Complete Noob to Spyderco Military; Please help with techniques and maintenance!

D

Datawraith

Joined
Apr 8, 2013
Messages
31
Hello.
I've posted before about getting a new EDC (I was thinking about a Ti-Lite), but then I found that one of my friends was trying to trim down his collection, so I bought his Spyderco Military off him for $100.
But... I have no idea where to start with maintaining this knife (how to sharpen flat-grind S30V, loosen or tighten the pivot, cleaning, etc...), nor do I know a lot of "proper" grips and opening techniques (I just put my thumb on the hole and wrist flick, then move my hand up into the mini choil really close to the blade with my middle finger on the liner choil).
Could someone please post a detailed guide to maintenance and techniques specifically for the Spydie Military?
Thank you so much, and I just don't want to ruin a beautiful knife.
Data
 
It should not require much in terms of maintenance. If you are a novice at this sort of thing, just don't disassemble the knife. You may want/need to call upon the warranty at some point. Sharpening S30V will be a treat if you've never sharpened any other knife. Again, sending it to Spydeco for "maintenance" would be a good option.
 
The Military was designed by Sal Glesser (Spyderco CEO) to handle rough use with little maintenance...as one would find in a war zone.
Use it and enjoy it. Send it in for sharpening by company. It's cheap to do so.
Nice knife. I have one.
 
I'll start with sharpening. I assume you are new to sharpening any knife by your post. A Spyderco Sharpmaker is probably your best bet. It's easier to maintain the proper angle than freehand. I personally used 800 and 2000 grit sandpaper and freehand sharpened. There is really no difference in sharpening a flat grind than any other standard grind (hollow, saber, etc.).

Pivot adjustment is simple. I think it's a T10 torx bit, but not positive. Just open the blade and check for blade play. If there is some side to side, make tiny adjustments to remove it. I never use loctite and I don't think it's necessary in most pivots. You shouldn't have to adjust the pivot very often.

Opening techniques are a personal preference, but I wouldn't wrist flick it anymore. It causes premature wear on the stop pin and lock bar. The way I opened mine was just use the spydie hole and rotate my thumb to open it.

For maintenance, I used to disassemble mine completely and wipe everything down and relube the pivot. Be advised that this is not recommended by Spyderco. All you really need to do is keep the pivot area lubed and use compressed air to blow out any grit.

The Miliatry is a pretty tough knife, it's unlikely you would ruin it by maintaining it. If any issues do arise Spyderco will take care of it.
 
Alrighty then, thank you guys.
Just a few more things; the action feels quite gritty, even after doing lots of googling and washing it out in warm soapy water. Does this mean it's just not broken in? If so, is there an efficient way of breaking it in other then constant use? And should I put silicon spray (I have a can of 3-IN-ONE Pro Silicone Spray) in the pivot to make it a little smoother? Would the silicon do anything adverse to the knife?
Thank you for your valued advice.
 
Sometimes the grittiness is due to the detent ball. A small drop of grease or other lube on the detent ball will usually clear this up. I had a Paramilitary 2 with the same issue and that fixed it.
 
Thanks Silvanus.
I don't have any grease or lube. I have the silicon spray I mentioned above, will that work? If not, what lubricant would you recommend?
Thanks again.
 
Bugger, that stuff's only sold in the States. Its impossible to get up here (Canada) locally... Guess I'll have scour bike shops for a variant.
Thanks.
 
The milli is a deceptively simple knife. I learned that the hard way. Things like over-tightening, not using proper lube, and not putting the washers back exactly as they came (hey you might get lucky and never notice any of these problems). Take your time, polish the washers a little, and cautiously tighten down the pivot before the body screws. Those steps helped me get a flickable milli.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top