Any problems with your new Spyderco's?

sixfeetdeep

sixfeetdeep

Joined
Feb 1, 2004
Messages
817
Hey all, first & foremost, I love my Spyderco knives. I have owned around 50+ so far :) & will keep buying them. But...........

Recently though, the overall quality of the knives seems to be going down.

The 3 most recent knives I purchased were from my local dealer Gary Moore, & all 3 have been brand spanking new in the box.

Manix 1/2 serrated blade

Assist without the Carbide tip

Stretch 1/2 serrated blade


The Manix arrived with a very small scratch in the blade. Overall, it fits like a glove in the hand.

The Assist was an absolute bear to open & close. Very tight & I had to really work on it to get it to the point were it is kinda easier now.
This is my 2nd Assist as I gave the 1st one to my father & his opened & closed very easily. That blade on his is crap! It had chipped very easily in several spots just from opening boxes with NO staples. Go figure....bad batch of VG-10?? Even after sending it back to Spyderco to have them fix it.....2 days later...same thing....2 new chips!
I really think that the VG-10 on that knife is junk :grumpy: Just his knife though, I have other VG-10 blades from Spyderco & they are holding up well.

My newest knife is the Strech. This one also arrived with a small scratch on the blade & the Krayton had small glue spots all around the outside of the Krayton as if they applied too much adhesive on BOTH sides!
Though I have to hand it to them....very smooth opening & closing & man.....what a knife! I love it!


To me, these things shouldn't have happened & quality control may be slipping. Maybe it is just me with the bad luck lately with Spydies.....who knows, but I'm getting tires of this. I know some will say to just send them back & they will fix the problems.....but these are my daily user knives & I don't want to be without them. Plus the fact that I don't want to wait 4-6 weeks to get them back which is the biggest issue!



So what do you guys/gals think? Have you been having any problems with your new knives?


Thanks to all that can help.
 
One of the Calypso Jr's that I have is a bit tight when opening. That's about it.

I think that will be fixed after some use :)

Cheers,
David
 
i don't want to say that i agree w.what the thread is about..i am a diehard fan of spyderco..i have the spyder tattooed on the back of my calf but i find myself asking the same ? lately..is there a slipping of quality to meet the public's demand..i hope that isn't it..my pro grip one of the rubber inserts came out after having it for week..
 
In a word "YES"
I have bought 6 Spydies in the last year with problems,tried Spydercos W and R on 2 of them with disapointing results.Sent two back for refund and sold the others for much less than I paid.I figure with shipping and all I am in the hole about 100.00
I have about 90 % stopped buying Spydies online,I feel I need the handle them first now.
Still love Spydies though.
 
My native's blade & spine don't line up flush (the spine is slightly higher), & my FRN goddard's primary grind was VERY uneven. For some reason, this stuff didn't bother me too much, because the low price of those knives sort of justifies the hasty manufacturing. But the more that I think about it, that stuff really shouldn't get past the quality control. On the other hand, my manix is purr-fect.. But then again, it better be, for its price (it's actually much better than its price might indicate).

I love Spyderco as much as any other diehard, but I must agree that quality control on their lower-end models hasn't been on the level of CRK.
 
I got a Solo last month in a box but the knife was just sitting in the box. When I took it out there was a lot of white dusty like stuff on the handle but I think it was just from the creation of the handle by sanding.. the only thing that really ended up getting to me was that the dusty stuff got in between the blade and handle making it feel sandy when opening. All I had to do was blow it out with some compressed air and and a little oil and it was all good again. Than again the Solo isn't exactly a spyderco.
 
I would say that QC isn't terribly consistent on the G10 models but I find that has been the case for at least a few years (for me anyway).

More than 90% of my knives have come NIB from the store too.
 
This is interesting as I thought my problems were isolated.

My NIB collector Kopa showed up with a stain / scratch in the steel that I could not remove. Had to trade it for another number. :grumpy:

This one still embarasses me as I really didn't look this knife over carefully enough prior to selling it. Afterall ..., NIB is NIB ... right ... well maybe... :grumpy: My NIB collector Manix apparently had excessive blade play and had to be sent to W&R. I still feel bad about that one John.

