A word about quality control.

CrimsonTideShooter

CrimsonTideShooter

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Oct 23, 2010
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Spyderco is known for quality. No matter where the knife is made, you are guaranteed quality. But, there is a trend I am noticing about the fit and finish of my spydies that perplexes me.

I have the tenacious (3 of them), made in China. The quality and fit and finish for a ~30 dollar knife is outstanding. I was very impressed with the quality that was achieved using the Chinese manufacturer. These 3 knives are my only experience with spyderco's made in China line, and I was impressed.

Then I bought two Manix 2's, two Camo Military's, and also the CF S90V Para2. All made right here in the USA. The first Manix 2 had very slight blade play. Ok, no big deal. I tighten down the pivot screws and that helps a bit, but it is still not perfect. Move on to the next manix 2. This one has a very sticky BBL, and is very difficult to disengage. Ok, that will wear in with use. BUT, I notice that the clip is loose. I tighten down all three screws, and two of them tighten right up. The third, (top screw) shears in half without any torque applied to it at all. How does this happen? I didn't even get to tighten it at all and the screw just shears in half. Ok, well I guess I'm shelling out 20 bucks for a clip kit. No big deal, you have to pay to play.

Now on to the two military's. The first one I received was perfect in almost every way. No blade play, perfectly centered, etc; except for the fact that two of the 6 screws were completely stripped from the factory. I contacted spyderco and they sent me some screws. I replace them and everything is good. Now the second military is a different story. The blade is so far off centered that it nearly rubs the liner on the left side. So I try to loosen the knife and move the blade over. Everything works out ok except for the fact that the middle screw on the right side will not tighten. The threads in the spacer are stripped, or this hole was never tapped. Either way, the screw won't stay in. So I either have to send this off to get it fixed or just super glue the screw in the hole and live with it. Since this is a user I'm just going to live with it.

Now on to the Para 2. This thing is perfect in every way. I was completely blown away with the fit and finish on this thing. It is awesome.

Next up is the Gayle Bradley I just received, made in Taiwan. This thing is absolutely PERFECT. The fit and finish is so impeccable that I would be more than willing to pay up to 300 dollars for this same knife, but I don't have to because spyderco has them made in Taiwan. I mean this knife is perfect. Blade is centered, there is no blade play open or closed, the carbon fiber is smoothed on all the edges, and there is much more that I can't seem to articulate. All the screws are tight, none of them are stripped, and everything feels solid as a rock.



Now the question is:
If China and Taiwan can get the QC this good, why can't our people right here in America do the same? Don't get me wrong, I love spyderco and I will be a customer for life, but so far it seems that their stuff made overseas trumps the made in USA product. Maybe my experience is the exception and not the rule, but it seems like I am better off buying the spydies that aren't made in Golden, Colorado. I'm hoping some of you guys can chime in, and hopefully Sal himself. I am in no way bashing spyderco. I am definitely not done buying their made in America product, I just hope that this trend in quality control doesn't persist.
 
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Hope my Manix 2 will arrive in perfect condition! But I will agree with you on the Tenacious, mine was flawless.
 
See, my experience was quite different.

My Tenacious had blade play, tiny bit up-and down and quite a bit side to side (which was easy to fix, not an issue, really). It also had extremely rough edges on the G10, especially near the lock bar part of the liner which would cut into my hand and produce pretty annoying blisters. Second day after I bought it, though, I found out it had a nasty tendency to open in my pocket... Switched the pocket clip position to prevent this, but got a nice cut and a nice new hole in my jeans. Otherwise, pretty good fit and finish, just nothing to write home about. Wasn't concerned about it looking pretty at the time because I made it my work knife right away.

My Manix-2 is absolutely flawless. Perfectly centered, no blade play, solid lockup, extremely well machined and ground in every way. I'd have to go over this thing with a magnifying glass to find something wrong with it. After a fair amount of use and abuse it's developed some side-to-side play, but that's it.

