Do the world class brands care about action, centering and lockup?

I guess I have been lucky. My newest 2 Spyderco knives, a g-10 Dragonfly 2 and Lil’ Native have worked well from day one. No blade play, grittiness or an offset blade.
 
I have never had an issue with any Spyderco I've ever owned, and I've owned at least fifty or sixty of them off and on over the years. That said, I would say that yes, the major brands do care about those things, because it's what sets them apart from cheap knives. And cheap knives these days? They care too.
 
Ive never had an issue with any Spyderco or Benchmade, ZT,none of them have been a problem. Guess i got lucky.But In this age of high tech machining and high tech lubricants, theres no excuse for a gritty action, off center blade or blade play.Especially at the prices we are paying for these knives....
 
Quiet said:
I have never had an issue with any Spyderco I've ever owned, and I've owned at least fifty or sixty of them off and on over the years. That said, I would say that yes, the major brands do care about those things, because it's what sets them apart from cheap knives. And cheap knives these days? They care too.
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I've been in similar discussions to this one, regarding other products that I have owned literally hundreds of, with only a few issues. Yet others have had several problems with the same brand. If I am a big supporter of the brand, I find such things irritating, yet they have to be acknowledged or they will never be addressed by the manufacturer. The issues I have had with Spydercos don't particularly bother me. If I had not opened this thread and someone had asked me if I had ever had problems with new Spydercos, I probably would have said simply "No - they've been great", forgetting that I had to finagle with the centering and drop of a few.
 
runscott said:
I've been in similar discussions to this one, regarding other products that I have owned literally hundreds of, with only a few issues. Yet others have had several problems with the same brand. If I am a big supporter of the brand, I find such things irritating, yet they have to be acknowledged or they will never be addressed by the manufacturer. The issues I have had with Spydercos don't particularly bother me. If I had not opened this thread and someone had asked me if I had ever had problems with new Spydercos, I probably would have said simply "No - they've been great", forgetting that I had to finagle with the centering and drop of a few.
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I wasn't irritated, or judging. Though, I will say, when folks post about "Every single one of "X" I've received had issues, and I've purchased several", surely you'd agree that that is outside the statistical norm, no?
 
The big brands like Spyderco, Benchmade, KAI all sell so many millions of knives that some bad ones are going to make it out the door. Then a few people get a Spydie with lock stick or a Benchmade with an uncentered blade and howl about it for years.
 
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Quiet said:
I wasn't irritated, or judging. Though, I will say, when folks post about "Every single one of "X" I've received had issues, and I've purchased several", surely you'd agree that that is outside the statistical norm, no?
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No, I was agreeing with you in a roundabout way. When I see a product review that defies statistics, I try to remember that one bad experience with a product can influence a customer's thinking about all of them.
 
runscott said:
No, I was agreeing with you in a roundabout way. When I see a product review that defies statistics, I try to remember that one bad experience with a product can influence a customer's thinking about all of them.
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Entirely fair. I mean, OP has had eight bad examples in a row. That's pretty difficult to immediately believe based on my own experience, but I also know that others may see things as flaws that I generally might not. There are plenty of folks here who see a somewhat wonky grind as a sign that the knife needs to be immediately returned. That's never been an issue for me, given I can sharpen the knife to my liking, especially when/if I plan to actually use it. Neither way is really "wrong", but I can understand others having different criteria than I do.
 
Quiet said:
Entirely fair. I mean, OP has had eight bad examples in a row. That's pretty difficult to immediately believe based on my own experience, but I also know that others may see things as flaws that I generally might not. There are plenty of folks here who see a somewhat wonky grind as a sign that the knife needs to be immediately returned. That's never been an issue for me, given I can sharpen the knife to my liking, especially when/if I plan to actually use it. Neither way is really "wrong", but I can understand others having different criteria than I do.
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Feels statistically unlikely. Stand by for a bit of an experiment.
 
