Reviving an old thread rather than starting a new one.
Gone one today. This is a great knife in many aspects. To me the blade is reminiscent of a Spydie Chef. Obviously less belly, but about the same thickness and similar shape. (Spydie has a different spine as well, of course.)
Fit and finish are excellent. I think it's rivaling Taichung quality. The bottom of the liners is just a little but sharp. Was going to complain about it, then realized it won't ever cut me and lets your fingers grip the bottom of the handle better. It's kind of "sticky" feeling rather than sharp, if that makes sense. The full backspacer is done as well as my Taichung knives. Ergos are excellent for me.
This knife cuts like crazy, has a great handle, and pockets
incredibly well. Larger than I like to carry and still disappears nicely. I now get what people are saying about the lock. The good is that is locks up solidly and has zero movement in any direction. The bad which many have mentioned is that it's kind of tough to close.
I like sliding locks. I know some people have shortened the spring. That's certainly an option (sorry Sal, I'm sure you're cringing at the thought.) But I don't know if makes the lock less secure. Wouldn't want to find out the hard way.
To close it one handed you have really did your finger tips in there. Seems like access to the ball, a larger ball, or a textured ball could all help. Mine sticks a little after lockup, which doesn't help. Was going to show it the wife (first responder) this weekend. Need to get the lock working better first. With gloves on it would be almost impossible to unlock right now.
Any thoughts? I'm not opposed to opening it up to see about the sticking. Not sticking badly - just enough to make it harder to release the lock. Does working the spring for a while help? Thoughts on shortening it? This thing is so close to be a fantastic larger EDC for me.
EDIT: took a closer look at the lock. Nice design. The lock holds the blade closed as well. Haven't disassembled yet, but I'm sure there's no other detent mechanism based on how the lock works. One issue with shortening the spring is that you'd lose some resistance to the knife staying closed. So probably not a great idea.
EDIT 2: Gave it to the wife to play with (first responder). Like the blade. She said "the bottom of the handle feels sticky." She's referring to the edges of the liners grabbing her fingers. Didn't love that. Told her that's easy to fix. Her bigger issue was the lock. Stuff will get in there and she said she can't close it when her hands are wet. Could be water, blood, or other disgusting liquids. She rarely carries off duty, so I think she evaluates everything as a duty knife. (After trying many knives she gravitates toward frame locks. Her favorite Spyderco is the Spydie Chef.)
Her other comment echos something I read on the Spyderco forum: she'd like to see something to memorialize this knife. Thin blue line, badge # stamped into the G10. Something so people would know. Of course she loved pics of the original with the skyline in the handle.
If I disassemble I'll get out the real camera for some close-ups of the lock.