Razz
 
I've never had any problems with my Spydercos in the past, but my most recent acquisitions have been a sprint-run Goddard and a Persian which showed some minor cosmetic issues. For example, my Goddard's blade rubs against the handle when closed. My Persian has some small gaps between the Micarta scales and the bolsters that were filled in with some form of epoxy. Overall, the Persian's blade grinds and handle shape are nearly immaculate, except for the unsightly epoxy that shows between the bolsters and the scales. Again, these flaws are cosmetic and don't interfere with the performance of the knives. I don't regret getting them, but I understand what you guys are saying.
 
Well at least I am not the only one it seems.

I want to make it clear that I am not bashing Spyderco in any way. If anything, maybe Sal will come to notice this & make the necessary corrections. I love there knives, but this is really bugging me & now that I find that there are others with the same problems.

Come to think of it, the base of the Stretch towards the pivot is developing scratches from opening & closing as if it is rubbing on the handle.
Closer inspection shows yet another scratch where it says VG-10....the scratch/blemish goes right through where it says that.

I understand that a user knife will eventually get marks on it, but come on....right from the factory? The blades have been very sharp which i am always thankful for, but quality has in fact been slipping.
 
I too have had problems with Spyderco quality control.
A CF Delica with chipped CF around the screw holes and a protruding and very rough lanyard hole liner.
A Paramilitary with no lanyard hole liner, gritty action, Torx screw heads full of crud and copper-coloured discolouration of the tang.
A Pacific Salt with lots of vertical blade-play.

I would still buy Spyderco though. The FRN series are great beaters. The Delica and Endura make great tools for me when on duty as a firefighter. If I lost either of them I would replace them.

However I would not buy any more of the higher end Spyderco knives.
 
Only thing I've noticed on the new Spydercos compared to the older ones is that the finishing on the Spyder hole doesn't appear to be quite as good as the older ones.

On the Native I bought recently and traded for example, the hole peeled skin off my thumb when opening the knife. I can't say it cut me. But it left skin cells on the inside of the hole all the time. In other words it almost had an edge to it.

The old Delicas and Enduras I have had rounded out holes that were smoothed off. My old integral clip Delica has a nice bevel all around both sides of the hole. My new Delica does not. The new ones don't get that final touch I don't think. My latest Endura in the Tan combo edge is about like the Native was. Not sure what that is about. I liked the finished off holes better there Sal. Just my opinion. I have been taking my own Cratex wheels to the holes in my shop to smooth them out myself.
 
Garlic said:
My native's blade & spine don't line up flush (the spine is slightly higher), & my FRN goddard's primary grind was VERY uneven. For some reason, this stuff didn't bother me too much, because the low price of those knives sort of justifies the hasty manufacturing. But the more that I think about it, that stuff really shouldn't get past the quality control. On the other hand, my manix is purr-fect.. But then again, it better be, for its price (it's actually much better than its price might indicate).

I love Spyderco as much as any other diehard, but I must agree that quality control on their lower-end models hasn't been on the level of CRK.
Click to expand...
Wow, someone neg-repped me for this comment. Some people have serious issues with honesty, I suppose.
 
I just bought a new Manix and stainless steel Dragonfly. The Manix was perfect, except for a small burr on the pocket clip. But I've got two Militaries of different ages, both with the same exact burr, so it must just be part of the stamping process. No biggie. Overall, the fit and finish of the Manix is superb. I have customs with more small defects. The Manix may well be the best production knife I've ever handled, in terms of fit and finish.

The Dragonfly, out of the box, looked like heck. I think that it was returned to the online store, and then resold to me. It had obviously been dropped, and slid on some coarse abrasive surface. A little wet/dry paper took care of that issue though. The more disturbing problem was that the tip of the blade stuck out of the handle slightly, when in the closed position. I had to file down the kick on the blade to fix the problem. The box for the Dragonfly said that the knife was made something like 3 years ago.

