart and just send it back to them for repair, but if your in the field, and need to clean or fix your knife, being able to disassemble it is a must. Is there any other reasons they would pin it together.
 
Not sure their reasoning but in ten years I've never had to take apart a pinned spyderco. The sage is screw together and I prefer it over the caly in every way FYI.
 
I'm looking at the sky blue 2011 sage... I think the knife is the most good looking knife spydercos ever made. It's expensive though
 
Some knives are pinned because that is the way the designer wanted it, others are pinned because it made more sense from a manufacturing standpoint.

The Salt series is now Torx construction and it used to be pinned. Believe it or not, some people are NOT happy about this because they prefer pinned construction.

I would guess that the Persian was pinned because the designer wanted it that way...I must agree with the notion that a smooth finished bolstered knife would look bad with screw heads interrupting the sleek lines.

The real question to me would be, what advantage do screws offer? If the knife is constructed properly, there is no need to adjust anything, and pins generally do not fall out of loosen over time. Cleaning? I have slip joints that are several generations old that are pinned and somehow they have always been cleaned up without deconstruction (and they are still in adjustment).

There are many pinned Spyderco knives that have proven worthy after over a decade of use. Similarly there are MANY examples of stripped screws, screws falling out, and a need for periodic adjustment when screws are used.
 
verisharp said:
I'm looking at the sky blue 2011 sage... I think the knife is the most good looking knife spydercos ever made. It's expensive though
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Perhaps you mean the Sage 3, with the Blackie Collins bolt action lock?

FWIW, we are unlikely to see a Spyderco with the Axis lock, IMO.
 
It was explained to me that pinned construction allow the knife body to be thinner because you don't need to factor in additional bearing surface for the screw heads.

I agree that I would rather have a knife with screw construction, but there are a lot of pinned together knives from a lot of companies that have been giving good service for a lot of years. My first Spyderco was a G10 Rookie that is pinned, and it seems to be holding up just fine after all these years.
 
verisharp said:
So lately, I've been looking at purchasing either a 2011 persian or a caly 3 or 3.5... I'm still going to buy one of these fine knives but I am baffled by the fact that these knives are pinned together with rivet type pins and not held together with "torx" screws... I realize that spyderco prefers that you not take your knife apart and just send it back to them for repair, but if your in the field, and need to clean or fix your knife, being able to disassemble it is a must. Is there any other reasons they would pin it together.
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First of all, do you really carry Torx drivers with you in the field? Second, do you also carry spare screws with you in the field? What happens when you drop one of those tiny screws in the field and can't find it? In my mind, that's when a dirty knife turns into an unusable/broken knife, with no one to blame but the user. Just because it has screw construction doesn't make taking it apart a good idea, even on your workbench at home, much less in the field. As incredible as it seems, manufacturers use screw construction for their convenience, not yours.
 
I'm sure the guys at spyderco thought about it and decided a pinned construction would better suit its purpose. That being said if the knife is going to be used outdoors/hiking/camping/boating I would pass for one thats really easy to strip down and clean.

yablanowitz said:
First of all, do you really carry Torx drivers with you in the field? Second, do you also carry spare screws with you in the field? What happens when you drop one of those tiny screws in the field and can't find it? In my mind, that's when a dirty knife turns into an unusable/broken knife, with no one to blame but the user. Just because it has screw construction doesn't make taking it apart a good idea, even on your workbench at home, much less in the field. As incredible as it seems, manufacturers use screw construction for their convenience, not yours.
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I carry a repair kit, with whatever I need for the outing. Spare screws? No but if you lay the knife on a white shirt your not going to loose anything.

I wouldn't take the knife apart for the hell of it but I have had to do it I will.
 