My Endura 3 ATS-55 had boatloads of side-to-side and up-and-down play (the most I've ever seen in a knife, as far as I recall). I'm not sure if that was just a characteristic of the construction (pivot pinned lockback), but there it was. Opening was really gritty at first but smoothed out quickly. Pocket clip kept loosening right off on its own. Otherwise, excellent machining and grinding all around.

From my experience, I might have posed the question: "If Spyderco's USA factory can produce a totally flawless knife, why can't their Japanese and Chinese factories do the same?". At the same time, if I had had the same experience you had with your golden-made spydies, I would be a bit disappointed, too. I guess I'm just saying it's interesting how much results may vary, no matter where the knife is from.
 
CrimsonTideShooter...

Your observations are blowing me away. I never thought about this, but considering the Spyderco knives I have, I have to agree with you. My recent purchase of a Military M4 was sent straight back to the factory because the top clip screw was sheared in half, on a brand new knife. I applaud Spyderco for fixing it under warranty at no cost to me (less shipping to CO), but why was it this way in the first place?

My Gayle Bradley, made in Taiwan (obviously) has absolutely perfect fit and finish. There isn't a single flaw...period.

I paid double for the Military as I did for the GB. Granted the clip screw issue is very, very minor, but it still bugs me just a little that I had this issue in the first place. I'm not glad you had problems with your knife/knives, but I'm glad I'm not alone in this.

We could all go back and forth on this all day about all of our individual, case-by-case knives, so YMMV, but this is just my humble opinion...
 
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A related question to add to the OP.

Is there a quality difference between standard production spyderco's and sprint run models? Is extra care given to the sprint models because they are generally sent to collectors and there is a limited run of them?
 
I think the Asians are delivering a better product more often than not and I thought so before I ever heard of the GB.

me - 2 cents
 
00ChevyScott said:
A related question to add to the OP.

Is there a quality difference between standard production spyderco's and sprint run models? Is extra care given to the sprint models because they are generally sent to collectors and there is a limited run of them?
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If anything I would say the opposite tends to be true, at least on the "high end" Sprints from Japan. Am sure some of it is the result of the audience being folks who tend to be more picky and/or having higher expectations of a limited edition than they'd have of a regular one, and I realize it's harder to get things just right on a short run, but some of it is stuff that should never have made it out the door.

Paul
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00ChevyScott said:
A related question to add to the OP.

Is there a quality difference between standard production spyderco's and sprint run models? Is extra care given to the sprint models because they are generally sent to collectors and there is a limited run of them?
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That is the impression I got from my own sprint runs from Spyderco.
And I have to agree that my experience has been very similar to that of the OP. Biggest surprise ever was my GB and Tenacious 2. These two are so well fit and finished that it blew me away. I never thought Taiwan can produce such high end and high quality pocket knives....
Good job Sal and Spyderco. :thumbup::thumbup:
 
I've been satisfied with every Spyderco I've owned from USA, Japan and Taiwan. The only flaw I've seen out of a dozen or so is some slightly odd grind marks on an orange Millie. Nothing to deter from performance or even hard to look at, just there. I've had 3 Paras and they are all like a fine clock in their F&F and smoothness. Given the amount of knives out there it's no surprise that a few duds slip through. Humans are humans and some just demand more of themselves.
 
Ive only owned about 15-18 Spydercos...and I cant recall ONE of them having ANY issues.

I'm sure things pop up at times but overall the QC from all things Spyderco is outstanding.

Thats why I keep buying them over everything else. The quality vs. price ratio is the best, period.
 
My experiences are.

5 Militaries - All 5 were great out of the box.

Para 2 - S90V Sprint - Awesome out of the box, no problems

Para 2 - S30V - Awesome out of the box, no problems

2X Endura 4 ZDP - Both great out of the box

GB - great in every way

JD Smith - Great knife except for the known issue on the blade.


From my personal experiences Spyderco offers the best value on the market and bringing super premium steels that we can enjoy.
 
