Can I trust Spyderco lockback?

B

BigDude

Joined
Nov 8, 2006
Messages
185
I had my Spyderco 75mm Persian's lockback spring decide to pop out a while ago. I like the knife, and can get it fixed under warranty, but I have a hard time trusting it now. I had opened and closed it a lot for about a year. Is this normal for the lockbacks to fail after a few thousand cycles?

I've been shopping for a linerlock as it seems they can't fail, just get a little loose after a while.

I'd appreciate anyone's experience with the longevity of lockbacks. Thanks.
 
LOL for the first time on bladeforums I had an error that said my message was too short. Anyways here it is again... YES

I know that you are concerned about the failure of your persian... but, to tell you the truth you are the first I've hear of having a spyderco lockback fail. I've heard of plenty of liner, axis, frame, etc. etc. locks failing... So, you are the first for the spydie lockback. What I'm getting at is there is no sure way about getting a folder to never fail you. I've grown fond of beefy Ti frame locks for a reason, as have many others. I really see it as the best of both worlds when looking b/t a linerlock and a lockback. If you want something you can trust your fingers to (not saying guys haven't lost fingers to them cause that's far from the truth) but most fixed blades will not fail you if you don't fail them.
 
kreole said:
What made it better than other lockbacks?
Click to expand...

It has a very strong spring and they have had 30 years to perfect it. As for the OP's question, it is very rare to hear of a failure in a Spyderco lockback. Spyderco's lockback is one of the finest made and if you are having problems, then by all means send it to Spyderco as they will want to see it. Rest assured that Sal will make it right.
 
kreole said:
What made it better than other lockbacks?
Click to expand...

My Buck 110 to my G-10 Endura is as my Plymouth Roadrunner to my Honda Civic. (I could have chosen a better rice-rocket, but I dont know anything about them)

-that is not to say the Endura is bad -it excels in certain ways beyond the 110, but I value the characteristics of the 110 more and I think its mechanism is more tough.

Granted I am kind of comparing apples to Oranges, I dont mean to offend anyone.
 
Thanks for the quick replies everyone. The Persian will be headed back to Spyderco to get fixed and in the meantime I'm going to try a Rat Izula that I just ordered. I carried a CS SuperEdge for a while and really liked having a small fixed blade until I broke it.
 
If you need to put trust into a lock, your using the knife wrong and probably should use a fixed blade. Locks are a secondary safety mechanism, not something you intentionally put pressure on. Intentionally forcing a lock is just as dumb as stopping with your emergency brake in your car for a stop light.
 
Thalestin said:
If you need to put trust into a lock, your using the knife wrong and probably should use a fixed blade. Locks are a secondary safety mechanism, not something you intentionally put pressure on. Intentionally forcing a lock is just as dumb as stopping with your emergency brake in your car for a stop light.
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I always kept in mind it was a folder. The spring came out of position which kept it from even opening properly the first time after the failure. I don't like tools that fail, especially without warning.
 
In reading knife forums for a few years, I've heard of four or five Spyderco lockback spring failures. Considering they've sold hundreds of thousands of lockbacks over the last twenty-seven years, half a dozen failures is pretty darn close to statistical zero. I have an old Police Model from back in the 80's that has been cycled thousands of times and is still going strong. What happened to your Persian was a fluke.
 
Trust anything from Spyderco. Send the Persian in and they'll take care of it.
While I like linerlocks, I've found them to be easy to get to fail. Lockbacks are just more reliable for me.
 
Thalestin said:
If you need to put trust into a lock, your using the knife wrong and probably should use a fixed blade. Locks are a secondary safety mechanism, not something you intentionally put pressure on. Intentionally forcing a lock is just as dumb as stopping with your emergency brake in your car for a stop light.
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That's just untrue.

Most buy a locking knife to lock open and if it fails to perform the task, the knife is a failure. Locks are not "safeties", locks are an integral part of the functioning of a knife designed with one.

And you had better be able to stop your car with its emergency brake - else what good is it?

As to the original poster's comments, it appears you have an exception since Spyderco has a well deserved reputation for it's lockbacks - send it back to Spyderco for repair after emailing them.

BTW - linerlocks fail regularly for no apparent reason; so if you buy one, test it regularly. It's your flesh at risk. The lockback is generally more reliable than the linerlock.
 
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orthogonal1 said:
That's just untrue.

Most buy a locking knife to lock open and if it fails to perform the task, the knife is a failure. Locks are not "safeties", locks are an integral part of the functioning of a knife designed with one.

And you had better be able to stop your car with its emergency brake - else what good is it?

As to the original poster's comments, it appears you have an exception since Spyderco has a well deserved reputation for it's lockbacks - send it back to Spyderco for repair after emailing them.

BTW - linerlocks fail regularly for no apparent reason; so if you buy one, test it regularly. It's your flesh at risk. The lockback is generally more reliable than the lockback.
Click to expand...

+1000 - What he said.

I will never buy another liner lock. I keep buying the Spyderco lockbacks though.

In order to get the rate of defective products down to 0% the price for a Spyderco would be as high as a custom.

Statistical analysis says that this is a normal thing. Sucks that you got one of the few expected defects though.
 
orthogonal1 said:
That's just untrue.

Most buy a locking knife to lock open and if it fails to perform the task, the knife is a failure. Locks are not "safeties", locks are an integral part of the functioning of a knife designed with one.

And you had better be able to stop your car with its emergency brake - else what good is it?

As to the original poster's comments, it appears you have an exception since Spyderco has a well deserved reputation for it's lockbacks - send it back to Spyderco for repair after emailing them.

BTW - linerlocks fail regularly for no apparent reason; so if you buy one, test it regularly. It's your flesh at risk. The lockback is generally more reliable than the lockback.
Click to expand...

I disagree with linerlocks failing regularly for no apparent reason. No quality liner I've ever seen has failed regularly, let alone for no apparent reason.

Also, locks are 100% safeties. They are there for the same reason an emergency break is there; once out of every 1000 cuts, you may be forced to do something that would put pressure on the back of the blade with more force than the cutting edge, or you do something stupid in which a lot of pressure is released/exerted at once.
 
There is always a reason, but, human nature is for most people to rationalize the failure. It couldn't possibly be their pet brand at fault, or the way they were using the knife.

And those brakes are NOT emergency brakes. They are PARKING brakes. You should use it every time you park.
 
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