I have a Spyderco Native and it is pinned. I have had it for 4 years and it is just as tight and good as it was the first day. I love it. Honestly, I would rather have a pinned knife that is done right than one that uses torx screws. Perfect pocket knife.
 
yablanowitz said:
First of all, do you really carry Torx drivers with you in the field? Second, do you also carry spare screws with you in the field? What happens when you drop one of those tiny screws in the field and can't find it? In my mind, that's when a dirty knife turns into an unusable/broken knife, with no one to blame but the user. Just because it has screw construction doesn't make taking it apart a good idea, even on your workbench at home, much less in the field. As incredible as it seems, manufacturers use screw construction for their convenience, not yours.
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You jogged my brain with this post. (in a good way ;)) No wonder Nutnfancy goes on about open "full pillar construction." If you're in the field with a folder and get it really nasty or needing to be "fixed" - can't think of too many ways to do that - you'll not want to be disassembling folders which can be tricky enough in your living room or man cave.

if you lay the knife on a white shirt your not going to loose anything.
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Riiiight - as some little widget goes flying 6 feet away! Tell me it's never happened to a true knife nut. :eek:
 
mat_890 said:
I'm sure the guys at spyderco thought about it and decided a pinned construction would better suit its purpose. That being said if the knife is going to be used outdoors/hiking/camping/boating I would pass for one thats really easy to strip down and clean.
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When I'm doing those things I generally use a fixed blade. The only time my EDC folder gets all that dirty is when I'm using it for farm chores or stuff that happens unexpectedly.

If I'm expecting dirty or hard use conditions then I'll choose a fixed blade unless there is some sort of extraordinary circumstance.
 
I have found that reassembly of an Endura (torx screws) is very difficult, after spending a couple of hours of trial and error I was able to gain enough skill to properly put it back together.

It may have been more easy with specialized tools which I am not aware of nor know anything about.

This experience had discouraged me from ever doing it again. I conclude that some of these knives, even with screw construction, are not designed to be field stripped. The tolerances are very tight and parts are difficult to hold in perfect alignment under strong spring tension with a razor sharp blade that can be at times less than an inch away from your fingers (I would include a roll of duct tape for the blade in your disassembly kit if I were you.)

I would just as well clean as best as I can assembled since screw construction would not solve the problems that come with reassembling some of these knives.
 
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I guess it's just me but, I don't see the utility of carrying a gentlemans folder into the woods. That is what I catagorize the Caly3, Persian2, etc. When I go for a day long hike the last thing I want to do is to take apart a knife with tiny screws, especially a lockback. Unless you are low crawling through swamps or clay there should really be no reason to disassemble a knife. Get yourself a fixed blade.
 
elkins45 said:
When I'm doing those things I generally use a fixed blade. The only time my EDC folder gets all that dirty is when I'm using it for farm chores or stuff that happens unexpectedly.

If I'm expecting dirty or hard use conditions then I'll choose a fixed blade unless there is some sort of extraordinary circumstance.
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While I do carry fixed blades in my pack for just that reason, I still prefer a pocket folder. There are folders on the market that can be stripped by a 5 year old without problem. The Ontario Rat 1 is what I have used, never lost a screw or had anything rocket out 6 feet away.

My current EDC will never see an outdoor activity because its just to damn hard to reassemble. (spyderco stretch frn)
 
this knife fights for EDC with my Ritter mini grip
centofante3.jpg
 
In 15+ years of carrying a folder in the bush, I have yet to "field strip" it in the bush. I really question the need of some people to completely break down a knife (even a fixed blade like taking scales off etc.) if it comes in contact with a bit of water or blood or whatever. Yes, I maintain my tools to keep them clean and functional but disassemble my knife out in the bush to get a bit of lint or bark out of it? No way. Just my .02.
 
It used to be, 30 or more years ago, screwed-together folding knives were almost unheard of. Virtually all hard-use folders were pinned, and there was no need for field take-down. Most notably among these, the Buck 110. Probably the most popular 'hard-use' folder of all time, and it's still pinned construction, even today.

The relatively modern phenomenon of actually needing to disassemble a knife in order to maintain it, is mostly an imagined one. Once somebody created such a knife, suddenly everyone starts believing it's essential. It isn't, so long as some minimal care is taken to keep it reasonably clean in the first place.

Sort of reminds me of the days before cell phones. Most people these days, wouldn't dare go out into the big, scary world without one. But there was a time when people got along just fine without them.
 
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