Anyone with a Carbon Fiber Stretch, I want to hear from you:

Undertow82 · Mar 29, 2011

I just received a NIB Carbon Fiber Stretch 2 with ZDP-189 and upon my inspection I found that the liner doesn't sit flush with the lock-back spacer or the lower spacer on one side. I can actually see light through the little gap.

I'm just a little ticked because the seller has over 60 of them in stock and I specifically asked for one with a centered blade and nice flush back-spacer area, which I don't think is too much to ask for considering it's almost $200.

I would just like to hear from at least one other owner of this knife who has the same thing going on because it doesn't function improperly in any way. I'll just feel better knowing it's not too uncommon and then I won't deal with returning it. I'll finish by saying that I received my Caly 3.5 and the spacer is so flush it looks one piece of steel. This is what I was hoping for but maybe you can't win'em all.

FlaMtnBkr · Mar 29, 2011

Does it not sit flush (the liner sits proud of the spacer) or does it have a gap between the liner and spacer? It sounds like the later in which case the store would have delivered a knife with a flush back spacer.

Do you plan on using the knife? Have a picture? If it is not bad I wouldn't worry about it if you plan on using it. It will have scratches and you probably won't notice it in a few months as it will be a tool.

I looked at mine and it is flush but has a small gap. It's not much but enough to see a line and you can tell it's not one piece of metal. Definitely not a big deal on a production knife and the least of my worries on things that could be wrong with a new knife.

dsmegst · Mar 29, 2011

That's a bummer. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "the lower spacer on one side" but mine is pretty much perfect. Every mating surface is flush and I don't see any issues.

Have you tried contacting the vendor and seeking a replacement?

Buffalohump · Mar 30, 2011

Mine came with a couple of minor flaws like scratches and scuffs but nothing out of whack in terms of fit. Its all pretty tight. I am surprised to hear this dude has over 60 in stock... this one has pretty much sold out everywhere. Its a great knife. Send it back and tell him you want another one!

Undertow82 said:
I just received a NIB Carbon Fiber Stretch 2 with ZDP-189 and upon my inspection I found that the liner doesn't sit flush with the lock-back spacer or the lower spacer on one side. I can actually see light through the little gap.

I'm just a little ticked because the seller has over 60 of them in stock and I specifically asked for one with a centered blade and nice flush back-spacer area, which I don't think is too much to ask for considering it's almost $200.

I would just like to hear from at least one other owner of this knife who has the same thing going on because it doesn't function improperly in any way. I'll just feel better knowing it's not too uncommon and then I won't deal with returning it. I'll finish by saying that I received my Caly 3.5 and the spacer is so flush it looks one piece of steel. This is what I was hoping for but maybe you can't win'em all.

berserk87 · Mar 30, 2011

I had one until recently and mine was flawless.

Undertow82 · Mar 30, 2011

I guess I could have been a little more specific or just posted these picks the first time. I haven't contacted the vendor yet because I wanted to see how common/uncommon this was. I was just a little erked that I had specifically asked for a nice one and I thought that since they had over 60 in stock it wouldn't be that hard to find me one that was good to go, not that this knife doesn't work perfectly. I just made this thread to ask if it was uncommon:

Undertow82 · Mar 30, 2011

...I wonder if I should take it apart and see if some crap is just stuck between the liner and the spacer. I can see light through it and it looks like little chunks might be wedged in there.

yablanowitz · Mar 30, 2011

It is not common, but it is not unheard of either. It is a production knife, hundreds were made, so a few minor issues are bound to surface. Disassembly will void your warranty, but it is your knife and you can take it apart if you want to. It does look as though a thorough cleaning could resolve the issue.

Moonberrys · Mar 30, 2011

Mine does that exact same thing. I've heard that some people have taken it apart and it fixed it. But mine is a user so I dont really worry about it, just use it for everything and soon you wont care.

Undertow82 · Mar 31, 2011

Moonberrys said:
Mine does that exact same thing. I've heard that some people have taken it apart and it fixed it. But mine is a user so I dont really worry about it, just use it for everything and soon you wont care.

Frankly, that's all I needed to hear. Maybe I'll take it apart one day out of boredom but for now I'm just glad I'm not the only one.

spydusse · Apr 1, 2011

I love my cf stretch and have no problems with it . Its fit an finish is flush.

dsmegst · Apr 1, 2011

Undertow82 said:
Frankly, that's all I needed to hear. Maybe I'll take it apart one day out of boredom but for now I'm just glad I'm not the only one.

Yeah, it looks like some minor cleaning issue. Some crud probably got between the liner and the back spacer. On a pinned knife, I would think about sending it back but on a screw construction knife, no big deal.

cerulean · Apr 1, 2011

Mine doesnt have any gaps between the backspacer and liners, but it does have a tiny gap between the rocker-bar and liner on the right side. A couple of pics in this thread show something similar.

If you dont want to take it apart completely, you might try just loosening the screws and then tightening them again. That may help or may not. I wouldnt worry about it though as long everything works fine.