ATR problem...............

S

SIFU1A

Joined
May 12, 2001
Messages
11,707
got a ATR a few days ago, love the design, very very well made knife, well fitted, sharp (more on that lol) the thing really fits my hand well, have been wanting one for a while, anyway i had mine in my right front pocket and was going for some keys in my pocket and "ouch" the darned thing was coming open in my pocket, cut the heck outta 2 fingers (no stitches but 2 pretty bad cuts) WTF is going on i wondered. after bandaids/etc i experimented with it in my pocket, tightened the pivot too (which was loose, not THAT loose though) and i found outta 10 times in/out of the pocket (carefully this time) 2 times the knife was starting to open up again, it appears that the cobra hood thingie is catching on the seam of my pants when i move thus barely starting to open the blade, my question is this a common occurence, or is something wrong with mine? havent ever seen a compression lock like this (had an older gunting) and am not sure if there is a detent/etc to hold it closed, if not imho ya need to add one on the knife, this isnt good, i carry tip ups all the time mostly my emerson custom CQC8, and it has NEVER even started to open up. even with the pivot tightened tighter than i would normally tighten it this knife still seems to want to open up on me, if i tighten the pivot any tighter it will really slow down the deployment time considerably, i wonder if something is wrong with it? i carry it just like my emerson, kind of back in the pocket against the edge of the pocket, theoretically to keep the blade closed, doesnt help on this one though.

anyone else had this problem, i really like the design of the ATR, but this isnt gonna work, any suggestions? doesnt exactly make me love the compression lock, the last time this happened it was a gunting lol. i am scared to carry the thing, unless i got a sheath .........

thanks
 
mine hasn't opened by itself while drawing, but i have this feeling it will soon. i've noticed lately that the ball-detent is starting to loose some strength and it doesn't keep the knife closed very strong anymore as it did in the beginning. my pivot is set exactly right also and i've loc-tited it in place, so pivot is OK.

i think there might be something with the ballbearing-detents on these things.....

also, the stiff and short clip and tip-up carry make this problem even worse. this knife should've been tip-down anyways.....

:confused:

PS. my ATR is currently out of EDC-rotation and into the closet. just can't live with the tip-up carry combined with the terrible clip. gonna buy a new Military instead real soon again i'm afraid.
 
im confused here. isnt the knife blade on the backside of your pocket? how did you get your hand between the blade and the back of your pocket unintentionally?
 
by sticking my hand in my pocket when the blade was partially open reaching for keys .......

also agree the short pocket clip seems to aggravate the problem, hard to explain why if ya havent seen/carried an ATR.

would be interested in sals opinion, he designed the ATR, again, i really really like the knife, very ergonomic, etc, BUT a pocket knife that opens in the pocket isnt a good thing, by far. my hand still hurts. i am not singing the happy happy joy joy song right now...............if they are all like this, i cant see how ya could have carried the thing and not had a problem, no matter how carefull ya are, like i say i carry tip ups almost exclusivly so i am more than familiar with the quirks associated with them, agree this thing should probably be tip down, or a stronger detent, and imho if this is just the way the compression lock is, it has a serious flaw, ya could really cut yourself badly like this, especially the novice. i thought the problem was exclusive to guntings, maybe i was wrong?? if i woulda just spent $200 on a ti ATR, i would be flipping out.
 
see my compression lock post - same thing is happening with my yohimbo - the detent isn't strong enough IMO
 
i'd say the only way to deal with this issue is to do 2 things:

-always reserve one of your pockets for just a knife. no other stuff in there you need to reach for
-attach a lanyard-rope to the knife so drawing it from its tip-up position is easier and less dangerous

i'm gonna give it a shot. from now on the ATR is on EDC again, with lanyard attached.... :rolleyes:
 
i have a lanyard on it already, i wonder if mine has a detent problem as it is just toooo easy to open up, even with the pivot tight, most knives have a few degrees of "tension" before the knife swings open easily, a few degrees of tension, i guesss from the detent, mine doesnt appear to have any greater resistance anywere in the arc, if that makes sense lol,
 
after playing with the thing, it does appear the prob is either :

1) the detent is not holding the knife closed, should there be some rsisitance in the first few degrees of opening, or should the knife swing freely from the start?

or

2) the cobra hood is catching on my pocket and starting the thing to opening, which is not a good thing, this does seem to be a problem on the cobra hood according to what i have been hearing,

would anyone from spyderco chime in to say "wow thats unusual" or "the detent is bad" or "they just do that" or..............? if the knife is defective, maybe , they could fix it, or should i just forget carrying the thing and put it into my collection? i am really dissappointed, i do like the design, but nothing is more useless than a knife that isnt safe to carry in the pocket, and imho this is not safe, like i said i know a little about tip up carry, know the quircks, know to be carefull (i have carried my specwar CQC8 for almost 2 yrs now, daily, never a problem, before that a EKI ECA P-Tac for about a yr, never a problem, and a EKI SDOCFK and a BM 806SD2 for months before that, again, never a problem) someone who just nonchalantly puts in in there pocket is possibly gonna be in for an unpleasent suprise, i dont think it is too much to ask that a pocket knife not open in your pocket, imho being able to safley carry the thing is head and shoulders above speed /ease of deployment, ergonomics, material, etc in importance..........
 
