Blade tip exposed out of handle issue Spyderco models ?!

[kasumi]

I recently saw a video on youtube from OUTDOOR55 about an issue that the owner of the channel has with several Spyderco designs.

After several reprofilings he finds the tip of the blade peeping out of the handle when the blade is closed.
What is your opinion / experience? Does this apply to a Native 5 model as well?

 

[knarfeng]

I have a Native 5 and have had no such issue.
Nor have I seen it on any of my other Spyderco models.
Nor have I seen any discusson of such an issue in any thread here on BF.

My call is, "Bogus."

 

[kasumi]

I have a Native 5 and have had no such issue.
Nor have I seen it on any of my other Spyderco models.
Nor have I seen any discusson of such an issue in any thread here on BF.

My call is, "Bogus."

Thanks for your reply. However you are not completely right . After my post I did some googling in the issue and found on this forum and some other several threads on this matter. Also Alex from Outdoor55 is a serieus and reputable expert on knives/ sharpening and more… So the issue exists but the question for me is if the issue is appearing in our average user who sharpen his / her knives in a “normal” sequence over the years.

 

[co556guy]

He also admits that he sharpened that knife a ton for testing and he’s not sharpening like most do, where we set the edge, and then touch it up over time.

Most real pocket knife users aren’t going to diamond stones and putting an entirely new edge on their knives every week. Especially with rex121.

My k390 knives, which have nowhere near the edge holding of rex121 have seen a bench stone 1x in 2 years. And that’s after a ton of cardboard.

I’d just run them over a ceramic rod a couple times after they felt slightly less sharp and they were right back to being great.

have to remember, he has to make content. Which means he’s doing things that 99.9999% of people aren’t doing.

On one hand, I get what he’s saying. On the other, if this was a real issue, we’d have heard about it by now. It’s not like the sage and native are new designs…..

 

[Wild Ben]

And if it does happen, you just grind a bit off the spine to lower the tip. No big deal.

 

[kasumi]

He also admits that he sharpened that knife a ton for testing and he’s not sharpening like most do, where we set the edge, and then touch it up over time.

Most real pocket knife users aren’t going to diamond stones and putting an entirely new edge on their knives every week. Especially with rex121.

My k390 knives, which have nowhere near the edge holding of rex121 have seen a bench stone 1x in 2 years. And that’s after a ton of cardboard.

I’d just run them over a ceramic rod a couple times after they felt slightly less sharp and they were right back to being great.

have to remember, he has to make content. Which means he’s doing things that 99.9999% of people aren’t doing.

On one hand, I get what he’s saying. On the other, if this was a real issue, we’d have heard about it by now. It’s not like the sage and native are new designs…..

I agree with you. i have done the math considering my frequency of sharpening. Way of sharpening and the amount of hidden point in the scales and have come to the conclusion that beforeat least 20 sharpenings ( till burr forming , so setting new apex) nothing will “go wrong” with my Native 5. As you say plenty of reprofiling makes thins different en that is not what most of us do. I at least set for one angle on each and every knife and more or less stick to that with bonded diamond stones .

 

[kasumi]

And if it does happen, you just grind a bit off the spine to lower the tip. No big deal.

To do this Technically and estetically well is only for a few knife owners a viable option I believe. I am rathher good at sharpening and maintaining sharpness but estheticlly grinding a spine is out of my skills by far.

 

[kasumi]

By the way I checked some other brand knifes I own and Alex can redo his video on those as well. I will not consider the issue he is rasing as a design flaw but a rather logical “ wear and tear” issue just like when you sharoen a pencil. Once you will reach the eraser part. Good thing about it is that it gives you a legitimate reason to buy a new one.

 

[Fonedork]

What a loser

 

[Steely_Gunz]

This is like when someone worries about stretching out the frame of their Beretta after 6,000 rounds. It's probably not going to happen. They probably go to the range 3 times a year. They probably shoot 50-100 rounds through it each time. By they time that they actually damaged the frame they will have spent 5 times the value on ammo and range fees AND spent a long time doing it. Also, if you can afford to wear out a handgun...you can probably afford to buy another

Most modern knives aren't going to see enough wear and tear by the original owner to ever sharpen them to that point. Most steels don't roll and mash as easily as old school soft carbon. With maintenance stropping between jobs, there is very little material removal needed for a pocket knife in most cases.

 

[vjb.knife]

I have this knife and when I look at the picture on the front end of the you tube video as shown by the OP I am going to have to call Bullshit. If you have 're-profiled', AKA ruined, your knife to this degree than I say you are stupid. I got my copy of this knife out and inspected the way the blade fits in the handle and measured it and I believe you would have to take away about .25" from the blade at the point to make it come close to peeking out of the handle. The picture of that goofy dude holding the knife shows it at around a half inch out of the handle, so if you have ground 0.75" off of your blade to get it to look like this then STFU, you just ruined a pretty expensive knife. In that picture where he is holding the knife and pointing at it, with the stupid look on his face, he is obviously holding the blade open with his finger.