CrimsonTideShooter said:
Now the question is:
If China and Taiwan can get the QC this good, why can't our people right here in America do the same?
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I've been wondering the same thing when comparing my Rough Rider knives to my Cases and Queens. 4 out of the 5 new American knives have had major issues. My latest Queen came with a bent blade. I'm beginning to think some of the American companies just don't care about the future of their reputations.
Spyderco IMO is a different story and one of the few companies aside from ESEE that I trust to deliver quality anymore. I'm sure there are others but they don't appeal to me such as Benchmade, Kershaw, etc. As far as the Spydercos go, All of them from every country have been excellent except the Lum Chinese from Japan that had stripped clip screws and poor overall finish detail.
 
I understand where you guys are coming from but all these experiences are subjective. My Persistence had issues with its screws, as did my first Delica 4. Although I was a bit peeved about those things, Spyderco took care of me and that's what counts.

I think most of us really have no idea how complex and difficult QC can be, especially when pumping out lots of different models by a small company. The hiccups that sometimes occur with Golden-made models are to be expected by a degree. I think the relative lack of issues from Taiwan should result in high praise for that manufacturer. Perhaps it's easier for them to produce these knives and ship them out. They don't have to worry about dealers, advertising, community-relations, lawyers, etc., like Spyderco has to.

In the end, it's really about the customer service. I think the value of the Taiwan-made and Golden-made models are pretty high for your dollar. If there are some problems with the Golden models, then it's up to Golden to correct them. From what I've seen, that's exactly what happens.
 
I've probably owned 25 -30 Spyderco's over the years and currently have 10 in my collection right now from USA, Japan, and Tiawan. I've never had any real issues with any of them except for maybe a few off center blades and even those were not off center bad or anything. I trust Spyderco.
 
The only major problem I can see with my Militaries are off-centered blades. It is not a functional issue though but why is that? Is it really tough to make blades centered?
 
Crimson,

Though I have never been dissatisfied with any of my USA made spydies, I have also noticed the same thing. For me it has never been big, just a corner of G10 that needs touching up, or a screw that wasn't tightened all the way, just minor things, and only on some of them.

But my Taiwan and Japanese spydies are always perfect. The Taiwanese ones in particular are amazing! It's too bad Taiwan has that stigma of "cheap" manufacturing. I kindof dislike seeing it on the blade, even though they really do make the best spyderco's (F&F wise)- But that's another thread.
 
You know at first I to was kinda hung up on the Tiawan thing since in the past the name Tiawan was assosiated with "cheap" knives. But after receiving my Gayle Bradley I'm thankful Spyderco had it made in Tiawan. Considering the quality of its build, if it had been made in the USA I probably couldn't have afforded it.
 
IMO whether a knife has fantastic fit and finish or is a dud depends more on the weather and the phase of the moon than where it is made. I guess the Taiwan maker is hitting their stride pretty well, but nothing lasts forever. I personally have always thought the Japanese made knives are given a little extra polish, until I got one a few years ago with some critical problems. Over the years I can only say that Golden made is continually getting better, in overall design and fit and finish.
 
Thanks for the input everyone. In no way did I want this thread to be about bashing spyderco, as we all know that their quality for dollar amount is outstanding. I was merely just wanting to point out a trend I've been noticing as of late.

With that said, the one major issue I've noticed (and that some of you corroborated) is that he Golden made spydies seem to have issues with screw tightness. I wonder what differs regarding screw placement from Taiwan to America?
 
D1omedes said:
I understand where you guys are coming from but all these experiences are subjective.
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:confused: What does that mean? Whether or not a screw is stripped is a rather objective observation. It's probably just someone not being very handy with a pneumatic driver.

Perhaps it's easier for them to produce these knives and ship them out. They don't have to worry about dealers, advertising, community-relations, lawyers, etc., like Spyderco has to.
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I doubt the assemblers are also the ones creating ad copy, calling dealers, or dealing with legalities.

I haven't had any major issues with Spydies. A little vertical bladeplay in the lockbacks and an occasional scorch mark or steel tooth left from the laser cutters. Pocket clips are generally very good, sometimes the frn handled ones are impossible to lock down completely.
 
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