Chinook owners: Is blade/liner rub just a fact of life?

[mr44]

Topic says it all. I just got one, and it's actually become one of my all-time favorite knives in the short time that I have owned it. This thing makes ALL of my other folders feel puny and weak. (Including my CQC7 and LCC, which I thought were the very definition of the term "stout folder.")

However, as with most everything else that I buy or do, there is a minor annoyance: the blade rubs a little bit on one side when I open it using my thumb in the blade hole. If I pinch the hole w/ my thumb and trigger finger, of course the blade opens with no rub since my finger is supporting it as it clears the handle. What is happening is that the blade is not perfectly centered, and when opened right handed it gets pushed against the opposite liner. The rub is so slight that the blade is not even being scratched - it just makes a little sound that whispers "I'm not perfect" to me every time I open the damn thing. If I open it left-handed there is no rub since the blade doesn't get pushed over far enough to hit the liner unless I really give 'er...

I've pretty much decided to live with this problem, since I've already had to send back a Starmate at great cost and stress, and the knife is really flawless otherwise. If the lockup were not 100% solid, or there was at least one more problem I would send it in, but I just can't bear to deal with shipping, waiting and Kanada Kustoms screwing me over on the return trip this time...

Oh well. Serves me right for buying out of the first production run, but you know how it is when you want a new knife...

Paul.

 

[extremefishin00]

You know, the weird thing is that I just got a Renegade and a Black Police model, and they both rub a little when opened with the right hand, but not with the left. I'm not planning on sending them back as it doesn't seem to be a major defect and the knives are perfect in every other way. Anyone else experience this? Any input Sal?

C.Mapp

 

[cerulean]

Many people have reported that the blade rubs the liner on their Chinooks. There's not much clearance there (and it's not a three hundred dollar knife), so you have to admit that it isn't entirely unexpected.

I personally experienced some rubbing when I first got my Chinook, but it went away completely after a couple of weeks. I'm not sure what solved the problem, but it was probably a combination of wear and slightly tightening the pivot joint to center the blade more.

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Cerulean

"The hairy-armed person who figured out how to put an edge on a suitable rock made it possible for us to be recognizably human in the first place." - J.K.M.

[This message has been edited by cerulean (edited 05-07-2001).]

 

[Shmackey]

I went to the factory outlet with the intention of buying a Chinook. None of them opened easily enough for me. I tried five or six and not even a Spydie drop would get them open all the way. The only way to do it was a slow thumb hole opening or with two hands.

I attributed this to the very strong lockback, and I still believe that's the reason why they feel so tight--especially after trying so many right out of the box.

 

[Pergatory]

Shmacky..... Mine loosened up after a couple of weeks of playing with it. It's still tighter than any other spyder, but I can do the Spydie drop without any problem. In fact, I find that it is actually much easier on the thumb to open it this way.

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"Never let your morals get in the way of doing what's right" -Hari Seldon, Foundation, -Aasimov

 

[Bugs3x]

A couple things:
1) -- A knife selling for $100 or more should have a centered blade, or at least near enough that it isn't rubbing on a liner. I have approximately 20 CRKTs, the most expensive of which is the large Apache or M16-14 -- sorry, memory loss. Most $40 or less. None rubs.
2)I do think that it is fairly normal for knives to be tight when new, but lubrication and some action should resolve that pretty quickly. Remember to shake your bottle of Tuf-Glide! -- (I have to say that to myself almost daily.)

Am planning on purchasing the large Wegner, and probably another Spydie within a week. A bit discouraging to hear things that make it sound like rubbing is a semi-common problem in large Spydies.

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Asi es la vida

Bugs

 

[KenN]

I'm not an engineer/designer, but visual input tells me that Spyderco more than other companies makes folders that have a flush mating of blade tang and handles/liners, where as a lot of other companies have that 'gap' between the tang and handle(looks like the blade is being suspended between and not supported by the handles/liners. I'd guess having that extra space between the handle and blade would eliminate rubbing, but it just doesn't give me much confidence in it's lateral strength.
I personally like the fact that spyderco lockbacks are flush fit at the blade/handle juncture. I wouldn't say it's a semi common occurance across the board, but concentrated in certain models like the Chinook. IMO

Ken

 

[cerulean]

Yeah, I'd agree with Ken. It's pretty easy to prevent blade/liner rub, but you have to make the space between the blade and liners larger... You have to compensate for the tolerances.

For example: I was just fooling around with a Cold Steel Voyager. It's inexpensive, but it's really not a bad knife. On the Voyager, the blade has never rubbed the inside of the handle. However, there is a large gap between the blade and both sides of the handle. I don't have the instruments to measure this clearance, but just from eyeballing, I'd guess that the distance is at least three times that of the Chinook.

You could increase the distance from the blade to the liners on the Chinook and prevent any type of rubbing, but that would also increase the thickness of the handle. That might not be a good idea. I'd bet that some people already think the handle on the Chinook is too thick. Two full liners and a thick rocker bar make a pretty fat handle.

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Cerulean

"The hairy-armed person who figured out how to put an edge on a suitable rock made it possible for us to be recognizably human in the first place." - J.K.M.

[This message has been edited by cerulean (edited 05-09-2001).]

 

[JH225]

My Chinook does not rub, but it is VERY difficult to open with a drop. The action has loosened up slightly since I first got it, but it it still very tight. There really is no adjustment per se, due to the fact that if you loosen the pivot pin all it will do is create blade play.

I used the Chinook the other day in my attic to PRY up some plywood and to CHOP out some small chunks of beam to allow old wiring to sit flush. Like people have said before, this knife is a folding prybar or a fixed blade that just happens to fold for convenience. I can honestly say that this is one knife that I will be keeping.

And can I live with the stiff action?......Hell Yes

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C.O.'s-"It takes balls to work behind the walls "

 

[Bugs3x]

Ken and Cerulean -- that makes sense, now that you mention it. I checked the clearances on my 3 Spydies. The Goddard and Dyad have extremely small gaps between tang and handle. The little Walker Ltwt has noticeably more than the 2 larger ones, and has a very "free-wheeling" blade.

In the CRKTs, the gaps appear to be occupied by the Teflon washers.

The concept of the blade being "supported" by the handles/liners is completely new to me. Never thought at all about it. Maybe that is why so many liner locks seem to have problems. I always just thought in terms of the blade rotating around the pivot, or with the pivot. If the blades on other makes of knives are "supported" by the prevalent nylon/Teflon washers, then that support could be very weak laterally. Maybe that is why so many liner locks by top end makers are allegedly so prone to lock failure?

What kind of washers does Spyderco use? You really can't get a good look at them, as you can on most of my other knives. It probably is something I should pay attention to.

Do you all know of any resource that really explains thoroughly the way folders operate? What happens when the blade is pulled out and locked if the knife has a lock? I mean I think I understand ball detentes on linerlocks, but I have no idea what is going on with washers/bushings/bearings and the pivot pin.


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Asi es la vida

Bugs

 

[Blilious]

I tried 3 Chinooks before I picked mine - the blade-to-lock relation was near perfect in the other two - and it is damn perfect in the one I finally took...