Bought me a Southard... again

L

Luis G.

Joined
Jan 18, 2011
Messages
1,855
I had posted before regarding the Southard and found I prefered the ZT561.

I had paid I think $272 for the Southard a month or two back and didn't quite like it for the price. Sure it's nice, sure it's got great fit and finish but the disproportionate scales flat out ruined it for me and I seriously didn't want to have to consider grinding scales and screws off, so I sent it back.

I recently started to see the Southards selling for around $200 used on the forums, so I decided to pick one up for $200 it's worth it and I can give it a shot against my ZT this time in practice not just inspecting.

Should be getting it in a week or two.
 
I received mine a couple days ago and couldn't be happier. It's top compatition around here is a 0560 too. I do agree that the scale could be a bit more symmetricall, but I can't feel once in hand. It's all moot anyways, seeing as there's plenty of custom options now a days. I'm really liking the look of Lightning Strike Carbon Fiber.
 
I liked the 560 but love the Southard. The scale doesn't bother me at all but I think if I were to do a new one I'd want it a little thinner.
I think my only real issue if you can call it that is the cutout for the Spyderhole
I'd get rid of the smaller second bevel I feel like my pointer finger is in a weird position but its really just nit picking.
Overall It is my favorite knife to date
 
Hole was fine for me when I bought the 1st one a while back. Actually it was a hole lot more friendly than the typical spyderhole.
 
I actually don't mind the hole. I can fire it open quicker with the hole than flipper. But of course the flipper is why I bought it.
 
Luis G. said:
I had posted before regarding the Southard and found I prefered the ZT561.

I had paid I think $272 for the Southard a month or two back and didn't quite like it for the price. Sure it's nice, sure it's got great fit and finish but the disproportionate scales flat out ruined it for me and I seriously didn't want to have to consider grinding scales and screws off, so I sent it back.

I recently started to see the Southards selling for around $200 used on the forums, so I decided to pick one up for $200 it's worth it and I can give it a shot against my ZT this time in practice not just inspecting.

Should be getting it in a week or two.
Click to expand...

I'm having a spot of trouble with my Southard, though I'm hoping it's just part of the break-in. The blade binds as it's closing for some reason. If I flip it the binding kinda sorta goes away for awhile, but if I just slowly open and close it the travel gets very rough very fast.

About the G10 asymmetry, I sanded mine and it came out quite nice. Best method is to affix it to a thin rail like the edge of a book case shelf propped vertically using rolled duct tape on the bottom. Then use 80 grit sandpaper to start and use it like a shoe-shine brush. Don't press the sides down too steeply though or you'll be sanding the edges and you want to just round the top and thin the edge. After it looks decently thinned down do the same thing with 180 or 200 grit until it's smooth as a well-diggers ass. The downside of this treatment is that you lose the texturing. I gather that sandblasting it afterwards puts some texture back in, or maybe there some other thing you can do to create a texturing pattern. But that thick scale just bothered me. My 561 is *very smooth*, btw. Getting better and better.
 
2ac said:
I received mine a couple days ago and couldn't be happier. It's top compatition around here is a 0560 too. I do agree that the scale could be a bit more symmetricall, but I can't feel once in hand. It's all moot anyways, seeing as there's plenty of custom options now a days. I'm really liking the look of Lightning Strike Carbon Fiber.
Click to expand...

I just got mine back from Barry H., he slimmed it down to the point that it's almost symmetrical and I think it looks great with the LSCF:

48F7qNn.jpg
 
evilgreg, that looks fantastic! I'm having a hard time deciding between the LSCF and silver twill.
 
I saw the work Barry H did for you, Evilgreg.

Looks great.

To be honest I haven't been a fan of LSCF as of yet but that one piece Barry did for you seriously makes me consider getting it done to my Southard.

Also: My southard is out for delivery.
 
freewheeling said:
I'm having a spot of trouble with my Southard, though I'm hoping it's just part of the break-in. The blade binds as it's closing for some reason. If I flip it the binding kinda sorta goes away for awhile, but if I just slowly open and close it the travel gets very rough very fast.
Click to expand...