It is a little hard to get a good picture of how far into the handle the blade sits when closed so I measured it with a dial caliper. It is 0.22" or about 5mm into the handle and notice that my finger is not holding the blade out of it's resting position like numb-nuts in the video.

I say this is not what the video says "This Bad Knife Design Issue", but it is a stupid and unrealistic sharpening issue that is a non-issue.

 

[SharpBits]

Made up drama for views. Disappointing commentary on the modern ability to reason. People are so easily manipulated.

 

[2edgesword]

I've owned a bunch of Spyderco knives and never have had this issue. I took a look at the Native sitting on my desk and the tip is buried an 1/8" into the handle.

 

[Blues]

Much ado about nothing.

Worse is that I value some of the previous content that the reviewer posts online...but it must've been a slow news day for that one to make the list.

I posted an image from my own Native 5 in the Spyderco sub-forum here...and there was no such looming drama.

 

[kasumi]

I just calculated, based on measurements, my experience with my sharpening setup, and my requirements (TSPROF K03 with a good set of VENEV MS-1 metal-bonded diamond stones), that I would probably have to sharpen the knife several hundred times before the blade tip would even get close to peeking out of the scales. I’d love to live long enough to actually see that happen… and then just buy a new knife anyway.



Alex from OUTDOOR55 is not what some write here I believe. But saying you love the brand, while at the same time making this issue seem extremely important as an influencer, is a rather tricky role to play, to say the least. He is free to say what he wants and give his opinion but this post is a straight single brand critic that might have influence on sales of the Spyderco brand and that is probably not so ok as in real life the issue will hardly occur. From the post it looks like after a few sharpening sessions you will have a sharp needle poking into your legs and pants.

I’ve learned a lot about sharpening from Alex at Outdoor55 that is appreciated of course . On the other hand, he has never responded to any of the normal and polite questions I asked under his posts. I think that if you actively seek public attention and invite people to engage with your content, it’s only courteous to reply in some way — even if it’s just briefly. So that is making me think he is not such a friendly person . But I do not know him so all minimal personal experience . Alex if you ever read this thread, I hope it helps to make your postings on youtube that are great most of the time even bettter. Never to old to learn maybe. Keep the good things up!

 

[Mk-211]

How many people actually watched the video?

He shows proof of what he's referring to, he also says that he uses his knives a lot. Which means that he sharpens his knives, a lot!

For the average knife person, this issue will probably never show up. For that 1% that use their knives a lot, sharpen a lot, it could be an issue.

 

[kasumi]

How many people actually watched the video?

He shows proof of what he's referring to, he also says that he uses his knives a lot. Which means that he sharpens his knives, a lot!

For the average knife person, this issue will probably never show up. For that 1% that use their knives a lot, sharpen a lot, it could be an issue.

Well….about 60.000 people watched this video already within the first week …relevant numbers I would say

You would be right as a dominant main line at the beginning of the video with would not be “ Spyderco has a huge problem with a lot of their designs”. At the start of the video it makes you panicking about your precious collection of Spydercos having a “huge design flaw”. Further into the video Alex mentions that the models he is looking at will only take 20 or less sharpenings before the issue arrises. I cannot check that but if he is right about that , a heavy user like Alex will indeed run into the tip out of the scales issue relatively fast and many”normal users will get there as well within a few years wich I consider too fast.for a quality knife that is supposed to last “a lifetime”.. But again this applies only to those sharpening on a regular basis. . Alex puts his “ many Spyderco’s design have a huge problem”in perspective later in the video indeed but he will not buy any Spyderco anymore before the issue is fixed. This will influence others as well for good or bad reason……

 

[Mk-211]

To "him" it's an issue, he falls into the 1% of knife guys, that actually reprofile and sharpen a lot.

The average knife person "might" sharpen their knife, once a year... decade... never.

For him, he sees it as an issue, shows proof, explains his point. For the 99% of other user's, it will never be an issue.

99% of spyderco owners will go, meh, and move on.

 

[oldmanwilly]

I don't have much to add here that others have not already said. I agree that I do not think this is an issue that will arise for most Spyderco users. I have dozens of Spydercos, used and sharpened them all extensively, and never had a problem with the tip poking out or even nearly poking out.

How many people actually watched the video?

He shows proof of what he's referring to, he also says that he uses his knives a lot. Which means that he sharpens his knives, a lot!

For the average knife person, this issue will probably never show up. For that 1% that use their knives a lot, sharpen a lot, it could be an issue.

Indeed, I watched the whole video and reached the same conclusion.

I recall that in previous videos he said his lightweight Manix II was his favorite and most used pocket knife. He had sharpened it so much that the tip and significant portion of the edge stuck out above the handle when closed. He showed how he reprofiled the blade to resolve the issue and keep the knife safe to carry.

He is clearly not an average user, so he will experience problems that most knife users will never have to deal with.

 

[SharpBits]

Like I said, it’s made up drama. He over sharpens because that his schtick. He’s a maker of YouTube content, not some guy on a ranch using his knives hard everyday. Give me a break.