bad hole in my spyderco, not the finger hole, pitting?

T

triz neena

Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
86
Hello all,

There is a small hole in my delica zdp blade. I am quite careful with use, but I do use the knife quite a bit, and always clean it after. There was a black mark on the blade after some time of non usage and it wouldn't come off with leather so I scratched it with the point of another blade and I just kept going deeper until all the black powderish stuff was gone. It is approximately 0.2mm deep. Is this pitting and is it normal??

b506tf.jpg
 
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Wow. .008 deep. I've never seen that happen to a ZDP blade before. It looks more like there may have been a void in the metal. Porosity can be a problem in alloys but I've never that on any Spyderco.
 
looks like it took a spark as if you cut into a live wire,any chance that happened?
 
It's definitely not normal. The only thing I can think it would be is pitting...maybe a droplet of some corrosive material was allowed to sit on that spot or something.

I guess that it could be a flaw from the manufacturing, but that would be very unusual. Maybe email W&R to see if they'll take a look and determine if it's the result of a manufacturing defect.
 
@mykel No way, I've only cut vegetables and fruit when camping. Usually take care to clean after and dry.
 
That looks kinda like the pitting/corrosion you would find on an old carbon steel blade like this:
DSCF3690-1.jpg
 
That looks exactly like it, so the question is; is it semi-normal for it to happen to a zdp blade? Mentaculus mentioned emailing W&R (who/what is that) but I don't want to be one of those annoying customers that sends something back to the company if it's my own fault.

nightman said:
That looks kinda like the pitting/corrosion you would find on an old carbon steel blade like this:
DSCF3690-1.jpg
Click to expand...

 
W/R = Warranty & Repair

Do you use the knife regularly? Does the pitting impair the function of the knife at all?
 
I use it a couple of times a month. Pitting does not impair the function of the knife, but I would have gotten an opinel if I didn't care about pitting and just wanted something to cut.. I paid the premium for the zdp as it is a "super-steel", holds and edge and is semi stainless..
 
Yep, ZDP not cheap. I would try and contact customer aervice. Maybe email them a few more pictures. Best of luck & keep us posted.
 
triz neena said:
I use it a couple of times a month. Pitting does not impair the function of the knife, but I would have gotten an opinel if I didn't care about pitting and just wanted something to cut.. I paid the premium for the zdp as it is a "super-steel", holds and edge and is semi stainless..
Click to expand...
Semi is the key word there. ZDP will stain more easily than a true stainless. That pit, on the other hand, is not normal. Assuming it wasn't created by contact with a live wire, which I'm sure you'd remember rather vividly, then it's either the result of something left on the blade by you or the result of an inclusion of some kind which was in that chunk of blade steel from the day it left the foundry. I'm inclined to think it's the former, especially if you used it to cut tomatoes or citrus and I respect your not wanting to be "one of those customers". However, if that spot bothers you, then sending it to Spyderco for evaluation is really the only way to know for sure whether or not they consider it a defect. Their opinion, in the final analysis, is the only one that really matters.
 
That happened to my ZDP Stretch as well. It happened in more than one location, on only one side - and only in the area that was above the handle slabs when closed, and only on the side that faced my leg when clipped in my pocket. My fault though, as I was working and sweating like a pig, and I just left it hang in my jeans for awhile. When I discovered this horror, I noticed that the "rust" was black, not reddish. I tried my fingernail first, than a pencil ereaser, than a pen ereaser, then a scotchbrite pad. It did not go away. The "black corrosion" had "wormed" it's way like straight down, instead of covering the surface like normal rust. I feel your pain! :grumpy: The edge it still perfect though! :thumbup:
 
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