I've bought probably 8 or 10 Spydercos over the years. For the price, I've found the quality to be quite exemplary, in comparison to competing manufacturers. I could tell horror stories about many production knives I’ve purchased from other companies.

Spyderco rocks.
 
I've bought 9 Spydercos, and a 10th is on its way. Of the nine, only one had a significant problem. But, when I sent the one with the problem back to Spyderco, they took care of it promptly.

Most Spydies are all about function, IMO. Sure, a gent's knife like the Kopa you expect to look good too. But personally, small cosmetic flaws like a small scratch on a blade of a knife designed for hard use doesn't make any difference to me.

I have production knives from other manufaturers, including Benchmade, Camillus, Kershaw and Buck. I don't see their products as any better in terms of QC than Spyderco. At least one fall short of Spyderco in terms of both QC and warranty and repair.

If you truly want perfection every time, there is a knife for you. You will never be disappinted with fit and finish or function. The cost of making this knife results in a price of $385 to the consumer. Its the Large Sebenza. I have a large Sebenza and its worth every penny. But I also see the value in a much less expensive but highly functional knife where you run the slight risk of getting one with a flaw, but when you do, warranty and repair will fix it.

Just my opinion.
 
I got one that'll knock yer socks off...

I bought a Chinook II in December with a horribly weak lock. The blade grind wasn't really well done either, but most importantly, I could "spinewhack it" against my forearm and it would close. I came very close to trading it when I realized this defect and had to cancel the trade.

I took it back to the store I bought it at where they politely gave me a gift certificate (had lost the reciept) and then the clown behind the counter started planning to put it back on the shelves since it still looked like new. (and THAT is why we should all check our knives out very carefully when purchasing)

Had a Military with a weak liner lock, a Rescue with a defective lock, my Shabaria had a smidgen of blade sticking out past the handle when it's closed and still drags against the pocket clip screws when I open it.

I believe that Spyderco definitely tends to drop the ball on QC every now and then, BUT.....they are always enormously helpful in the returns department.

I'd still buy Spyderco in a heartbeat, I just look them over a little more carefully.

Spyderco made the best knife my father ever recieved as a gift (Moran that has more than proven it's worth as an Alaska hunting knife)

Spyderco makes the best serrations on the market, infact the ONLY serrations that I really like. (proven themselves back in my EMT days)

All Spydercos I've ever had cut like hell, no matter what. I don't know if they just have edge geometry nailed down or what, but if you buy a Spyderco, it WILL cut like nobodys business, irregardless of the model.

They really push the market with innovation, and listen to what we have to say here on the forums. They definitely aren't a "me too!" kinda knife company.

So, I obviously don't let the QC thing get me down. It IS something I think needs attention, but it'd have to slip quite a bit farther to lose me as a fan.
 
My experience is that spyderco is a production product, they aren't perfect, but you're not paying for perfection. My problems have been:

Harpy - Blade hitting back spacer. Scratched tang.
JotSinghKhlasa - Stainless steel screws pulling out of micarta due to lack of a steel liner.
Shabaria - Incredibly tight out of the box. Later blade rubbed liner.
Starmate - Loosened up in 2 days. Failed spine whack. Consistently rubs scale.
Mouse - Scratch on scale out of box.
Utility kitchen knife - sharp point on end of blade dug into your hand. Not on others.
Utility kitchen knife - handle surface disintegrated.
Lum Chinese - Scratched tang, warped scales, loosened up in a few weeks.

All of the above except for the Jot and the Starmate I fixed myself or live with. I've had a matriarch, 4 kitchen knives, delica, credit card knife, and Q that were and are perfect.
 
I just got a half serrated Delica that is perfect except that it has pits around the hole. It has cracked along the hole also. I am not sure what to do about it since it is razor shrap and and the action is nice. I don't want to send it to SPyderco because I am afraid they wil send me a new one that is not as smooth to open. If it breaks clear through along the hole, would they replace it? It is cracked now and I think it has something to do with the air bubbles and pits in the steel. Need some advice.
 
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