You Amy need to take it apart and clean it. Before you do that, make sure the pivot screw isn't too tight. The bearings can bind if you tighten it down too much. If that doesn't work, there may be some metal shavings in the bearings. I had a similar issue with my 0560 and that fixed it.
 
Just got it.
Ball bearings are definitely different. Different thickness, width, and ball number.
This Southard feels less smooth that the 1st one I got. It was a pain to disassemble as well (normal for southards it appears).

My ZT 561 has less friction and feels smoother.
Locks ups feel the same, rock solid however my ZT 561 sits at 70%~ while the Southard sits at around 50%, as the 1st Southard I had.

Less blemishes on this knife than on the 1st southard.
Fit and finish is excellent but a few points could have used a touch up, mostly covering up machining grinds on the lockbar thumb groove.

IMG_0561_zpsfcfb4f6c.jpg


IMG_0562_zpsd271909a.jpg


IMG_0563_zpse5073048.jpg


IMG_0565_zpse36df8f7.jpg


IMG_0566_zps50a4dc01.jpg


IMG_0567_zpscdcc3f70.jpg
 
neverdie36 said:
You Amy need to take it apart and clean it. Before you do that, make sure the pivot screw isn't too tight. The bearings can bind if you tighten it down too much. If that doesn't work, there may be some metal shavings in the bearings. I had a similar issue with my 0560 and that fixed it.
Click to expand...

I don't think I know Amy, but if I run across her I'll ask her if she has some extra time to clean my knife. :-)

Actually, when it started binding loosening the pivot was one of the first things I did. It didn't seem to help much. I did clean it once, and the binding came back. I took it apart and cleaned it again and the binding was still there (along with an initial off-center orientation that was hard to get rid of). I eventually got it centered again and although the binding was still there I just figured it might eventually go away. It seems to have done just that. Right now it's as smooth as glass. I suppose it's possible that the detente ball rotated into a better position, but I'm not even sure that the detente ball can rotate. I did drop a tiny bit (almost a microscopic droplet) of EWG right on the detente ball. It didn't seem to help things at the time, but maybe it worked in somehow. The other possibility is that it's not the detente ball or the bearings that are binding but the stop bar cutout. It felt like the detente though. Oh well, good now. And maybe Amy will like me?
 
Alright been carrying it for a day now. Had to do small cutting tasks mostly tape, and a carboard box.

I've been studying the knife for construction, and specs. Over all I can safely say this knife is well made and finished a whole lot better than just about any Taiwan product I've had.
I can't say I could compare to the ZT 561, their vastly different knives.
The best comparison I would say is with a sebenza. I can safely say it's better than the sebena when looking at the over all package in terms of materials, steel, ergonomics, and performance. The lock up feels better than a Sebenza, in terms of 50% lock up and the fact you cannot push the lockbar any further in.

I find it's normal price of $260 to be a fair price, I wouldn't necessarily say it's a steal but it definitely is not a rip off. If this folder were to be produced in larger numbers, I suspect the pricing could drop a bit.

At the price I paid for it, $200 carried but never used, I think it's a perfect price to give you the best bang for the buck.

Overall I think I will keep the knife.
Will test edge retention on carboard.
 
I just got a spyderco southard about a week ago and I love it. The blade pivots so smoothly, and it being my first flipper I was wondering how well I would like it but it turns out I love it. F and f seems just about perfect blade is centered. Just one tiny problem is the lock supposed to stick at all? It's nothing major but i can feel it stick slightly, not like my sebenza which has no stick. I tried sharpie but that just made it worse. Tried cleaning it but it still slightly sticks. So my question is should it be sebenza smooth, and if so how should I go about fixing it?
 
Mine doesn't stick at all, and the tang is nice and shiny where it touches the lock. But stickiness is one of the characteristics of Ti locks until they get worn in. It's part of what makes the lockup secure. What I do with my 561 is roll it over and pull up on the lock bar to release it. I almost prefer this method now for knives where there's not much of a cutout on the nonlocking side so not much room for the thumb. But that should not be a problem with the Southard. You can also leverage the thumb by pressing on the spine (actually just below the spine on the edge of the Ti scale) of the blade slightly. I mean pressing up as your thumb presses down.
 
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