Quiet said:
Entirely fair. I mean, OP has had eight bad examples in a row. That's pretty difficult to immediately believe based on my own experience, but I also know that others may see things as flaws that I generally might not. There are plenty of folks here who see a somewhat wonky grind as a sign that the knife needs to be immediately returned. That's never been an issue for me, given I can sharpen the knife to my liking, especially when/if I plan to actually use it. Neither way is really "wrong", but I can understand others having different criteria than I do.
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When I read the OP's post I remembered my off-center PM2 and ended up fiddling with it for an hour. Then I checked out some of my other Spydercos, then stopped and thought: "What am I doing? I've never had any complaints about any of these..." Then yesterday I was watching a sharpening video where I guy got a mirror finish on his Benchmade and I went back with my magnifier to check my Spyderco factory edges. Again, thought about it, slapped myself in the face and moved on.
 
Can confirm, have had several off center spydies, liner locks to be precise. When I centered them the action was too tight so I left them crooked.

Ordered two budget chinese knives, also liner locks. Dead centered, perfect action out of the box.
 
Quiet said:
Entirely fair. I mean, OP has had eight bad examples in a row. That's pretty difficult to immediately believe based on my own experience, but I also know that others may see things as flaws that I generally might not. There are plenty of folks here who see a somewhat wonky grind as a sign that the knife needs to be immediately returned. That's never been an issue for me, given I can sharpen the knife to my liking, especially when/if I plan to actually use it. Neither way is really "wrong", but I can understand others having different criteria than I do.
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For the record I didn’t say 8 in a row. I have 8 total (3 more en route): of which, 4 that came bnib from dealers all had small or in the case of the crucarta, medium? Issues. 2 more I got used from the swap, same. 2 were perfect. I was able to tune out everything to get them how they should operate so no issues now.

I’m learning a ton about knives and knife making and always try to search before posting, often times to no avail. Figured it’d be a worthy topic to discuss as I’m not standing on a soapbox to declare anything, just insight gathering. And again, I’m a HUGE spydie fan and can’t wait to get the 3 on their way.

Just to reiterate, I think some of spy’s flaws can be charming. I didn’t buy my s213 wagon bc it’s reliable or mechanically/electronically perfect. A Honda would’ve been way easier to maintain. But the thought put into the eventual owners use cases, the risk taking in designs and materials are what draws me in
 
Checked a stack from the daily rotation. Threw in a CRK and GEC as comparison since folks here seem to like those too. This isn't the whole sock drawer load, just what was on top but I don't think more need checking since I have a good range of the different countries/factories in this batch.

All were centered to the eye and centered when checked with feeler gauges all were within 0.05mm +/-..

BdKk2FV.jpg
 
Can't say I've ever been dissatisfied with the fit and finish of any of my folders: Buck, CS, Benchmade, Spyderco, Swiss Army, Emerson. CNC machining has pretty well eliminated guesswork and hand grinding. Even my Bear & Sons sodbuster, which is about the worst in my collection, is centered.
 
Hellasharp said:
For the record I didn’t say 8 in a row. I have 8 total (3 more en route): of which, 4 that came bnib from dealers all had small or in the case of the crucarta, medium? Issues. 2 more I got used from the swap, same. 2 were perfect. I was able to tune out everything to get them how they should operate so no issues now.

I’m learning a ton about knives and knife making and always try to search before posting, often times to no avail. Figured it’d be a worthy topic to discuss as I’m not standing on a soapbox to declare anything, just insight gathering. And again, I’m a HUGE spydie fan and can’t wait to get the 3 on their way.

Just to reiterate, I think some of spy’s flaws can be charming. I didn’t buy my s213 wagon bc it’s reliable or mechanically/electronically perfect. A Honda would’ve been way easier to maintain. But the thought put into the eventual owners use cases, the risk taking in designs and materials are what draws me in
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You know, we love photos here. Would be interesting to see what you consider "issues".
 
Danke42 said:
Checked a stack from the daily rotation. Threw in a CRK and GEC as comparison since folks here seem to like those too. This isn't the whole sock drawer load, just what was on top but I don't think more need checking since I have a good range of the different countries/factories in this batch.

All were centered to the eye and centered when checked with feeler gauges all were within 0.05mm +/-..

BdKk2FV.jpg
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Nice selection. Which model is the 5th up from the bottom with the smaller hole? I like the narrower pocket profile.
 
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