SIFU1A: I just go finished borrowing an ATR in the passaround. I had no problems with the cobra hood catching on my jeans. There was a detent on the knife I borrowed and that was what kept the blade from falling open. With tip-up knives I carry it as far back in my pocket as possible so the blade was also up against my pocket lining.

I would talk with the people at Spyderco about it, they will probably tell you to send it in, and you will probably be out of an ATR for a few weeks, but they'll fix it up for ya.
 
Thank you, guys. I was really laboring over whether to buy an ATR, but I won't buy one that is "tip-up" carry only. How about offering us "tip-down" guys an alternative, Sal?
 
well, so far i have spoken with several folks who have had the same problem w/the ATR, after close examination mine doesnt appear to even have a detent (well, doesnt have one like on other knives, perhaps its placed were its hard to see, but i dont see anything like that at all) and it swings open like a gravity knife, i honestly dont see how anyone could carry one (like mine and the other folks anyway) and not have a problem, anyone from spyderco care to comment, this just makes me sick, i really like it and would love to edc it, but its only good for collecting at this point, imho the knife needs a detent, and also probably be tip down carry (as much as i dislike TD carrY) before its good for anything other than looking pretty in a collection. just makes me sick, such a great design, good material, all for naught in an unsafe knife.

i guess i will call spyderco monday and see about sending it in, see if they can correct this problem, but i dont feel confident after talking to others w/the exact same prob, maybe i am worried about something they can fix, hopefully, but i wouldnt bet on it now. it may just be the design/no detent/tip up all combine to cause this problem, hopefully not though.

we'll see, i'll post what up with it after talking to them.
 
I just picked up a titan ATR and the detent seems to be quite strong. Maybe this is just an issue with the steel ATRs??
 
I stopped carrying mine for this reason. It opens like a gravity knife, no matter how tight I adjust it.

It is a superb knife; I wish I could 'tighten' it up so it would stop openening in my pocket. Not only has it nicked my hand it chews the heck out of my jeans.

Maybe a washer could be installed??????
 
My Ti ATR has been in the EDC rotation for quite some time, and I haven't experienced such an "opening" in the pocket. I wear the knife with clip oriented for left-side carry, and the pocket is dedicated to knife-only. Detent on mine is very much present and positive.
 
Welcome to the club it seems that cobra hoods and loose carry don't mix. I had the same problem with my Ti Salsa thankfully with out the cuts, my salsa is a safe queen now :(
 
i'm not sure its the 'hood, it just has no resistance to opening, its like an axis lock BM w/the axis unlocked, just no resistance.

and i am used to tip ups and am careful w/it, dedicating the pocket to knife carry wouldnt help in this case,

again will post asap after i talk to spyderco...........
 
yes, i'm curious to hear about that as well. i own an atr as well and complained about the lousy clip, and agree with the slightly loose detent as well. it's been awhile now since this issue has rised and Spyderco yet has to respond about these issues.........(?)

in my case, i just now simply removed my clip by force with pliers and screwdriver (yeah, i'd stripped the flimsy t6-screws earlier.......doh). now i'm carrying the atr like a true POCKET-knife, meaning clip-less, dangling around in the pocket... :( .

Spyderco, this shouldn't have to be this way! the ATR is a GREAT knife, i don't even care much about the detent, but why, oh why, did you put such a lousy clip on this knife?! and tip-up as well........i just don't get it. this knife should have had a tip-down, military-style clip on it. if so, this knife would have been an awesome knife, honestly it would.....

i have some old unused clips laying around here, currently pondering on how to assemble one on the atr sufficiently tight, for tip-down carry..... :confused:

dennis
 
Maybe the ball detent isn't hard enough. Any way you can disassemble the knife and take a looksee? My guess is the ball either fell out or is sheared flat. Please post pics.
 
Hi Sifu. Sorry about the cut.

I would request that you send it in to us. Please tell Amanda In Warrantee & Repair to call it to my attention. Sounds like the detent isn't working and I'd prefer that we make it work right.

I also need it in R&D to study the cause.

sal
 
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