compression lock

jill jackson

jill jackson

Joined
Sep 5, 2006
Messages
20,593
I was reading on another forum where a member said every compression locking Spyderco he's examined had blade play.
So I went and looked closely at all of mine and NONE had the slightest amount.
Does anyone find them to have blade play?
I sure find all of mine to lock up very tightly. Paramilitaries, SuperHawks, ATR, Yojimbo and that's 2 Para's, 2 SuperHawks, 3 ATR and 1 Yojimbo. All are good and I haven't seen this "blade play".
(being this is my fave lock ever it caused me some concern!)
 
1 out of 2 for the ones in my reach at the moment. However, one man's unacceptable blade play is another man's getting the blade to move a millimeter or two...i.e. something that wouldn't affect the safety or function one iota...much less be noticable to a normal user.

I wonder is the poster a real fan or one of those "stealth fans" of some other company that can only make themselves feel good if they can knock on a competitor?
 
I just checked a Superhawk, Para and Yojimbo.
The superhawk had a tiny bit of vertical play but could only just be felt, not seen.
The other two were solid :thumbup:
 
zenheretic said:
I wonder is the poster a real fan or one of those "stealth fans" of some other company that can only make themselves feel good if they can knock on a competitor?
Click to expand...

And your definition of a "real fan" is that one can not criticise?
 
It was posted in another brand sub-forum.
The comment was to the effect that that brands locking was tighter than the Spyderco compression lock.
I just wondered if anyone had noticed anything similar, since I always found all of mine to be exceptionally tight.
I don't really believe the person criticising was doing more than expressing his preference for his favorite brand.
That's something I myself try not to do as there's a lot of decent well made knives out there and while I have vastly more Spyderco's than any other brand I still can appreciate any well made knife. And from time to time I will pick up a different brand, just to spice things up a mite! It may be subject to be sold or traded off for a Spyderco down the road though, that has happened a few times.
 
My D2 para developed the slightest bit of play if I grab the tip and rock it hard. Can't see it, but I can feel is just a smidge. Nothing that would compromise the safety or anything. My SuperHawk locks up like a vault though.

Personally, I love the compression lock. It's quite ambi, and it's almost an upgrade to a liner lock.
 
I've had about 50% of the compression lock Spydercos I've owned have some vertical play (SS ATR, 2 Yojimbos and a Lil Temp). Not enough to make me send it in, but enough that I notice it. That said, it's still my favorite lock, and I would love to see it on more models in the future.
 
I have only three with that lock, the Lil' Temp, ATR, and Para and they are all tight.

I don't think blade play is necessarily a lock problem. The hole in the liners, into which the stop pin fits, can become deformed or elongated due to excessive, hard flipping, resulting in vertical blade play. Maybe the lock should take up the play, I don't know.
 
Last edited:
There is a limit to how much wear the lock can adjust for and an abundance of places where wear/damage can occur. The only comp lock knife I have had noticable vertical play on was a Yojimbo that had been beat pretty hard. After I refurbished it, it has better lockup than my NIB example.
 
Thanx Jill. Good thread, We like the feedback.

The CL is one of my favorite locks as well, but a "bugger" to make.

Vivi said:
That said, it's still my favorite lock, and I would love to see it on more models in the future.
Click to expand...

We've got an updated Lil' Temperance design that we thought about making a run with the Superhawk lock. Maybe G-10 & VG-10, made in Seki.

sal
 
Sal Glesser said:
We've got an updated Lil' Temperance design that we thought about making a run with the Superhawk lock. Maybe G-10 & VG-10, made in Seki.

sal
Click to expand...

I'd buy one. The Lil Temperance is a very nice knife for heavier duty work still in the realm of folding knives. Any idea what kind of clip is would use? I'd prefer a Police 3 style clip to the original, or the wire clip of the Superhawk.
 
Just checked two Spydies that were within my reach. My Para is rock solid and it's not going anywhere. My Yojimbo has very slight, and I do mean slight vertical movement. Nothing at all to worry about. Heck, it's about 4 or 5 years old and has seen some use. I am very impressed.
 
My para, atr, superhawk and lil' temp are all rock solid. My yojimbo is solid but from time to time I have a hard time closing it, I have to wiggle the blade once the lock is compressed to push it past the lock.
 
My SuperHawk had no play to begin with, and has not developed play after roughly a year of use and, yes, abuse. The comp. lock remains one of my favorites.
 
If it matters I made that exact or very similar statement myself some years back based on my experience with what was at the time very early models of this type of lock. is it relevent to current production knives, probably not.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top