Chaparral Question

[d.2.the.p]

The Chaparral I received unfortunately came with a good amount of grit in it. Though I was able to successfully remove it all with a lot of lubricant and cleaning, there still was the issue of the blade tang rubbing on the liner when deploying the blade with one hand. I found that through tightening the pivot screws, I was able to prevent the tang from rubbing. However, this is WAY too tight, and it opens and closes in almost a jerky kind of way (as I've found with any mid-lock that's been over-tightened). The action of the pivot itself is still smooth, but the tolerance is so tight that it prevents the blade from traveling in one smooth continuous motion. Does that make sense?

Has anyone else run into this that received a gritty Chaparral or one that rubs on the liners?

Also, I'd like to hear from the folks that received a Chaparral that was perfect right out of the box. Are the pivots similarly tight?

Thanks!

 

[JohnnyLightOn]

(this reply is also on the Spyderco factory forum, so please skip if you've already read it)

Mine was 98% perfect out of the box. No blade play, centered blade, solid lockup, perfect scales, very smooth opening after a handful of openings to work a tiny amount of grit out.

My pivot does have more resistance than some of my knives, but it feels fine to me.

The imperfections:

(1) Slightly uneven grind: on one side of the blade, the grind in the last part near the tip comes up farther than the grind on the other side of that part of the blade.

(2) This shouldn't count as a true imperfection, but I was surprised to see a collector's number (086) on the blade. I would rather not have the number, but I do like the number 86 because it reminds me of Agent 86 from Get Smart. I like my vendor (KnifeOutlet.com) because they gave me a great price and service and this is my second Spyderco from them that's been perfect (or very close) out of the box (the other, a Para2 grey sprint, was 100% perfect and also great price).

Overall, I'm extremely happy with this knife. I was reluctant to spend as much for this little Spydie as the bigger Spydies cost, but it's so well-done, almost jewel-like, that I'm glad Spyderco is offering such quality in a small knife.

Now I just have to convince myself to USE it and not baby it.

 

[dstat]

I had the exact same problem. Did you disassemble it? It makes it easier to ensure all the grit is out and everything is lubricated, but of course there is the warranty issue. I found the same thing as you - if i loosened the pivot, it would rub, but if i tightened it, it would be too tight. However, I was able to fix the problem. The solution, for me, was in adjusting the screws that are exposed after you remove the carbon fiber scale (I forget which side of the knife they are on). If you remove both scales, you will see screws in the liner on one side. I don't remember if I ended up tightening them or loosening them, but I had to make several adjustments to both them and the pivot screw before it worked perfectly. So, try tightening them, then put the scale back on and adjust the pivot (looser than before). Alternatively, if that doesn't work, try loosening the liner screw and making the pivot tighter. My blade is now gritless, perfectly centered, no rubbing, and smooth action. of course, it would have been great if it came this way from the factory...

Good luck!

 

[berserk87]

I had grittiness in mine. I blew it out with compressed air and lubed it a bunch. It did the trick.

 

[DedRok]

Mine was perfect. Yes the pivots are similarly tight.